Against Notre Dame, Northern Illinois finally had its moment

Thomas Hammock had every emotion rush through him Saturday, except for one.

Hammock, the Northern Illinois coach, had watched his team, representing his alma mater, take down No. 5 Notre Dame in the state where he grew up. His parents were there. So were his wrestling coach and 15-20 teammates from Bishop Luers High in Fort Wayne, Indiana, located about 95 miles from Notre Dame Stadium.

“I couldn’t find them after the game, but they sent pictures,” Hammock told ESPN on Saturday night, as NIU’s team buses neared the Indiana-Illinois state line. “All of my buddies, they’re Notre Dame fans. But for this one day, they supported the Huskies.”

What a day it was as Northern Illinois shocked Notre Dame 16-14, recording its first-ever win against an AP top-five opponent and the first such victory by a Mid-American Conference team. The upset earned the Huskies the No. 25 ranking in the AP poll — before this week, they hadn’t been ranked since 2013.

Since 1983, NIU has kept a log of “Boneyard Victories,” wins against major-conference opponents and other notable foes with bigger brands and budgets. As an NIU running back in 2002, Hammock helped secure one by rushing for 172 yards in a 42-41 overtime win against Wake Forest. He would never play again after experiencing symptoms from what would be diagnosed as a career-ending heart condition.

The next year, Hammock watched NIU add to the Boneyard with wins over Alabama, Maryland and Iowa State (before Saturday, the Alabama game was NIU’s last win against a ranked nonleague opponent). After returning as coach in 2019, he led the Huskies to wins over Georgia Tech in 2021 and Boston College last year. But no win would mean more than one over Notre Dame, which is why it struck all the chords for Hammock.

“When you’ve been with guys a long time, and you think about all the hard work and sacrifice that they’ve put in, that we’ve all put in, and to work together, find a way, the emotions overcame me,” Hammock said. “It’s huge. Obviously, I have a lot of pride in NIU.”

How much, exactly?

“He named his son after a dorm on campus,” said athletic director Sean Frazier, referring to the middle name of Hammock’s son, Thomas Douglas. Thomas Sr. met his wife at Douglas Hall.

“This dude is a Huskie,” Frazier continued. “He came back home. I’m just so happy for him and his family. He deserves this moment. Our kids deserve this moment.”

The one emotion Hammock didn’t feel Saturday was surprise. He knew when he studied Notre Dame six days before the game that Northern Illinois would have a real chance to win. Hammock especially liked how the Huskies matched up at the line of scrimmage.

He frontloaded NIU’s week with more demanding practices on Monday and Tuesday, which gave players’ bodies time to recover.

“The more we watched film, the more we realized this is a beatable team,” quarterback Ethan Hampton told ESPN. “I’ll take our O-line over anyone in the country.”

The Huskies outgained Notre Dame 388-286, converted twice as many third-down chances and allowed only two plays of longer than 19 yards. They also blocked two field goal attempts, including a 62-yard attempt in the final seconds.

While Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love had the highlight of the game, a hurdling touchdown run, NIU running back Antario Brown delivered the top offensive performance with 126 receiving yards and 99 rushing yards.

“It wasn’t a fluke win,” Hammock said. “We were good in the trenches, and those guys were the difference in the game. We build our program inside-out, so you have to be able to win there to give yourself an opportunity in games like this. Those guys played their butts off.”

Hammock’s players also understand the magnitude of what they accomplished. Hampton said he looks forward to telling his future children about the win. He also recognized what it meant for his coach.

“No one loves NIU more than Coach Ham,” Hampton said. “He instills that into us. He played here, he wants to be here, so when you have a coach that believes in you and that is proud to be part of the NIU program, it makes you play better.”

Northern Illinois still had to mount a drive — and overcome a highly questionable ball spot — to secure the win. Gavin Williams appeared to clear the marker on a third-and-2 run from the Notre Dame 20-yard line, which would have allowed NIU to get closer for a field goal attempt and drain more time. But officials spotted the ball short, forcing fourth down and a Notre Dame timeout with 36 seconds left. Hammock asked to challenge the spot but was told a review –which upheld the spot — had already been initiated.

“We were already in field goal range, so I wasn’t going to let that one play determine the outcome of the game,” Hammock said. “I was confident with our special teams operation that we could make the kick, and then we just had to go back out there and play defense one more time.”

Kanon Woodill drilled his third field goal, and the defense kept Notre Dame out of realistic field goal range to secure the win.

“This is such a huge statement for the program and for NIU,” Frazier said. “There’s a lot of people talking about Group of 5, Power 4, the money and the resources and NIL. It’s about the players and it’s about lining up and banging heads and [may] the best man win. You saw that [Saturday].”

Frazier knew Hammock from their time together at Wisconsin — Hammock was a Badgers assistant from 2011 to 2013, while Frazier served as the school’s deputy athletic director — and gave him a head-coaching opportunity that likely would not have come anywhere else. NIU went winless in 2020, won the MAC in 2021 and then went 3-9 the following year. But Hammock has stabilized the program. NIU won a bowl game last season. The team has recorded a grade-point average of 3.0 or better in nine consecutive semesters, hardly a surprise since its coach was a two-time Academic All-America selection when he played.

NIU deals with the typical Group of 5 challenges, including roster churn and resources. The program’s motto is: “The Hard Way.” But wins like Saturday’s have long-term impact.

“My vision and goal was always to grow the university back to what it was with enrollment, fundraising, all those things,” Hammock said. “To do that, you have to win games like this, where your alumni get excited. They want to give back, they want to be a part of a program. I know how big that Alabama game was to help build facilities and things like that.

“Hopefully, this one can do the same thing.”