Against Notre Dame, Northern Illinois finally had its moment

Thomas Hammock had all emotions crowded into him on Saturday, except one.

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

“I didn’t find them after the game, but they sent pictures,” Hammock told ESPN Saturday night, noting that NIU’s team buses were near the Indiana-Illinois state line. “All my friends are Notre Dame fans. But for this one day, they supported the Huskies.”

In what was a stunning day, Northern Illinois stunned Notre Dame 16-14, recording its first win over an AP top-five opponent and the first by a Mid-American Conference team. The upset Huskies earned a No. 25 ranking in the AP poll — a ranking they hadn’t been since 2013, before this week.

Since 1983, NIU has kept a log of “boneyard victories” against major-conference opponents and other notable foes with big brands and budgets. As a running back at NIU in 2002, Hammock helped secure a 172-yard rush in a 42-41 overtime win over Wake Forest. He would never play again after experiencing symptoms of what was diagnosed as a career-ending heart condition.

The following year, Hammock saw NIU add to the boneyard with wins over Alabama, Maryland and Iowa State (prior to 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 victories over Georgia Tech in 2021 and Boston College last year. But any win means more than one over for Notre Dame, which is why it strikes all the chords for Hammock.

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

Exactly how much?

“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’s a husky,” Frazier continued. “He’s back home. I’m so happy for him and his family. He deserves this moment. Our kids deserve this moment.”

An emotion Hammock didn’t feel surprised on Saturday. When he studied Notre Dame six days before the game he knew 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, giving players time to recover.

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

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

Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Love was the highlight of the game, hurdling a touchdown run, while NIU running back Ontario Brown provided the top offensive performance with 126 receiving yards and 99 rushing yards.

“It was not a trivial victory,” 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 a chance in games like this. Those guys played their butt off.”

Hammock players also understand what they have achieved. Hampton said she looks forward to telling her future children about the win. He also recognized what it meant to his coach.

“No one loves NIU more than Coach Hamm,” Hampton said. “He instilled that in us. He played here, he wants to be here, so when you have a coach who believes in you and is proud to be a 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 victory. 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 and buy more time for a field goal attempt. But the officials saw the ball short, forcing a fourth down and a Notre Dame timeout with 36 seconds left. Hammock asked to challenge the spot but said 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 kick, and then we had to go back there and play defense one more time.”

Canon Woodill drilled his third field goal and the defense kept Notre Dame out of realistic field goal range to seal the victory.

“It’s such a big statement for the program and NIU,” Frazier said. “A lot of people are talking about the Group of 5, the Power 4, the money and the resources and the NIL. It’s about the players and it’s about the line-up and butting heads and (probably) the best man winning. You saw (Saturday).”

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

NIU deals with a common group of 5 challenges, including roster churn and resources. The motto of the program is: “The Hard Way.” But a win like Saturday’s has a long-term impact.

“My vision and goal has always been to get 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 are excited. They want to give back, they want to be part of a program. I know how big the Alabama game was to help build the facility and things like that. that

“Hopefully, it can do the same thing.”