NIU's Thomas Hammock delivers emotional interview after historic upset of Notre Dame: 'They believe in that family'

Northern Illinois pulled off an historic upset of No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday, 16-14, a first-ever Top 10 win for the Huskies. And after the road stunner, head coach Thomas Hammock let his emotions flow.

With tears streaming down his cheeks, Hammock poured his heart out, namely with pride for his players in getting the shocking win.

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“I’m so proud of our kids, the coaches, just everybody. They believed and we came here and got it done,” Hammock said on NBC.

And for the Huskies, it was never a doubt in their mind that they could pull of the win against the Irish.

“We got a veteran team, a bunch of guys that have been through a lot of damn things and they’ve worked together,” Hammock said. “Like we still are in college football. I know there’s a whole bunch of other things with the transfer portal and NIL, we still have a family. And they believe in that family and doing things the right way. And I couldn’t be more proud of them.” 

"All these guys have been with our program, lived through the ups and downs and have continued to fight. It's like they're my kids…I just couldn't be more proud."

An emotional NIU coach Thomas Hammock moments after the Huskies beat Notre Dame. pic.twitter.com/3nSI7Sm7MY

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As such, Hammock didn’t ask his players to become superheros for a game.

He just asked them to be the best versions of themselves. And for an afternoon in South Bend, they were just that.

“They listened to what I said. I told them all week, we don’t need luck, we just gotta be our best. And they was they best today and we was just able to get it done,” Hammock said.

Evidently, the whole scene left Hammock — who played at Northern Illinois — emotional. And the first group he thought of when asked about his overwhelming emotions were the players.

“You know, all these guys that’ve been with our program, been through the ups and downs and they continued to fight. It’s like they’re my kids,” Hammock said. “I’m happy for the adversity, to push through. … I just couldn’t be more proud.”