NIU head coach Thomas Hammock tells Huskies 'they did not need luck' to upset Notre Dame in postgame speech
Northern Illinois pulled what will likely be one of the biggest upsets of the college football season on Saturday, toppling No. 5 Notre Dame in South Bend. But don’t call the Huskies lucky.
Head coach Thomas Hammock — who had already said in a brief postgame interview on NBC that his team didn’t win because of luck — hammered home that message to his team in the locker room. The NIU football account on Twitter shared a brief snippet.
“Listen, what you can do with the power of belief and working together and just staying through it, through thick and thin, that’s what we are as a team,” Hammock said. “As a family. As guys that want it. I told you all week: We did not need luck! We did not need luck!”
The Huskies won, 16-14, holding off a last-ditch Notre Dame drive that culminated in failed 62-yard field goal attempt for the Irish, securing the first Top 10 win in program history.
And no luck was needed — though perhaps the lack for the Irish helped.
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Hammock delivered an emotional message in his postgame interview
With tears streaming down his cheeks, Hammock poured his heart out, namely with pride for his players in getting the shocking win.
“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.”
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.”