In January 2019, Baltimore Ravens running backs coach Thomas Hammock left the team to accept the head coaching position at his alma mater, Northern Illinois. Now, over five years later, he and his Huskies are at the top of the college football world.
On Saturday, Hammock led his Huskies to South Bend, Indiana, and went home with a stunning 16-14 victory over No. 5 Notre Dame. The Huskies trailed by 28.5 points before the game, and now they have the biggest win in program history and the $1.4 million the Fighting Irish paid them to play in the game.
“I’m so proud of the kids, our coaches, everybody, they believed in us,” Hammock told NBC after the game, according to NIU Athletics. “They believed in us and we came here and did it. They listened to what I said. I told them all week, ‘We don’t need luck, we just need to do our best,’ and today they did their best.”
Notre Dame marched 75 yards for a touchdown on its opening drive, but NIU answered with 13 unanswered points to take a six-point lead into halftime. The Irish then took advantage of a missed Huskies field goal to retake the lead with a 64-yard touchdown drive, but after that, most of the second half became an offensive stalemate.
That stalemate lasted until the sixth minute of the fourth quarter, when NIU cornerback Amariyun Knighten intercepted a pass from Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard and returned it to the halfway line. The Huskies then methodically marched down the field, with Kanon Woodill kicking a 35-yard field goal to give his team the lead with 31 seconds left. The Irish had one final attempt, but the Huskies blocked Mitch Jeter’s 62-yard field goal attempt as time expired, sealing the huge upset.
NIU outscored Notre Dame 388-286 and held the ball 34-38 to the Irish 25-22, thanks in part to two Leonard interceptions. The star of the offense was running back Antario Brown, who had 99 rushing yards, 126 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air.
“I think he’s one of the best backs in the country,” Hammock said. “He’s one of the best backs in the country when he wants to be. Did I think he could make a game like that? I did. And we planned it that way. He was cramping in the second half and we didn’t use him much, but I said, ‘You did more than enough to put us in a position to win the game.'”
When Hammock went to NIU, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh knew the Huskies were getting a great coach. Now, the entire college football world knows it too.
“He’s a great coach, a great leader and a great player developer,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a smart game planner, a tough disciplinarian, but at the same time he’s a player’s coach. He’s very good with his guys. He’s a big part of our success.”
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