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Former Gophers assistant leads Northern Illinois to upset of Notre Dame

Thomas Hammock was previously the running backs coach and co-offensive coordinator at the U.

Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock gets a victory dunk after the beating Arkansas State during the Camellia Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023.
Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock gets a victory dunk after the beating Arkansas State during the Camellia Bowl at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala., on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Former Gophers running backs coach and co-offensive coordinator Thomas Hammock just led Northern Illinois to potentially the upset of the year as the Huskies beat fifth-ranked Notre Dame 16-14 after the Irish’s last-second field-goal attempt was blocked Saturday in Notre Dame, Ind. 

Hammock’s Huskies took a 16-14 lead with 31 seconds remaining after Kanon Woodill drilled a 35-yard field goal. But the upset wasn’t secured then. Notre Dame gave Mitch Jeter a chance at a 62-yard field goal with five seconds remaining, but the Huskies blocked it to cap the victory.

Hammock, a Northern Illinois alum who played running back for the Huskies from 1999-2002, coached for the Gophers from 2007-2010, serving as the team’s running backs coach his first two seasons before becoming co-offensive coordinator in his final season at the U. 

Hammock then had stints as the running backs coach at Wisconsin and with the Baltimore Ravens before getting the head-coaching opportunity at his alma mater in 2019. Now he’s led Northern Illinois to its first-ever win over a top-five opponent in program history. 

Hammock was emotional after the game. 

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

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