Northern Illinois Coach Gives Epic Postgame Locker Room Speech After Beating Notre Dame

NIU head coach Thomas Hammock didn't need any luck on Saturday

Northern Illinois celebrates after wining a NCAA college football game 16-14 against Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend. / Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK

Pretty much nobody outside of DeKalb, Illinois thought the Northern Illinois Huskies had much of a chance against mighty No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday.

Why would they? Notre Dame was fresh off a huge win at Texas A&M to open the year, perhaps the biggest Fighting Irish win in years. Surely if Northern Illinois was going to shock the world it would take a lot of luck.

Except it wasn't luck that helped Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend. It was simply a motivated and talented Huskies bunch that not just beat the Fighting Irish, but controlled the game for the vast majority.

Northern Illinois Coach Thomas Hammock in Locker Room

After the game, Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock, a former Huskies football player himself, gave a speech to his victorious squad.

In it, he reminded his team that in no way was luck involved.

No Luck Needed. 😤🍀🚫@NIUCoachHammock post game speech 🗣️#SOAR | #TheHardWay 🦴🏴‍☠️ pic.twitter.com/rDj9tNFbE1

— NIU Football (@NIU_Football) September 8, 2024

And he's spot-on correct as Northern Illinois went into South Bend and out-did Notre Dame in every single facet of the game.

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