Northern Illinois head coach Thomas Hammock in tears after Notre Dame win: "They believed"

Northern Illinois' 16-14 win over No. 5 Notre Dame was pure college football magic, and also fantastic television: the game, tight through out, crescendoed into an electric finish. 

Trailing 14-13 with six minutes to play, NIU intercepted Notre Dame's Riley Leonard, then consumed 5:24 in moving 31 yards in 11 plays, overcoming a controversial spot to knock in a go-ahead 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play. 

Rather than attempt a Hail Mary in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus, Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman opted to try a 62-yard field goal. The kick was blocked, which set off an outpouring of emotion following a regular-season win that can only happen in college football.

Listen to the Northern Illinois radio call. I know nothing about NIU play-by-play voice Andy Garcia, but I feel safe in assuming two things: 1) He's been happily married for a long time, and 2) His wife has never heard the outpouring of emotion like this.

Television viewers were treated to an all-timer of an interview with NIU head coach Thomas Hammock, who spoke to NBC sideline reporter Zora Stephenson through tears. 

"I'm so proud of our kids, our coaches, just everybody. They believed. They believed. And they came here and got it done," Hammock said.

Asked what's led to the tears, Hammock said: "All these guys that have been with our program, been through the ups and downs, and they continue to fight, it's like they're my kids. I'm happy for hte adversity, the push-through no matter the situation. I just couldn't be more proud." He then stepped away to compose himself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said.

A Northern Illinois alum, the 43-year-old has been his alma mater's head coach since 2019. Before Saturday, the peak of his 5-year tenure was beating Kent State in the 2021 MAC championship. Now, he's the first MAC head coach to beat an AP top-5 team.

"We're still in college football," Hammock said. "I know it's a whole bunch of other things with the transfer portal and NIL; we still have a family. And they believe in our family and doing things the right way."

As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.