Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock emotional after Notre Dame upset: 'I just couldn't be more proud'

Editor's note: This story has been updated from a previous version.

Every now and again, college football reminds fans that anything can happen in a game.

That was proven again Saturday inside Notre Dame Stadium when Northern Illinois knocked off No. 7 Notre Dame 16-14 on Saturday in one of the biggest upsets of the college football season .

That also resulted in an emotional postgame interview from Huskies coach Thomas Hammock as he joined NBC's Zora Stephenson in postgame. A former NIU football player himself, Hammock was brought to tears as he talked about the impact of his team's victory.

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"I'm so proud of our kids (and) the coaches. They believed. They believed and we came here and got it done," Hammock said as he came to tears.

Hammock's display of emotion also moved those who saw it, including Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and college football commentator Robert Griffin III. He captioned a video of Hammock's display, saying, "Coach Thomas Hammock is a real man and real men cry."

The Huskies sealed the win on both sides of special teams, as NIU hit a go-ahead field goal with 31 seconds remaining. They then blocked a 62-yard field goal from Notre Dame at the end of regulation to get the win.

The win also touched close to home for Hammock, as the fifth-year Huskies coach played at NIU from 1999 through 2002. Hammock ran for 2,432 career rushing yards and finished with 12 career 100-yard rushing games. He finished with two 1,000-yard campaigns with the Huskies.

"All these guys that been program through the ups and downs and continue to fight. They're my kids. I'm happy for the adversity to push through matter the situation. I just could not be more proud," said Hammock when asked where his emotion during the interview was coming from.

Hammock displayed yet more emotion in a postgame locker room speech, telling his team they didn't need luck to beat the Irish.

Thomas Hammock salary

Hammock is making $708,086 in 2024, according to data from USA TODAY Sports' contract database . That ranks 109th out of 119 coaches for which USA TODAY has data.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock emotional after Notre Dame upset: 'I just couldn't be more proud'