Northern Illinois University head coach Thomas Hammock leads the locker room cheers following the Huskies’ stunning 16-14 road victory Saturday over No. 5 Notre Dame. (NIU photo by Scott Walstrom).

As an old newspaper editor once said, “Don’t write the headline ahead of time.”  

Before the Northern Illinois University football team took the field against Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend, the common wisdom was they were just taking the next step in their program’s development, feeling duly appreciative for the opportunity to measure themselves against an elite outfit, ready to give it their best despite the daunting odds, just happy to be on a national stage, in the primetime spotlight, even if they weren’t quite ready for it, with the university taking home a cool $1.4 million to boot.  

For Huskie fans, there would be the thrill of watching them play on the home field of a Top 10 football powerhouse in a stadium with as much cache and legend as any in America. Knute Rockne. Ara Parseghian. Frank Leahy. Lou Holtz. Gridiron ghosts everywhere, legends of the fall, so to speak, going back a century. 

Fans on both sides talked of excitement and anticipation of watching the Huskies play Notre Dame for the first time in history and experiencing The House that Rockne Built. That would be enough; after all, no one believed there’d be any real drama, what with Notre Dame 28-point favorites and 97 percent odds of winning. 

Kevin Wells, of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, is a news anchor for WGN Radio. Saturday morning, he was traveling to

Northern Illinois fans cheer on the Huskies at Notre Dame. (NIU photo via Facebook)

South Bend on the South Shore Line with five other friends and family. He spoke for many when he said he was “not expecting a whole lot today. Just looking to have some fun and watch them play on a big stage.” He was “just going to have a good time, watch the game, kind of enjoy it and see what kind of offense Northern can put together against a great defense like Notre Dame.” 

Hope springs eternal, though, and despite his utterly sensible expectations, Wells left the door open just a wee crack, saying “We see upsets in college football, especially in the early weeks, all the time. So, a 3 percent chance is not a zero percent chance.” 

As it turns out, fans and journalists and others who thought they knew what was inevitable don’t coach the Huskies, and they don’t make the plays the coaches draw up. 

No drama? By the end of the game Saturday, there’d been about as much drama as anyone could possibly tolerate, as the Huskies won one for the ages. What head coach Thomas Hammock called “a program-changing type win.” 

NIU didn’t just step on to the national stage; they commanded it and romped in the spotlight, overcoming an electrifying fourth-quarter Irish touchdown and kicking a go-ahead field goal with 31 seconds left, then blocking an Irish field goal attempt as time ran out.  

Want drama? Five plays after Irish QB Riley Leonard got outside for an 11-yard score to cap a 13-play, 75-yard opening drive, the Notre Dame kickoff landed less than a foot from the goal line, then bounced back toward the field, pinning the Huskies at the 2-yard line to start their first possession. 

NIU mascot Victor E. Huskie is in the house (Photo by Bill Dwyer/For Chronicle Media)

After two Antario Brown rushes and a QB keeper gave them a first down and some breathing room, Brown took a slant pass from Ethan Hampton and scampered 83 yards for a TD that Hampton called “huge” in setting the tone going forward.  

Want more drama? With the Irish ahead 14-13 and driving with seven minutes remaining, Huskie cornerback Amariyun Knighten picked off a deep pass over the middle and returned it to midfield.  

Need more? With 31 seconds left on the clock, senior kicker Kanon Woodill made a 35-yard field goal to put the Huskies up by two. 

Still not enough? As the final seconds ran off the clock, Huskie Cade Haberman blocked Mitch Jeter’s 62-yard attempt to ice the victory. 

As the Huskies ran shouting to their locker room with their arms above their heads or celebrated with friends in the stands, William Soraguan, a former Huskie who played from 2017 to 2022, reached down and grabbed Woodill in a bear hug.  

“We won some big ones when I was there, but I don’t think any bigger than this,” he said.  

“MAC champs! MAC champs!” his friends chanted. Soraguan said he thought the Huskies, who were preseason picks to finish third in the MAC this season, could have a season like no other.  

“Hell yeah, man. If they keep playing like this, great defense, even better on offense, complimentary football, (that) wins every day.” 

And 97 percent odds of winning doesn’t guarantee success, as more that 70,000 disappointed Irish fans can attest. 

Former NIU player Liam Soraghan congratulates kicker Kanon Woodill, whose field goal with 31 seconds left beat Notre Dame.(Photo by Bill Dwyer/For Chronicle Media)

For some, the vibe was in the air before the first half ended. Andy Cobert first saw an NIU football game in 1968 when his dad took him to a game as a boy. Cobert spent 30 years at NIU, as an administrator for the Laredo Taft campus NIU runs in Oregon, Illinois. 

He’s also been a sports reporter for 30 years, and always a Huskie fan. He was sitting in the press box Saturday, covering the game for the Rochelle News-Leader. 

“I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so good as a Huskies fan as I’ve felt in this first half,” he said. “I’m sitting here basking in the glory of the Notre Dame campus, and my alma mater is taking it to Notre Dame. 

“I’ve got a good feeling,” he said, smiling. “NIU is manhandling them.”  

Notre Dame, he said, didn’t look in control. “That vibe, I don’t feel it. I don’t think Notre Dame is going to take control. I think it’s going to be a close game.” 

As hoots and whoops and hollers echoed from the NIU locker room behind the door, Hammock stepped up before the media. He allowed that the Huskies’ play wasn’t perfect, but that “we played hard. We stayed together, they worked hard, and they made enough plays to win the game.” 

Nobody contributed more to NIU’s triumph than Brown (who, like many elite athletes do, praised his O-line and his fellow backs for their blocking and other support).  

Luke Skartveldt (53), a redshirt freshman offensive lineman, beams with delight after Northern Illinois topples Notre Dame,16-14.

Hammock suggested he was thinking a bit about past glories before the game when he spoke with Brown. “I told him before the game, ‘We need a Mike Turner performance,’” Hammock said, referring to All-American and NIU Football Hall of Fame back Mike Turner, who played on the 2003 team that defeated No. 21 Alabama. 

Hammock called Brown “one of the best backs in the country,” and “one of the best kept secrets in America.” Though of course, after Brown’s stellar performance on national television, there’s no more secret. 

“Did I believe he could have a game like this?” Hammock said. “I did.”  

As his star back fought cramps in the fourth quarter, Hammock told him, “You did more than enough to help us win the game.” It was time for others to take up the load and execute, and they did.  

But for all the heroics by Brown and Woodill and Knighten and others, Hammock believes NIU’s greatest strength is the depth of its roster, and what he calls the team’s “next-man-up mentality.” 

“We got 80 guys that we can go win with,” he said. “We got a bunch of guys stepping up in the moment, and they believe.” 

For Hammock, Saturday was, at least for the moment, the culmination of a six-year process involving hard work, preparation, and faith in the program and the team.  

“We develop, we recruit, find the right type of kids who want to work, want to grind and are not affected by outside things,” Hammock said. “We built a great culture here. A family atmosphere where guys love coming into the building.” 

“We do our step by step along the way,” Hammock said. “We don’t take any shortcuts.” 

Hammock also admitted he was grateful for having bye week to allow for everyone to appreciate what they accomplished. 

Hammock meets the media after the victory over Notre Dame. (Photo by Bill Dwyer/For Chronicle Media)

“If we had another game (in a week) can you imagine trying to get guys (settled down) and, hey, you guys gotta execute, bah-bah-bah?” He asked rhetorically. “So, we got some time to get ’em back, let ’em enjoy this, have some fun.” 

As if not quite believing it himself yet, Hammock said, “They believed, they did it and they got the reward.” 

“We won the game!” he added with the biggest of smiles across his face.