Sunday Notebook Thoughts on BYU Upsetting Notre Dame in Historic Game

What a night in Provo. The Cougars took down the no. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and skyrocketed up to no. 2 in the AP Poll. That's the highest ranking for BYU since 1984 when the Cougars won the national championship.

Why not BYU?

Coming into the season, many wondered if there was a non-traditional power that could rise like Indiana did last year and compete for a national title. After Saturday, why not BYU?

There are some parallels between this BYU team and the Indiana team in 2025. In 2024, Indiana went 11-1 and got blown out by the only playoff team it played. The Hoosiers made the playoff and got blown out by Notre Dame. Yes, Indiana won a lot of games that year but they were a tier below the best teams in the sport. They finished the season 11-2. In 2025, BYU went 11-1 and got blown out by the only playoff team it faced: Texas Tech. The Cougars had another opportunity against the Red Raiders later that year and got blown out again.

The following year in 2025, Indiana got off to a strong start. Because of their losses the season before, many did not take the Hoosiers seriously until they beat a legitimate top five team in Oregon. Few national analysts have taken BYU seriously this season. That all changed on Saturday as the win over Notre Dame completely changed the perception of the program.

This is an unprecedented era of college football. Everything you knew about the sport five years ago has to be thrown out the window. Gone are the days where only five or six schools can compete for a national title. With record roster turnover, talent being spread out more than ever before, and the 12-team playoff, more teams than ever before can rise up and win it all. BYU is as deserving as any team in the country to be in that conversation.

From a resume perspective, BYU probably should be the top team in the country. The Cougars are the only undefeated team in college football with a win over a top five team. BYU also has another top 25 win over Arizona. BYU has the best resume in the sport and the ESPN strength of record rankings reflect that. BYU jumped up to no. 1 in the strength of record rankings after Saturday.

If Indiana can do it, why not BYU?

The Unsung Heroes

After the game, Bear Bachmeier was getting all the love from national analysts - and for good reason. Bachmeier was fantastic and cemented himself as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. However, there were other unsung heroes that played critical roles. Without these players, BYU doesn't beat Notre Dame. For us here at BYU On SI, their efforts didn't got unnoticed.

Bott Mulitalo: A true freshman right tackle that was not only paying for Lone Peak High School last season, he was also playing his first year of offensive line last sesaon. The former defensive lineman flipped over to the offensive side just over a year ago. On Saturday night, he didn't allow a single quarterback pressure against a ND defense that had the best pass rush in college football.

Matthias Leach: BYU cornerbacks Therrian Alexander III and Jayven Williams left the game on the same drive. Leach was the first cornerback off the bench and he was playing his first non garbage-time snaps of his career....against the no. 2 team in the country. Leach didn't flinch and played in the most critical moments of the second half. Leach was defending the wide receiver in the flat on the final play.

Raider Damuni: Raider Damuni did not look like a player coming off injury against Notre Dame. Damuni had a team-high six stops and he was critical in slowing down a Notre Dame rushing attack that was gashing BYU in the first half. BYU's defense is much better with Damuni in the lineup.

The BYU ball-carriers: Notre Dame came into this game forcing nearly two fumbles per game. BYU ball-carriers did not cough up the football once and that may have been the difference in the game. Losing a fumble, combined with the special teams miscues, would have been too much to overcome.

That Notre Dame Win is Going to Age Well

That was a legitimate national title contender that BYU welcomed into LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night. The Fighting Irish are superb against the run and their passing attack is up there with the best in the nation. CJ Carr and his receivers made countless plays to fight their way back into that game. There is a reason they had won 16-straight games by 10 or more points.

Notre Dame is going to beat every team on its schedule not named Miami, and we would pick the Fighting Irish to beat the Hurricans at home.

Notre Dame fell only two spots to no. 4 after losing to BYU. In my opinion, that is a major sign of respect towards BYU.

This game will be critical for BYU's resume regardless, but it could be life-saving for BYU's playoff hopes if BYU drops a game to a ranked team like Utah. That win over Notre Dame will keep BYU in the playoff conversation even with a loss somewhere down the road. And since Notre Dame is still in the top five, BYU could still be in top five consideration with a loss.

In other words, the win over Notre Dame gives BYU something it has never had in its quest for a playoff berth: wiggle room.

The best is yet to come for this BYU football team

BYU handed Notre Dame (in a way the box score does not fully reflect) without its best offensive weapon in LJ Martin. If BYU can survive the next few weeks until LJ Martin returns, hopefully against Utah, you could argue that his injury may be the best thing that could have happened to this team.

With Martin in the lineup, BYU was so dominant in the run game that, frankly, it didn't need to throw the football very much. As a result, BYU's passing attack lacked consistency early in the season. There were times in games where BYU would go multiple drives in a row without throwing the ball beyond 10 yards. Against Iowa State, for example, BYU probably could have run for a lot of yards and controlled the game with a healthy LJ Martin.

Without Martin, BYU threw for over 300 yards and established a rhythm in the passing game that we hadn't seen this season. Once LJ Martin returns, he could take BYU's offense from great to elite. The Cougars could be up there with the best, and most balanced, offenses in college football.

Given the injuries that BYU suffered early in the season and the players that have returned, or will return in the coming weeks, BYU's best football is still ahead of them as long as Bear Bachmeier stays healthy.

It's been a rough couple of weeks for the "Bear can't throw" crowd

It was only a few weeks ago that BYU won an ugly game on the road against TCU. Many analysts questioned whether Bear Bachmeier could throw the ball well enough for BYU to beat the best teams in college football.

With two more weeks of data, we can definitively say that the rain was to blame for Bachmeier's struggles against TCU. Outside of that game, Bachmeier has been outstanding through the air. The Cougars had to push the ball downfield against Notre Dame. Outside of one throw to Kyler Kasper, Bachmeier protected the football and made high-level throws from start to finish.

His throw to Legend Glasker on the final drive was one of the best throws we've seen him make in a BYU uniform. He threw it with just enough touch to get over the linebacker and just enough velocity to get it there before the safety could arrive. Bachmeier was calm, cool, and dialed in from the opening snap. Bachmeier has become of the best quarterbacks in college football and the nation is beginning to notice.

BYU fans put on a show for some fantastic recruits

There were numerous high-end recruits in attendance for BYU's win over Notre Dame. This game is going to pay dividends not only for the 2026 season, but beyond. There will be players that commit to BYU in the future that were influenced by the atmosphere of this game.

BYU is building something special under the direction of Kalani Sitake and the snowball is just starting to gain momentum as it rolls down the hill. The returns have the potential to be exponential in the coming years if the BYU staff can turn the current success into future talent.

The BYU crowd should understand that the atmosphere they create at games materially moves the needle for these recruits. It doesn't hurt that BYU won the game, but the atmosphere would have left a major impression regardless. Getting the win was just the cherry on top of a perfect night in LaVell Edwards Stadium.

How good has BYU's depth been?

Multiple BYU starters have missed time due to injury this season. At every turn, BYU backups have filled in and played at a very high level. When Raider Damuni went down, Tommy Prassas filled in. There was no drop-off when Jake Clifton started in place of Isaiah Glasker. When Andrew Gentry went down, Bott Mulitalo stepped into the starting lineup as a true freshman. Preston Rex played his best game as a BYU running back against Notre Dame without LJ Martin and Sione Moa in the lineup.

This is the deepest team of the Kalani Sitake era and Saturday was the best example yet. In the second half, BYU cornerbacks Jayven Williams and Therrian Alexander III suffered injuries on the same drive. Suddenly, unproven cornerbacks Matthias Leach and Jordyn Criss were thrust into action against an elite Notre Dame wide receiver corps.

Leach had never played non garbage-time snaps for the BYU defense. He played 33 snaps against Notre Dame after his number was called - and he played well in the most important moments. Leach allowed only 14 receiving yards. He was on the field for the final Notre Dame drives.

BYU made the decision to play its depth as early as possible in September games has paid dividends in its October games.

The Big 12 title picture is coming into focus and so is a Big 12 pecking order

While BYU was playing Notre Dame, Houston took down Oklahoma State in a potential Big 12 title elimination game. The Big 12 title picture is coming into focus at the midway point of the season. There are six teams in the Big 12 that have separated themselves from the rest of the pack: BYU, Utah, Texas Tech, Houston, Arizona, and Oklahoma State. Within those six teams, there are two tiers.

Tier One: BYU, Utah, Texas Tech

Tier one is home to the only undefeated teams in league play. Odds are one of those three teams will win the league according to FPI. There is an 87% chance that one of those three teams will win the league. Those three teams have separated themselves from the rest of the conference over the last two seasons. In games against the rest of the league, BYU, Utah, and Texas Tech are 29-1 over the last two seasons.

The new 16-team version of the Big 12 needed some premier brands to emerge when Texas and Oklahoma left. BYU, Texas Tech, and Utah have seized the opportunity.

Tier Two: Houston, Arizona, Oklahoma State

There is a 12% chance that one of these three teams could win the Big 12, per FPI. In other words, there is a 99% chance that one of six teams in our two tiers will win the league title.

All three of Houston, Arizona, and Oklahoma State can play their way into the conference title race. Houston will take on Utah next week, Arizona will take on both Utah and Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State will host Texas Tech in November.

All eyes on the Holy War

BYU and Utah are both ranked in the top 10. The two arch rivals are on a crash course for an unprecedented rivalry game next month. Using FPI game probabilities, there is a 66% chance that BYU will be 8-0 (and could be ranked no. 1 at that point) when it travels to take on Utah. There is a 53% chance that Utah will be 8-0 as well. If that happens, Utah could be approaching the top five in the rankings.

How does no. 1 BYU vs no. 5 Utah sound? There's a real scenario that the 2026 Holy War could be the biggest BYU-Utah game of all time.

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