Notre Dame Holds On For Third Straight Win, Beating #16 BYU

Notre Dame’s first trip to Las Vegas ended in spades. The Fighting Irish (3-2) just missed on their second straight game with more than 500 yards of total offense, but they rode the hot hand of All-American candidate tight end Michael Mayer for a 28-20 Shamrock Series win over BYU (4-2).

Notre Dame finished the night with 496 yards of total offense, with 118 of it coming on Mayer’s team-high 11 catches en route to becoming Notre Dame’s all-time leader in tight end receptions. His 118 yards were just two fewer than BYU quarterback Jaren Hall threw for the entire night.

The Notre Dame defense got things going on the right foot on the game’s very first play when TaRiq Bracy intercepted Hall’s underthrown deep pass. It gave the Irish offense the ball at the BYU 45. It was also the Irish defense’s first interception of the season.

The Irish drove to the BYU eight-yard line, but the drive ended when Drew Pyne threw behind Logan Diggs on a slant to the quarterback’s right on 3rd and five. Blake Grupe’s 26-yard field goal made it 3-0 Irish.

Notre Dame’s second drive ended with Jon Sot punting from his own end zone after the Irish gained just one yard on three plays. Sot’s punt was lined and Hobbs Nyberg returned it 42 yards to the Irish 26 before he was pushed out of bounds.

The Cougars had 1st and goal at the Irish three, but Notre Dame stuffed three run plays. BYU rolled the dice and went four it on 4th and goal from the two, and took the lead when Hall hit a wide open Kody Epps on a pass to the left flat and into the end zone. The extra point missed to make it 6-3 BYU.

Mayer had five catches for 49 yards in the first quarter. His fifth grab picked up 13 yards to move the Irish to the BYU 29. It also tied Tyler Eifert for the most receptions by a tight end in program history with 140.

Pyne found the big tight end two plays later for a leaping 24-yard touchdown pass to put the Irish back on top 10-6. Mayer tallied four catches for 56 yards on the 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to become the program’s all-time leading tight end with his 141st career catch.

After the Irish defense forced a 3 and out punt on BYU’s possession, Notre Dame drove to the BYU four-yard line. Facing 4th-and-1, Audric Estime was stuffed running against an eight-man box, giving the Cougars the ball at their own four.

The Notre Dame defense came up big again on BYU’s first play when Jack Kiser blitzed and sacked Hall in the end zone for a safety. Kiser’s second sack of the season made it a 12-6 lead. Notre Dame started at its own 21 after the Cougar free kick.

The Irish drove 79 yards in 10 plays to find the end zone with 1:03 to play in the first half. The drive culminated with a 30-yard pass from Pyne to Jayden Thomas, who went up over BYU defensive back Jakob Robinson for his first career touchdown to make it 18-6 Irish. Notre Dame went for two, but Pyne’s pass to Mayer was high and incomplete.

Despite just a 12-point halftime lead, Notre Dame dominated the first 30 minutes of the game statistically. They had 259 yards of total offense to BYU’s 67. Pyne was 13 of 17 for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Mayer led the passing attack with eight catches for 83 yards.

BYU’s Hall, who entered the game with a 70% completion rate with 12 touchdown passes and just one interception, was just 3 for 8 for 11 yards with a TD and an interception.

The Irish opened the second half with the football and churned their way down the field for another Pyne touchdown pass to Mayer, this one for 19 yards. It capped an 11-play drive that covered 75 yards and chewed nearly seven minutes off the clock to make it 25-6.

Pyne converted a key 3rd and 13 on the drive when he hit Mayer for 13 yards. He had ample time in the pocket and found Mayer late in the progression. On the next play, he pitched to Estime after a BYU pressure. Estime gained 13 yards after hurdling a Cougar defender at the end of the run.

BYU responded though. Hall hit Kody Epps deep down the middle for a 53-yard touchdown strike to pull the Cougars within 12 points of the Irish. Epps ran 33 yards after the catch on the play. Prior to that, BYU had four total yards after catch in the game. Epps led BYU with four receptions for 100 yards and two scores.Hall was 9 of 17 for 120 yards.

After a three and out by the Irish offense, the Notre Dame defense seemingly had the BYU offense right where they wanted them. But with the Cougars facing 3rd and 18 from their own five, Lopini Katoa cranked out a 20-yard run for a first down.

The Cougars then marched down the field to reach the end zone on their second straight possession when Chris Brooks scored on a 28-yard run to cut Notre Dame’s precarious lead to 25-20.

The Irish offense seemed destined to score again on the ensuing drive, before mishap struck. Pyne hit Thomas for a 3- yard gain on the drive’s first play, but Pyne was intercepted by Max Tooley after a BYU lineman batted the ball at the line of scrimmage.

Notre Dame’s defense held the Cougars to a three and out and Notre Dame turned it into three points after a 20-yard Grupe field goal at the end of the ensuing possession.

Estime cranked off a 46-yard run to make it 1st and goal at the seven, but two runs between the tackles and a screen pass to Mayer were stuffed by BYU. The field goal made it 28-20 with 6:07 remaining.

BYU drove to the Irish 27 and faced 4th and one when they called time out with 3:42 to play. The Cougars put the ball in Katoa’s hands, but his run to the right was stuffed at the line by Jayson Ademilola, giving Notre Dame the ball back with an eight-point lead with 3:37 remaining.

A holding call on Josh Lugg on 2nd down made 2nd and 17, but Logan Diggs hit a 33-yard run between the tackles to move the ball to the Cougar 47. BYU called its final two timeouts and then Estime gained four yards on a toss to the left to pick up a 1st down with 1:25 to play.

Victory formation came next and after Pyne took a knee twice, the Irish finished the 28-20 victory for their third consecutive win.

Pyne finished his night by going 22 for 28 for 262 yards and three touchdown passes. Mayer hauled-in 11 catches for 118 yards, while Thomas had three grabs for 74 yards. Estime averaged 6.9 yards on 14 carries for 97 yards.

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