Notre Dame Comes Up Short In Loss To BYU
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Bear Bachmeier accounted for four touchdowns to lead No. 8 BYU to a 28-24 upset of No. 2 Notre Dame. Bachmeier ran for two touchdowns, threw another and caught a touchdown pass to help the Cougars (6-0) end Notre Dame’s (6-1) 16-game winning streak. The Fighting Irish became the fifth top 10 team of the day to suffer an upset loss. A win likely would have moved them to No. 1 after top ranked Georgia was upset earlier in the day.
Notre Dame took possession with 1:47 remaining after BYU’s only points of the second half, but CJ Carr’s 1st and goal pass from the 9 with :04 seconds left fell incomplete on a pass intended for Jaden Greathouse. Carr was 27 of 49 for 261 yards and was held without a touchdown of any kind for the first time this season.
Greathouse had his most productive game in nearly two years with eight receptions for 125 yards. He became Notre Dame’s third different 100-yard receiver this season while topping the century mark for the first time since his 128-yard game against Ohio State in the Jan. 20, 2025 national championship game.
Bachmeier was 23 of 36 for 234 passing yards. He added 45 yards on 13 rushes with one reception for 15 yards.
BYU got an early break when Irish defensive end Boubacar Traore was flagged for targeting on just the fifth play of the game for a helmet to helmet hit on Bachmeier. The Cougars took advantage when Bachmeier scored from five yards out for the first score of the game at the end of a 75-yard drive. The BYU QB was 5 of 6 for 49 yards passing on the drive, with three of the connections to tight ends.
The Irish responded with points on their first drive, but settled for a 46-yard field goal from Spencer Porath. Jordan Faison had the Cougar secondary beaten deep a play earlier, but an overthrow from Carr into the end zone forced the field goal.
After the Irish defense forced a punt, the offense drove 84 yards to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game on an eight-yard TD run by Nolan James, Jr, who led the Irish rushing attack with 77 yards. The run up the gut came on 3rd and six. James had runs of 26 and 16 yards earlier on the drive as well to help ND go up 10-7 early in the second quarter.
BYU responded on a trick play when wide receiver Kyler Kasper hit Bachmeier on a throwback behind the line of scrimmage. Bachmeier followed a blocker into the end zone for a 15-yard score and a 14-10 Cougar lead.
After the Irish offense went 3-and-out on its next drive, Bachmeier scored his third touchdown of the first half on a one-yard dive into the line to put BYU up 21-10 with 1:29 to play in the half. It marked Notre Dame’s biggest deficit since trailing Miami by 14 points in last year’s season opener.
Notre Dame drove to the BYU 5, but Carr was ruled to have fumbled the ball when he was trying to spike the ball to stop the clock with :06 seconds left. Carr bobbled the snap as he came away from under center and pushed the ball to the ground after mishandling the snap. The Cougars recovered and took a knee to end the half. The unusual play was Notre Dame’s first fumble of the season.
The Irish punted on their first two possessions of the second half, but got a fortunate bounce after the second one when BYU punt returner Cannon Devries saw the ball slip through his hands. Bubba Frazier recovered at the Cougar 41 and the Irish settled for a Porath 31-yard field goal after driving to the 13 to make it 21-13 BYU late in the third.
BYU tried a fake punt from its own 28 on the ensuing drive, but punter Fuller Shurz was dropped by Luke Talich at the 24, where ND took over. They gained just three yards and settled for a third Porath field goal of the night to make it a five-point game.
Notre Dame took its first lead of the game with 9:31 to play when Jonaz Walton scored on a three-yard run. The freshman back crossed the goal line again on a two-point run to make it 24-21 Irish.
BYU moved into Irish territory with a 28-yard pass on 3rd and 4, but Jayden Sanders intercepted Bachmeier on the next play to give the Irish the ball at their own 15. Sanders had just entered the game after DJ McKinney limped off the field to the injury tent. The Irish went 3-and-out and the punt was returned to the Cougar 45.
Bachmeier hit Walker Lyons in the end zone on 3rd and goal from the 6 to put the Cougars back on top with 1:47 to play. The Irish took over with two timeouts remaining and trailing 28-24.
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