‘I’m an Irish Fan. Well Done,’ ‘So Proud of a Pop Tart Bowl Win. Embarrassing’ — BYU’s GameDay Signs Roasting Notre Dame Draw Mixed Reactions
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“College GameDay” came to Provo on Saturday for the first time in 17 years, ahead of No. 8 BYU’s showdown with No. 2 Notre Dame, and Cougars fans came ready, with signs mocking the Fighting Irish for skipping a bowl game last season after missing the College Football Playoff.
Matt Brown’s Photo Draws Laughs Even From Notre Dame’s Side
When Matt Brown posted a photo of signs from the crowd, much of the reaction was laughter, some of it from Notre Dame’s side. The pushback went after a sign that read AI-made and after BYU’s pride in its Pop-Tarts Bowl win.
Brown’s post on Saturday morning said only “Good morning” and let the photo do the rest.
Much of the praise went to the sign on the left of the photo. Pete Sampson, The Athletic’s Notre Dame beat writer, was among those answering Brown’s post, and he graded it.
At least one Irish fan agreed. “That’s pretty funny and I’m an Irish fan. Well done,” the reply read.
Others conceded the point grudgingly, including one account that said simply, “I hate it when they are funny.” Not every reply was charmed, though. Several called one of the signs AI-made, and one asked what the point of AI on a sign was. Another account put the complaint plainly: “AI on handmade signs defeats the whole point.”
The Pushback Targets BYU’s Pop-Tarts Bowl Pride and Playoff Résumé
The bowl jab goes back to December 2025, when BYU and Notre Dame were the first two teams left out of the 12-team playoff and were both invited to the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando. Notre Dame declined, ending its season.
About two weeks after the bracket came out, USA Today reported, a call from Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua led to the home-and-home series that brings the Irish to Provo on Saturday. BYU played Georgia Tech in the bowl instead and won 25-21, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter.
That win became the target. Fans turned the joke on BYU for celebrating a bowl Notre Dame chose to skip, and one fan put it bluntly: “Never in my life seen a program so proud of a pop tart bowl win. Embarrassing.”
Others mocked the Cougars for bragging about Pop-Tarts Bowl wins, for treating the game as significant and for what one called an obsession with playing in it.
One account turned the playoff jab back on BYU: “What does BYU know about making the playoffs,” it asked, followed by a call to beat them down.
CHECK YOUR TEAM’S ODDS:PFN’s CFB FPM
Saturday night starts to answer that. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and Pro Football Network’s College Football Playoff Meter gives Notre Dame (6-0) a 65.1% chance to win.
The meter puts the Irish’s playoff chances at 95.3%, rising to 99.3% with a win or falling to 87.8% with a loss. BYU (5-0) has more riding on it: the meter gives the Cougars a 59.7% chance to make the field, which would climb to 75.4% with a win and drop to 51.3% with a loss.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
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