Call BYU’s win anything you want just don’t call it a fluke | Opinion

Call BYU's win anything you want just don't call it a fluke Opinion.

Key points

• A one-time would-be Notre Dame commit in 2023 who was spurned by the Fighting Irish for a quarterback, Deuce Knight.
• BYU's three first-half touchdown marches covered 75, 75 and 72 yards; its winning voyage spanned 55 yards throughout 10 plays.
• And, most significantly, Cougars offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick worked silly Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
• Bachmeier and his cohorts indicated out throughout an overpowering first half when they built a 21-10 halftime lead.
• The Cougars upset the Fighting Irish in a final sequence that featured two potentially missed calls.

Call BYU's win anything you want just don't call it a fluke Opinion. John Brice USA TODAY. BYU coach Kalani Sitake on Cougars' dramatic win over Notre Dame.

Notably, the Cougars upset the Fighting Irish in a final sequence that featured two potentially missed calls.

PROVO, UT – Call it culture. Call it another Notre Dame road flop.

Call it what it was: BYU pantsed the visiting Fighting Irish, from the headsets to the field.

No one did more damage than star Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeirer, whose touchdown pass to Walker Lyons with 1: 47 remaining proved to be the game-winner when the last of Irish quarterback CJ Carr's 49 passes fell incomplete. No. 8 BYU 28, No. 2 Notre Dame 24.

What plenty of billed as the biggest regular-season game in BYU history, with ESPN's College GameDay on campus for just the second time and 65, 179 packed into LaVell Edwards Stadium, its largest crowd since Notre Dame's last visit in 2004, concluded in delirium.

More: Notre Dame asked for BYU. The Cougars created the Irish regret it.

Fans politely cascaded onto the field, a sea of blue-clad humanity ready to purchase up every dirty soda Swig could possibly serve.

"It's great, man, " Bachmeier informed USA TODAY Sports concerning being the quarterback of a field-storming signature moment. "Kalani (Sitake) won't like this since I'm talking concerning myself. But out of high school, Notre Dame disrespected me and my family pretty badly. I wasn't gonna lose to those guys. There was no way I was gonna lose to those guys." A Bear with an elephant's memory.

For context, a one-time would-be Notre Dame commit in 2023 who was spurned by the Fighting Irish for a quarterback, Deuce Knight. This person never indicated up in South Bend.

When Notre Dame led 24-21 and Bachmeier had just thrown a potentially devastating interception, they indicated the resolve the Irish so clearly lacked when the game secured tight late.

In practice, the Cougars defense, which had yielded three second-half scores but additionally refused to wither in the red zone, secured a fluke first-half fumble from Carr and a pair of steps in the red zone – the last one deciding the game.

I think those losses sting, and I think that's kind of how people look at BYU, safety Raider Damuni remarked of previous disappointments. They can create it to those sizeable games, and when they obtain to those sizeable games.

"I think having that in the back of our mind the whole offseason, this is the game that we wanted. We wanted to play Notre Dame, and we knew this was an opportunity to earn that respect. And so I think that's the next stepping stone for us: continue to win these major games and still remember what happened." BYU outplayed Notre Dame. Sitake outcoached Marcus Freeman.

Notably, the Cougars were more efficient on funds downs, not to mention touchdowns – four end zone visits to the Irish's two. Notre Dame was forced into 23 third- and fourth-down attempts; BYU had just 13.

I think when they took the lead, 24-21, I think a lot of (fans) were just kind of nervous about it, Sitake remarked, but the players, I love the belief on the sideline. The guys just felt good regarding everything.

"I'm glad that we were able to obtain that score and have the defense win the game. Just really, really pleased with the game. I know that a lot of individuals were questioning whether we belong and whether we can compete in the top 10, things like that. I'm not trying to convince them. I just know that our guys are confident with how we play the game."

Notably, a touchdown triple-play producer, Bachmeier outplayed the NFL-bound Carr when he scored touchdowns rushing, receiving and throwing the game-winner to Lyons.

And, most significantly, Cougars offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick worked silly Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash. This person hadn't run a defense in five years when Freeman hired him in February 2025.

There was a message there, too, in BYU's aggression – be it Roderick's chicanery or Sitake's ill-advised failed fake punt deep in the Cougars' own territory or defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga's mixing blitzes and coverages to befuddle Carr.

"We're not playing to lose, " Bachmeier informed USA TODAY Sports. "So, we put our balls on the chopping block, and we're going to be aggressive, and that's what we did."

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For now, call BYUs win anything you want just dont call it a fluke remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.