Rece Davis is in Provo for a big football weekend, but the ESPN host has one priority before he settles in for No. 2 Notre Dame against No. 8 BYU: he wants his first dirty soda.
Davis arrived early as part of ESPN’s “College GameDay” team, which will broadcast from the grass outside Heritage Halls on BYU’s campus. He’s been around Utah football plenty, but he said this stop comes with its own flavor - in more ways than one.
“I hope I’m a man of few vices,” Davis told local media Friday. “But my primary vice is Diet Dr Pepper, and I drink it straight or on the rocks. So we’re going to find out if I can live with this ‘dirty soda’ concept.
“I hear it’s a wonderful thing,” he added. “And I hear there’s one close.”
Davis also had plenty of praise for the atmosphere waiting on Saturday, calling the crowd “electric,” and he’s looking forward to having former ESPN colleague and BYU quarterback Steve Young as the celebrity guest picker.
“He was like a daredevil on the field,” Davis said. “He was like Cosmo before Cosmo started doing stunts. I want to see that kind of energy from Steve on Saturday.”
The game itself gives BYU a massive chance to make a statement. Notre Dame leads the series 7-2 and beat the Cougars 28-20 four years ago in Las Vegas.
Back then, BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier was a rising sophomore at Murrieta Valley High School. Now he’ll try to guide the Cougars in what many are calling the biggest home game in program history.
ESPN analyst Steve Coughlin said BYU has a real shot if Bachmeier’s running game and the Cougars’ defense show up against the Irish.
“Bear’s played in big games before,” he said. “You’ve got to rely on your quarterback and your defense if you’re going to upset a top-five team.”
Coughlin, known as “Stanford Steve” at ESPN, spent time around Provo this week, taking a drive up Provo Canyon and visiting Sundance Mountain Resort while soaking in Utah’s “picturesque” scenery. He also came away impressed by Bachmeier, pointing to his dual-threat skill set, his 15-2 record as a starter and his role in leading BYU to the Big 12 championship game as a true freshman.
He also made a little joke about where the quarterback came from.
“I’m just a little biased, because you guys stole Taysom Hill from Stanford, and then you stole Bear Bachmeier, so it’s hurting,” Coughlin said cheekily.
“The list is long,” he added when reminded that defensive end Nusi Taumoepeau also flipped his commitment from Stanford before signing with the Cougars.
BYU’s defense will need to hold up its end, too. The Cougars rank No. 7 nationally in total defense and have help from players such as Legend Glasker, with a possible return for Sione Moa, plus a unit led by Cade Uluave, Cannon DeVries and Evan Johnson.
Coughlin also mentioned BYU’s “Roar of Cougars” student section and the expected crowd of 62,073 at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and he said getting a lead could be huge.
“Keep the crowd involved,” he said. “I think a lead would be huge. If (BYU) can play with a lead, we haven’t seen Notre Dame much without one, and we know their streak of winning games by double-digits.”
Davis said the matchup could also say something bigger about the Big 12. He called the league “sneaky deep and good this year,” and pointed to the conference’s quarterback play as a big reason why.
“I think the Big 12 is sneaky deep and good this year,” Davis said, “largely because there’s a really good collection of quarterbacks. This is the ultimate team game, but try winning these games without a good quarterback. And there are a lot of them in the Big 12.”
That group includes Bachmeier, and Notre Dame has its own star in CJ Carr. Davis said Carr currently has the third-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy.
“Bear’s big and physical,” Davis said. “I think he’s really improved as a passer.
“I think CJ is just a surgeon. He’s getting better all the time. He’s a little more athletic than you think, though he’s certainly not the runner that Bear is, but he’s a tremendous passer.”
The spotlight from this game reaches beyond BYU and Notre Dame, too. The result will feed into the conversation around BYU’s playoff chances, and the Cougars may not need to win to prove they belong among the sport’s better teams. They enter as 10.5-point underdogs, though Davis said a victory would obviously make the point much louder.
Still, before the rankings talk and playoff chatter take over, there’s the soda stop.
“Diet Dr Pepper is clearly the nectar of the gods - and I don’t even have a deal with them,” Davis said with a laugh. “I’ve never gotten one free can of Diet Dr.
Pepper, or been in their ‘Fansville’ commercials. Do you think Lane Kiffin drinks Diet Dr.
Pepper? There’s no shot of that.
But you know I do, and I get nothing.”
In Other News...
BYU Faces A Program Defining Test In A Brutal Top 10 Showdown
Brigham Young steps into one of its biggest regular-season stages in years Saturday night, hosting Notre Dame in a clash between two unbeaten teams at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The setting alone gives it weight, but the matchup adds even more intrigue: the Irish arrive with the nations top total defense, while BYU is trying to keep rolling in front of a national audience on ABC.
The Cougars will have to navigate the game without their top running back because of injury, a challenge that makes the offensive approach even more important against a defense like Notre Dames. For BYU, this is the kind of top-10 measuring stick that can shape how the season is viewed long after Saturday night ends. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Fans Should Hate Where This Playoff Debate Is Headed
Nick Sabans latest College Football Playoff idea is the kind of proposal that gets plenty of attention because of who is saying it, not necessarily because of where the sport seems headed. He has floated a 16-team field instead of 24, and for BYU fans, the debate matters because the size of the playoff will help determine whether programs outside the traditional Power Four can realistically keep breaking through or whether the safest path stays mostly inside the same familiar lanes.
The bigger issue is that playoff expansion is no longer just about competitive balance, it is about money and leverage, and those forces usually push the conversation beyond the tidy version of the sport that coaches prefer. A 24-team format would create more openings for teams like BYU and would reshape the value of conference championship games across the country, but the push and pull around the final number says plenty about how college football is choosing to organize its future. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Faces A Tougher Notre Dame Test If Two Defenders Return
Notre Dame may look a little closer to whole when it meets BYU, and that matters for a Cougars offense that has to navigate a defense still built around speed and depth even after injuries. Head coach Marcus Freeman said cornerback Leonard Moore and defensive lineman Jason Onye have taken practice reps and are trending toward playing, which puts both players in position to be available after missing significant time.
Moore sat out the previous game with a concussion, while Onye has been sidelined since the season opener with an ankle injury. If both are back on the field, it gives Notre Dame a welcome boost on the back end and up front, and it raises the degree of difficulty for BYU in a game that already figures to demand clean execution. [Read more 🡒]