BYU’s October 17 showdown with Notre Dame is already behaving like a premium event, and the secondary market has made that painfully clear for Cougar fans.
Some resale listings for the game at LaVell Edwards Stadium are climbing past $16,000 for a single seat, according to ABC4 in Salt Lake City. That kind of number is extreme, of course, but even the lower end of the market tells the same story: demand is sky-high.
As of this week, the get-in price on StubHub was around $500. Bleacher seats were listed near $600, and some chairback seats were approaching $1,600. For a regular-season college football game, those are massive prices - but this one has all the ingredients to push the market up.
Notre Dame’s last visit to LaVell Edwards Stadium came in 2004, when BYU beat the Fighting Irish 20-17. Since then, the Irish have controlled the series, holding a 7-2 edge and winning the last four meetings. The most recent matchup came in 2022 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, where Notre Dame beat BYU 28-20.
The stakes go well beyond the name on the visiting jersey. Both programs were left out of the 2025 College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame finished No. 10 in the final AP Poll, while BYU landed at No. 11 after an 11-win season and a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game. That gives this October game real weight for both resumes, not just bragging rights.
It also opens a home-and-home series between the schools. BYU will travel to South Bend in 2027.
The Cougars also made a notable scheduling win here. After Cal backed out of its previously scheduled series with BYU, the Cougars replaced the Golden Bears with one of the biggest brands in the sport and still kept seven home games on the 2026 schedule.
For now, the early market says fans are treating this like the kind of game that doesn’t come around often. The only question left is whether those prices cool off before Notre Dame arrives in Provo - or climb even higher.
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BYUs Offense Looks Real Again As One Defensive Concern Lingers
BYU wrapped the first two weeks of fall camp with a scrimmage that offered an encouraging look at one side of the ball the Cougars badly needed to feel good about. The offense came out ahead of the defense, and quarterback Bear Bachmeier has reportedly taken a noticeable step forward from last season, which matters for a team trying to settle into a more confident identity on that side of the field. Add in a deep, talented collection of offensive weapons, and there is at least early evidence that this group can look like more than just a work in progress.
The defense still brings speed, but the bigger question is whether someone will emerge as the clear pass-rushing threat this unit has not yet found. In camp, that remains the lingering concern beneath the overall energy around the roster, because a faster defense is useful, but a disruptive one changes games. BYU has time to sort it out, and the offenses early push gives the program something to build on while the defensive front keeps searching for a true difference-maker. [Read more 🡒]
BYU's Rise Put Kalani Sitake Under One Pressure Fans Will Feel
Kalani Sitakes rise at BYU has come with the kind of momentum the program has not seen in years. After two strong seasons, 23 victories and a preseason Top-15 spot for 2026, he has pushed the program into a different tier while working to build a staff with strong cultural ties, upgrade training and facilities and keep the roster moving forward in the transfer portal and NIL era. A new contract, several key staff elevations and a highly ranked 2026 recruiting class have only reinforced the sense that BYU is trying to turn that surge into something more lasting.
The challenge now is less about what Sitake has already built and more about what comes next. He has made roster continuity and player development central to the programs identity, and the Cougars have positioned themselves to matter in a way they have not for a long time. The question hanging over the next phase is whether the support behind that push keeps matching the ambition on the field, because in this era the gap between a good season and a truly sustained one usually shows up somewhere off the field first. [Read more 🡒]