No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 8 BYU are heading into Saturday night in Provo with exactly what they were after.
This one has all the trappings: a top-10 matchup at LaVell Edwards Stadium, ABC in prime time, and ESPN’s “College GameDay” rolling in beforehand. For BYU, it’s the kind of stage the program has spent decades building toward - and the kind of stage it has visited in pieces before, through a long list of unforgettable moments.
There was Jim McMahon’s 46-45 Hail Mary win over SMU in 1980. Robbie Bosco fighting through injury in 1984 to toss the decisive touchdown against Michigan and deliver BYU’s first national championship.
Ty Detmer torching No. 1 Miami in 1990.
John Beck beating Utah with an expiration-time strike to Jonny Harline in 2006. Max Hall and McKay Jacobsen stunning No.
3 Oklahoma in 2009. Zach Wilson launching a 63-yard pass to Micah Simon at Tennessee in 2019.
Jaren Hall throwing and catching touchdowns in a 26-20 double-overtime win over No. 9 Baylor in 2022.
Now the Cougars get a different kind of moment: one that arrives with the whole college football spotlight pointed straight at Provo.
The setup is almost too neat. When the final College Football Playoff rankings came out last December, BYU and Notre Dame were the first two teams left out.
BYU finished 11-2 and fell short after taking a second loss to No. 4 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game.
The Cougars would have punched their ticket with another top-10 win somewhere else on the schedule.
Notre Dame finished 10-2 after winning 10 straight, but early losses to Miami and Texas A&M left the Irish outside the field. They were so frustrated that they skipped the Pop-Tarts Bowl and ended their season, turning down a meeting with BYU in the process.
Not long after, the two programs saw a chance to help themselves. Both were staring at future schedules that needed more substance, and both wanted more punch than what was ahead. So they lined up a home-and-home series, with each side hoping the matchup would give its résumé more heft.
Saturday is the first part of that bargain.
It comes at a good time for both teams. Since that CFP reveal, BYU and Notre Dame are both 6-0.
The Cougars added a win over No. 22 Georgia Tech in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Over the last three seasons, Notre Dame is 30-4 and BYU is 28-4. The Irish have won 16 straight games.
The Cougars have won 15 consecutive night games.
And with Notre Dame’s strength of schedule at 63 and BYU’s at 86, the winner should walk away with exactly the kind of boost both programs were looking for. The loser still has plenty of season left, and the same basic opportunity will be there again next year when the teams meet in South Bend.
That’s the practical side of it. But for BYU, this is also something bigger: a chance to make the kind of memory the program has been built on. A win over Notre Dame at home would fit right alongside all the other nights Cougars fans still talk about, and it would give this 2026 date a place in that memory lane too.
In Other News...
BYU Just Made A Clear Statement Before Notre Dame
BYU is leaning into tradition for one of the biggest stages on its schedule. The Cougars announced they will wear their classic royal home jerseys with white pants and a white helmet, finished with a royal blue facemask, for the matchup against Notre Dame, a look that calls back to the programs identity from the 1980s and 1990s.
It is also a deliberate choice in a season where BYU has rotated through several uniform combinations, but wanted something more recognizable for this one. The classic set was last worn in November 2025 against TCU, and the selection feels aimed at matching the moment as much as the opponent, with the Cougars choosing a familiar brand for a high-profile game. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Added A Tradition Twist To Notre Dame Week
BYU is leaning into a familiar look for one of its biggest nonconference stages of the season, unveiling a white helmet with the royal blue stretch Y logo, a royal blue uniform and white pants with royal blue stripes for Saturdays game against Notre Dame. The timing adds a little extra texture to a matchup that already carries plenty of tradition, especially with the Cougars taking a throwback route that has not been used against the Irish since 1993.
The combination was last worn in a game against TCU the previous year, giving this weekends choice a bit of an old-school feel without straying far from BYUs identity. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. MDT, with ABC carrying the game, and the uniforms add one more layer to a meeting that figures to draw plenty of attention well before the opening snap. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Showed UCF What Makes This 2026 Matchup Dangerous
A glance at UCFs 2026 schedule already shows why road trips and league games in that stretch will not come with much margin for error. BYU, Pittsburgh and Houston have all put themselves into the AP Top 25 mix, and recent results across that group have offered a reminder that these are not just name-brand opponents but teams capable of swinging games with quarterback play, timely defense and enough depth to make September or later meetups feel bigger than they might look on paper.
BYUs latest win over Iowa State, with Bear Bachmeier steering the offense, is the one that should especially catch UCFs attention because it underscores how quickly a ranked team can dictate terms when the quarterback settles in and the game script tilts its way. Pittsburghs stumble against North Carolina and Houstons win over Kansas State only add to the picture: UCFs future opponents are going to arrive with different strengths, different forms of momentum and plenty to prove, which is exactly what makes that 2026 slate feel dangerous before it even gets here. [Read more 🡒]