Kirk Herbstreit had no trouble identifying what makes Saturday night in Provo different.
With ESPN’s College GameDay set up ahead of No. 2 Notre Dame’s visit to No.
8 BYU, the analyst took a moment to single out the scene around him and the people filling it. Over the noise of heavy “B-Y-U!”
chants, Herbstreit said, “This is one of the more underrated atmospheres to me in the country and one of the more intimidating atmospheres that we have in college football,”
He went even further in praising the turnout near the broadcast set. “First, we’ve got to just pay homage to this crowd right here,” he said.
“Unbelievable effort this week. They’ve been out here camping out since, like, Tuesday, Wednesday.”
That backdrop is part of what makes Saturday’s showdown so notable. It’s the first top-10 matchup ever played at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and it also marks GameDay’s second trip to Provo and first since 2009, when TCU beat BYU 38-7. The Cougars are 0-4 all-time in games featured on the show, and former BYU quarterback Steve Young is the guest picker.
Herbstreit also made it clear he sees this as a serious proving ground for Notre Dame. The Irish have won 16 straight games, and every one of those victories has come by double digits. “This will be a great test for Notre Dame to come in here and deal with this, because it’ll be their greatest challenge up to this point,” Herbstreit said.
That ties back to something he said earlier this offseason, when he called Notre Dame’s schedule “kind of embarrassing” compared with what Big Ten and SEC contenders face.
BYU will have to handle the Irish without LJ Martin, who is out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury he suffered at TCU, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Herbstreit pointed to the impact of losing the running back and what that means for Bear Bachmeier.
“The challenging part for BYU: you take LJ Martin, the power running back, out of this offense, and it’s just going to put more on Bear Bachmeier,” Herbstreit said. “Not only his ability to throw the football, but as we saw last week against Iowa State, his ability to also run the ball, I think, would be huge, because you have to have balance against this Notre Dame defense today.”
Bachmeier showed that kind of balance in BYU’s 24-10 win over Iowa State on Oct. 9, throwing for a season-high 329 yards and two touchdowns while also recording his first career 100-yard rushing game. After that win, Kalani Sitake said, “We know Bear can throw the ball, so I feel good about Bear throwing the ball.”
And the defense Bachmeier is facing is no ordinary unit. Scott noted that, “The Irish haven’t allowed a run longer than 15 yards all season.
Best in the nation.” Notre Dame enters the game at 6-0 and leads the country in total defense at 214.2 yards allowed per game.
The Irish also sit first in the Fremeau Efficiency Index’s defensive rating and ESPN’s Football Power Index defensive efficiency.
Notre Dame hasn’t played in Provo since BYU won the 2004 season opener 20-17. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
ET on ABC. ESPN host Rece Davis has already made his pick for the game.
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Notre Dame Just Got A Painful Reminder About Its Biggest Problem
Notre Dames trip to LaVell Edwards Stadium ended with a familiar sense of frustration, as the Fighting Irish came up short in a 28-24 loss to Brigham Young. The Irish spent much of the afternoon playing from behind before finally seizing a late lead, only to see the Cougars answer again in the closing minutes. It was the kind of game that tested every phase, with momentum swinging back and forth and neither side willing to let go easily.
The late sequence only added to the sting for Notre Dame, which had a comeback chance slip away after a significant defensive ejection helped shape the games tense finish. Even after taking control late, the Irish could not finish the job, and BYUs score under two minutes remaining left Notre Dame to settle for another hard lesson in how thin the margin can be against quality opposition. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames New Starting Five Says Plenty About Shrewsberrys Reset
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BYU Got A Huge Halftime Break From Notre Dames Costly Blunder
Notre Dame had a chance to go into halftime with momentum in Provo, but a late-second-quarter sequence turned into a costly missed opportunity. Trailing BYU 21-10, the Irish were trying to squeeze out one more play before the break when quarterback CJ Carr went to spike the ball and lost the snap, giving the Cougars a turnover instead of a shot at points.
The mistake not only erased a potential scoring chance, it handed BYU a huge lift at the exact moment Notre Dame needed something clean to settle things down. In a game already leaning against the Irish, the blunder made the halftime margin feel even heavier and left Notre Dame with a bigger hole to climb out of after the break. [Read more 🡒]