College GameDay is going somewhere it hasn’t been in 17 years.
Instead of parking itself at one of the obvious SEC hotspots in Week 7, ESPN’s pregame show is heading to Provo, Utah, for the top-10 matchup between BYU and Notre Dame. It will be the first GameDay visit to Provo since 2009.
“Cougar fans, it’s been awhile 💭 We’re headed to Provo for the first time since 2009 for Notre Dame-BYU‼️” GameDay announced on X.
The setting fits the stage. BYU is 5-0 and sits at No. 8 in the country, and that ranking will hold after its win over Iowa State on Friday night. Bear Bachmeier has given the Cougars steady play at quarterback, but the defense has been the real engine, holding opponents to 13.4 points per game.
Notre Dame arrives looking every bit like a heavyweight. The Fighting Irish handled Stanford earlier Saturday to move to 6-0, and they’ll stay in the top three, with a chance to climb depending on how the rest of the day shakes out. CJ Carr is leading the offense and is quickly pushing himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation, while Notre Dame has been strong on both sides of the ball.
Because this one is non-conference, the loser isn’t automatically shut out of the College Football Playoff picture. Still, BYU knows the margin for error is razor-thin.
Last season, the committee made that clear. Notre Dame may have a little more breathing room, but BYU does not.
Even so, both teams should have plenty to play for when they meet in Provo next weekend.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Already Faces One Annoying BYU Narrative Before Kickoff
With kickoff still ahead, Notre Dame is already dealing with the kind of side conversation that tends to follow a high-profile nonconference game. BYU will be without leading running back L.J. Martin because of a lower-body injury, and the Cougars have leaned even more heavily on quarterback Bear Bachmeier since Martin went down. For the Irish, the betting line has them favored by 10.5 points, which only adds to the early chatter about how the matchup will be framed.
Notre Dame knows the result will be judged well beyond the box score, especially if the conversation shifts toward strength of schedule after the game. If BYU looks short-handed on offense, it could become another talking point for a team that is trying to make every quality opponent count. The irony is obvious enough: before either side takes the field, one of the main debates already has little to do with who wins and everything to do with how the game gets remembered. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame's Blowout May Have Revealed The Offense's New Identity
Notre Dames rout of Stanford on Saturday was the kind of performance that can reshape how a team sees itself. The 58-7 win was the most lopsided in series history, and it came with a season-high 361 rushing yards, the sort of output that usually says as much about identity as it does about execution. Freshman running back Jonaz Walton looked like the player driving that conversation, piling up 181 rushing yards, 28 more through the air and two touchdowns while giving the offense a clear downhill edge.
CJ Carr did not need to carry the same weight he has in some earlier games, but he still managed 181 passing yards, 41 rushing yards and three touchdown throws, which is its own sign of balance. Jaden Greathouse has also started to look like a more consistent piece of the passing game, finding the end zone in consecutive contests, and together those developments suggest Notre Dame may be settling into an offense built less around one star turn and more around a series of dependable answers. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A Big Secondary Boost At The Right Time
When Leonard Moore was sidelined with a concussion against Stanford, Jayden Sanders stepped into the starting lineup and gave Notre Dame exactly the kind of steadiness it needed in the secondary. Sanders wound up tied for the team lead in defensive snaps and came out of the game with an 86.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, a strong indicator that he handled the increased workload without the defense taking a step back.
Sanders also made his presence felt on the ball, finishing with two pass breakups and helping keep completions down on his side of the field. For a Notre Dame defense trying to stay settled in the back end, getting that kind of performance from a replacement starter was a timely development, especially with Moores status still part of the bigger picture. [Read more 🡒]