Notre Dame and BYU are set for another top-10 collision on Saturday night, and the setting only sharpens the edge. The teams will meet at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, with ESPN’s College GameDay making its first trip to Provo since 2009. It’s a primetime matchup between undefeated teams: Notre Dame enters at 6-0, while BYU is 5-0.
The Irish have owned the series to this point. Notre Dame has won seven of the nine previous meetings, with the first matchup not arriving until 1992 despite the schools’ national profiles. The teams have already crossed paths in several memorable games, including Notre Dame’s win in 2022 - Marcus Freeman’s first victory over a ranked opponent.
That 2022 game in Las Vegas came at an important point for Notre Dame, which had opened the season 0-2 with losses to Ohio State and Marshall. Behind Drew Pyne, the Irish found their rhythm through the air and on the ground.
Pyne completed 22 of 28 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns, while Audric Estime and Logan Diggs both topped 90 rushing yards in a 234-yard team rushing effort. Notre Dame led 6-3 after the first quarter, then took control when Michael Mayer caught one of his two touchdown passes to put the Irish ahead for good with 14:19 left in the second quarter.
BYU closed the gap to 25-20 in the third quarter, but Blake Grupe added a field goal, Notre Dame forced a turnover on downs, and the Irish ran out the clock from there.
A few years earlier, Notre Dame handled BYU 23-13 on a cold and windy senior day in South Bend in 2013. Tommy Rees threw for 235 yards and a touchdown, Cam McDaniel ran for 117 yards, and DeVaris Daniels finished with six catches for 107 yards and a score.
The Irish scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, then leaned on Kyle Brindza, who knocked through three field goals the rest of the way. When BYU got one last chance in the fourth quarter, Jarron Jones blocked a field goal that would have pulled the Cougars within a touchdown.
The 2012 meeting was a grind in a different way. With Tommy Rees starting in place of the injured Everett Golson, Notre Dame stuck to the identity that carried it to the 2012 BCS championship game: defense, the run game, and timely execution.
The Irish piled up 270 rushing yards against BYU’s third-ranked rushing defense, with Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood each going over 100 yards. Even so, Notre Dame trailed the entire game and did not grab the lead until George Atkinson III scored with 12:52 left.
From there, the defense slammed the door, blanking BYU in the second half and finishing with two interceptions, including one by Manti Te’o.
Notre Dame also came through in a big way in 2005, bouncing back from the infamous “Bush Push” loss to USC with a 49-23 win over BYU. Brady Quinn had a huge night, setting the Notre Dame record for passing touchdowns in a game with six, four of them to Maurice Stovall.
Quinn also threw for 467 yards, the fifth-most in school history. That win kicked off a five-game finish to the season before the Irish lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.
The other notable meetings fit a familiar theme. In 1993, Notre Dame improved to 7-0 with a 45-20 win and rolled up 307 rushing yards, led by Lee Becton’s 123 yards and a touchdown.
Marc Edwards scored twice, Ray Zellars added a touchdown, and Kevin McDougal threw for 177 yards while Michael Miller caught touchdown passes of 66 and 35 yards. That Irish team later beat USC, Navy, and Florida State before the season ended with a loss to Boston College.
The first meeting between the programs came in 1992, and Notre Dame made a loud statement with a 42-16 win. Demetrius DuBose got the scoring started by recovering a BYU fumble in the end zone, and the Irish finished with 308 rushing yards.
Jerome Bettis and Reggie Brooks each ran for 113 yards, and Bettis scored twice. Notre Dame closed that season on a seven-game winning streak, capped by a 28-3 Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Defense Faces One Big Question Entering BYU Trip
Notre Dames defense could look a little different for its trip to BYU, with the injury report offering a mix of concern and relief heading into the matchup. Cornerback Leonard Moore is listed as questionable, while linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa has been cleared after being taken off the report, a useful development for a unit that has had to manage its depth carefully in recent weeks.
Jason Onyes status is also worth watching after he was upgraded to questionable following a left ankle injury that kept him out for more than five games. Brauntae Johnson, meanwhile, remains on a longer recovery path after foot surgery and is expected back around November, leaving Notre Dame to sort through just how much of its defensive backfield and front it can count on in a tricky road spot. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Faces A Road Test Marcus Freeman Still Has To Pass
Notre Dames trip to Provo comes with the kind of spotlight that has a way of exposing the same old questions. The Irish have not won a true road game against a top-10 opponent since 2012, and under Marcus Freeman they have gone 2-4 in true road games against ranked teams. Now they head to face undefeated BYU, ranked eighth, in a setting that should feel every bit as unforgiving as the stakes attached to it.
For Freeman, this is more than another ranked matchup on the schedule. It is a chance to show that Notre Dame can carry its talent, poise and playoff hopes into a hostile road environment and actually finish the job. The Irish have been good enough at home and strong enough overall to stay in the national picture, but until they solve a test like this one, the lingering doubt about their ceiling will keep hanging over them. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Undefeated Start Faces Its Biggest Test Yet Against Notre Dame
The No. 2 Fighting Irish are headed into a Week 7 matchup that should say plenty about where both programs really stand, with undefeated BYU bringing its perfect start into South Bend for a top-10 clash. Notre Dame has looked like a legitimate heavyweight by the advanced numbers, and CJ Carr has already pushed himself into the Heisman Trophy conversation as the offense continues to gain national attention.
BYU, ranked No. 8, has earned this moment by staying unbeaten and steady through the first part of the season, but this trip will demand answers in every phase against a Notre Dame team built to test weaknesses. The betting market expects a tight one, which only adds to the stakes in a game that could reshape the picture for both teams in the second half of the season. [Read more 🡒]