Notre Dame’s trip to BYU on October 17 has all the ingredients of a classic trap game, and the Cougars’ history in Provo is exactly why it deserves more attention than it’s getting.
Most eyes around the Notre Dame schedule are locked on the November matchup with Miami. But this one, a month earlier, could be the one that sneaks up and bites the Fighting Irish. BYU has built a reputation for turning its home field into a nightmare for heavyweight visitors, and former Cougar star Ty Detmer is already imagining the kind of scene that could greet Marcus Freeman’s team.
“It would be awesome. There is no better place to take down a No. 1 than in Provo,” Detmer told the “Y’s Guys” livestream show this week.
“I think you get the grass, the altitude and the atmosphere - it will be rocking for sure if that’s the case. Either way it’s going to be a packed house and an exciting night.
If they are both undefeated and Notre Dame is No. 1, look out! Anything can happen in Provo.”
Detmer knows the script better than most. Back in 1990, he was the quarterback when then No.
1 Miami came to Provo and left with a loss. Detmer shredded the Hurricanes for 406 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 28-21 win that helped launch his Heisman run, which ended with college football’s top individual honor.
This isn’t a case of BYU being a soft landing spot, either. The Cougars were one win away from the playoff picture last season before Texas Tech blew them out in the Big 12 title game. BYU finished 11-2, with the Red Raiders accounting for both of its losses.
The setup this fall could make the challenge even sharper. BYU’s early schedule - Utah Tech, Arizona, Colorado State, TCU and Iowa State - doesn’t exactly scream trouble, and that could leave the Cougars sitting at 5-0 when Notre Dame arrives. That kind of start would only add to the confidence in Provo.
Notre Dame’s path to that game may look pretty clean as well. Wisconsin, Rice, Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina and Stanford are not exactly a brutal opening stretch, and the Irish are likely to be 6-0 when they meet BYU.
That’s what gives this matchup real weight. The winner keeps its College Football Playoff hopes moving in the right direction.
The loser takes a hit. And for Notre Dame, the damage would sting more, because unlike BYU, the Irish don’t have a Big 12 title game to help them recover.
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The part that stands out is not just the possibility of another addition, but the way Gamble framed it, suggesting there is a name in mind even though nothing has been announced. For now, the Irish are left waiting on whether this is simply recruiting chatter or the lead-up to another flip that would give the secondary room to keep growing. [Read more 🡒]