Steve Young delivered a flawless forecast on ESPN College GameDay, and he did it on a big day for BYU.
The former Cougars star was brought in as the guest picker, then ran the table by going 10-for-10 on Saturday’s picks. His biggest call came with BYU upsetting No.
2 Notre Dame, a result Young saw coming when few others did. Pat McAfee was the only other picker who backed the Cougars.
It was not a soft slate, either. Week 7 turned chaotic quickly, with five of the top eight teams going down, which made Young’s perfect card even more impressive.
Before he became a Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, Young was already a BYU standout in the 1980s. In his senior season, he led the nation in passing yards with 3,902, passing touchdowns with 33 and passer rating.
He was a unanimous All-American, won the Davey O’Brien Award and finished second in Heisman voting behind Nebraska running back Mike Rozier. Young later spent more than two decades as an ESPN NFL analyst before the network let him go in 2023.
The moment also fit neatly into a landmark weekend for the program. It was the first time BYU had hosted College GameDay in 17 years.
The Cougars entered Saturday’s matchup with UCF at 6-0, while Notre Dame dropped to 6-1 and took a hit to its College Football Playoff outlook. Miami moved into the No. 1 spot in the latest AP Top 25, while BYU landed at its highest ranking in 42 years, matching the kind of peak the program last reached during LaVell Edwards’ 1984 national championship run.
College GameDay remains in the Beehive State this week for a Big 12 matchup involving Utah and Houston.
In Other News...
Rece Davis Turns BYU Win Into Bigger Officiating Fight
The aftermath of Notre Dames loss to BYU has stretched beyond the scoreboard, with Rece Davis adding his voice to the growing frustration over how the game ended. A clock error denied the Irish one final play, and the Big 12 later acknowledged that one second remained when the last snap was over, setting off a review of the replay officiating process. For Notre Dame, it was the kind of finish that leaves little room for consolation, especially when the final sequence becomes part of the larger story.
Davis also widened the lens beyond one controversial ending, tying the officiating discussion to the bigger argument around College Football Playoff expansion. For a program trying to navigate every high-stakes detail of a season, the point is bigger than a single mistake or a single game. It is about how much room there should be in the sport for missed calls, replay review and the possibility that one late officiating issue can shape not just a result, but the broader conversation around the postseason itself. [Read more 🡒]
Former Irish Stars Made Their Presence Felt Across The NFL Sunday
Former Notre Dame players were all over NFL box scores in Week 6, turning in the kind of across-the-league impact that keeps the program visible long after Saturdays on campus. Audric Estim, Cam Hart and Michael Mayer were among the former Irish standouts who made their mark, while several other alumni chipped in with tackles, receptions and other timely plays for their respective teams.
The most notable individual steps forward came from Estim and Hart, two players whose early pro careers are still taking shape but who both flashed in meaningful spots. Mayer also kept his name in the mix by leading his team in receptions, a reminder that Notre Dames NFL pipeline remains active and productive as the season moves deeper into October. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Fans Still Can't Ignore How The BYU Finish Unfolded
The ripple effects from Notre Dames loss at BYU are still hanging around the program, and not just because it was a tight game on the road. The Irish had been in the thick of the national picture, so the defeat carried real weight in the latest AP Top 25, even as the debate around how the finish played out never really faded for fans who watched it unfold.
For Notre Dame, it has been a frustrating stretch of reminders that little margins can reshape a season in a hurry. The football loss landed on the same weekend the mens basketball team dropped an exhibition game to Dayton, with Ethan Roberts leading the Irish in scoring, so there has been no shortage of reasons for supporters to keep looking for a cleaner break in the action. [Read more 🡒]