BYU’s defense faced a huge challenge against CJ Carr and the Notre Dame offense. Bear Bachmeier and the offense got the lion's share of the attention, but the defense was critical to BYU’s victory. They gave up a little more than they’re used to, but held a great opponent to far less than that foe was used to.
BYU was allowing only 80.4 rushing yards per game and held Notre Dame to a respectable 115 yards on the ground; this would move the season average up a little to 86.2 yards per game. The passing defense was similar. They had been allowing 174 yards per game, and allowed 261 by the Fighting Irish, moving their season total to 188.5 per game. Turnovers were about the same, with one forced Notre Dame turnover, BYU now has eight on the season, averaging 1.3 per game. The total defense had been allowing 254.4 yards of offense and gave up 376 to Notre, but the average stays a respectable 274.7 yards per game. The most important stat, the scoring defense, continued to follow the pattern. They were allowing 13.4 points per game; Notre Dame scored 24, and the average is up a little to 15.2 points per game. This is all the more impressive when you consider the opponent was the #2 team in the nation, has a veteran offense, and was riding a 16-game winning streak.
What the Defense Needs to Improve On
The Cougs need to find a way to finish their pass rush. They got pressure on CJ Carr in a variety of ways, but BYU was unable to sack the Fighting Irish quarterback even once. That’s something for them to work on, especially in the big games. It will be even more important when BYU faces quarterbacks that are even more mobile than the elusive Carr, like Devon Dampier, as their season marches on.
What the Defense Did Right
What this defense did best was play smart. The play of the game, as we’ll see, was because of the intelligence shown by the defense. Part of playing smart was never panicking and never forcing things when situations became desperate. It showed smarts, toughness, and composure that when the special teams turned the ball over in BYU territory twice, this defense held Notre Dame to two field goals and only six points. That’s mental sharpness in digging in, getting stops, and not breaking when things got tough.
Defensive Play of the Game
There were certainly big-time tackles made, intense pressure applied, and passes brilliantly defended throughout this game by BYU’s defense. The play of the game to me came from Jayven Williams. It was just a 1000 IQ play from Williams. Williams was the one who was watching CJ Carr as he attempted to spike the ball with 0:10 to go in the first half inside the BYU five-yard line. It was Williams who realized Carr never had control of the ball and made a clear and immediate recovery of the football. If Williams doesn’t do that, if no BYU defender does that, then Notre Dame still has a shot at points with either a field goal or a touchdown.
Jayven Williams recognizing what happened here was a 1000 IQ moment. pic.twitter.com/smtMXsySUM
— Phillip Riggs (@phillipriggs85) October 18, 2026
Defensive Players of the Game
Isaiah Glasker and Raider Damuni missed most of the first half of this season with injuries. I wasn’t even sure we’d be fortunate to get them back for this game. Not only were they back, but they were also back with a vengeance. These two seniors weren’t going to be denied taking the field in this contest. They were critical to BYU’s victory. Damuni had seven tackles, five of them solo, and a pass deflection. BYU’s senior and defensive Glasker had six tackles, four of them solo, and was credited with defending three passes!
Defensive Stat of the Game
This was the first game of his career at Notre Dame that CJ Carr didn’t at least throw or run for a touchdown. BYU bottled up an elite quarterback and should be very proud of how they defended him.
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