Vampire Cougars strike again in thrilling upset home win against No. 2 Notre Dame

Saturday night was the night BYU football proved they should be respected as playoff contenders and can hang with the big dogs. The energy surrounding this top-10 masterpiece of a contest built up all week from students camping out for ESPN College Gameday, to Pat McAfee reading Book of Mormon verses, to Steve Young suiting up for the game, and then to a game that came down to the final snap. The jubilation around the Cougars have reached unimaginable heights. BYU being 10.5-point underdogs coming into tonight looks pretty silly right about now.  

You cannot ask for a much better start to the game for the Cougars. Bear Bachmeier led a methodical statement drive and capped off with a five-yard touchdown scamper to make it his fifth rushing score of the season. At first, it did not feel like the Cougars were facing the No. 4 scoring defense. 

Notre Dame followed that up with three points before forcing a BYU punt to end the first at 7-3. It then began the second by taking the lead on a 12-play 84-yard drive to the crib by way of a rushing score by Nolan James Jr. 

The Cougars were unphased. Bachmeier and the offense answered with a well-orchestrated touchdown drive which ended in a Bachmeier-Kyler Kasper connection, but not in the usual way. Through some trickery drawn up by Aaron Roderick, Kasper received a lateral then proceeded to launch it back to Bachmeier on the other side of the field for a 15-yard score. It was Kasper’s first career passing touchdown and Bachmeier’s first career receiving touchdown.

Here is a fun little tidbit to go with that. Bachmeier became the first quarterback in program history to record a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game. When asked about that trick play after the game, head coach Kalani Sitake said, “this is the first time we've had two ranked teams in the top-10 at LaVell Edwards Stadium. We're going to have some fun.”

The defense forced a three-and-out and the offense got rumbling again. Big runs from Preston Rex and Legend Glasker combined with some Bear dots resulted in Bachmeier punching it at the goal line for his second touchdown of the night with his legs.

Just when we thought the Irish would punch back, a bizarre mistake by Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr ended the half. With the clock down to 10 seconds, Carr completed a pass over the middle for a first at BYU’s five-yard line then spiked it to stop the clock. Well, it was initially thought to be a spike until a review showed otherwise. In actuality, Carr never really had full possession of the snap before spiking it which means a fumble. The Cougar defense recovered it during the play and that is how the half ends. That is something you do not see every day.

Both teams stalled out on offense to start out the second half. Suddenly, two brutal mishaps allowed the Irish to get back into it. 

First of which came midway through the third. BYU successfully forced a three-and-out, but returner Cannon DeVries did not corral the punt and muffed it back into Notre Dame’s hands. Thankfully, it only produced a field goal even in prime field position. Only a couple minutes later before another Cougar blunder got fans pulling their hair out. An inexplicable fourth and five fake punt call on BYU’s own 28-yard line resulted in a turnover on downs with punter Fuller Shurtz running into a wall. Nevertheless, the defense forces a field goal to end the quarter at 21-16, BYU. 

The offense once again went nowhere to start the quarter. The Irish capitalized on a great defensive half to this point with their first touchdown drive since the first minute of the second quarter. After adding a two-point conversion, Notre Dame went up three.

Four plays later, an absolutely costly pick was thrown by Bachmeier down field on a poorly underthrown ball. With nine minutes left in the game, panic was slowly setting in. 

The defense came through when pressure was at an all-time high to get a stop and give the offense a chance for redemption. When the Provo world needed them most, the vampire Cougars turned it back on. Crucial completions to Legend Glasker and Josiah Phillips set BYU up in the red zone with under four minutes to go. It was time to finish the high-leverage drive. 

On third down and one, a false start backed them up at what felt like the worst moment possible. Those thoughts quickly went away. Bachmeier dropped back and rifled one down the middle to Walker Lyons for the go-ahead score. Provo at this point was shaking.

The final minute and forty seven seconds felt like pulling teeth trying to prevent the Irish from driving it down the field. With BYU up four, Notre Dame had to get six, and they got oh so close. It was a grind of a drive. It took 15 plays, but the Cougar defense came through again as they usually do. Carr’s final pass attempt sailed over his receiver’s head for the game. Cougar nation went into pandemonium and stormed the field. BYU starts 6-0 for the third consecutive season. 

Pulling off this intense victory gives Cougar fans the feeling that the sky really is the limit. A national championship appearance is no longer crazy to say and is now a very real possibility. 

Sitake notched the highest ranked win he has had in his coaching career. The best one before Saturday night was taking down No. 6 Wisconsin back in 2018. Other than the infamous 1990 win over Miami with Heisman winner Ty Detmer at the helm, this is the best ranked win in Provo. No LJ Martin, no problem. The victory came despite being outgained by the opposing offense and losing the turnover battle 2-1. BYU won when it came to heart.

Let’s reminisce over this massive victory over some tweets to put a cherry on top of it all.

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