PROVO, UT – Call it culture. Call it another Notre Dame road flop.
Call it what it was: BYU pantsed the visiting Fighting Irish, from the headsets to the field.
No one did more damage than star Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeirer, whose touchdown pass to Walker Lyons with 1:47 remaining proved to be the game-winner when the last of Irish quarterback CJ Carr’s 49 passes fell incomplete.
No. 8 BYU 28, No. 2 Notre Dame 24.
What many billed as the biggest regular-season game in BYU history, with ESPN’s College GameDay on campus for just the second time and 65,179 packed into LaVell Edwards Stadium, its largest crowd since Notre Dame’s last visit in 2004, ended in delirium.
More: Notre Dame asked for BYU. The Cougars made the Irish regret it
Fans politely cascaded onto the field, a sea of blue-clad humanity ready to buy up every dirty soda Swig could possibly serve.
“It’s great, man,” Bachmeier told USA TODAY Sports about being the quarterback of a field-storming signature moment. “Kalani (Sitake) won’t like this because I’m talking about myself. But out of high school, Notre Dame disrespected me and my family pretty badly. I wasn’t gonna lose to those guys. There was no way I was gonna lose to those guys.”
A Bear with an elephant’s memory.
A one-time would-be Notre Dame commit in 2023 who was spurned by the Fighting Irish for a quarterback, Deuce Knight, who never showed up in South Bend.
Bachmeier and his cohorts showed out across an overpowering first half when they built a 21-10 halftime lead.
They showed the resolve the Irish so clearly lacked when the game got tight late, when Notre Dame led 24-21 and Bachmeier had just thrown a potentially devastating interception.
The Cougars defense, which had yielded three second-half scores but also refused to wither in the red zone, got a fluke first-half fumble from Carr and a pair of steps in the red zone — the last one deciding the game.
“I think those losses sting, and I think that’s kind of how people look at BYU,” safety Raider Damuni said of previous disappointments. “They can make it to those big games, and when they get to those big games [losses occur].
“I think having that in the back of our mind the whole offseason, this is the game that we wanted. We wanted to play Notre Dame, and we knew this was an opportunity to earn that respect. And so I think that’s the next stepping stone for us: continue to win these big games and still remember what happened.”
BYU outplayed Notre Dame.
Sitake outcoached Marcus Freeman.
The Cougars were more efficient on money downs, not to mention touchdowns — four end zone visits to the Irish’s two. Notre Dame was forced into 23 third- and fourth-down attempts; BYU had just 13.
“I think when they took the lead, 24-21, I think a lot of (fans) were just kind of nervous about it,” Sitake said, “but the players, I love the belief on the sideline. The guys just felt good about everything.
“I’m glad that we were able to get that score and have the defense win the game. Just really, really pleased with the game. I know that a lot of people were questioning whether we belong and whether we can compete in the top 10, things like that. I’m not trying to convince them. I just know that our guys are confident with how we play the game.”
A touchdown triple-play producer, Bachmeier outplayed the NFL-bound Carr when he scored touchdowns rushing, receiving and throwing the game-winner to Lyons.
And, most significantly, Cougars offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick worked silly Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who hadn’t run a defense in five years when Freeman hired him in February 2025.
BYU’s three first-half touchdown marches covered 75, 75 and 72 yards; its winning voyage spanned 55 yards across 10 plays.
There was a message there, too, in BYU’s aggression — be it Roderick’s chicanery or Sitake’s ill-advised failed fake punt deep in the Cougars’ own territory or defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga’s mixing blitzes and coverages to befuddle Carr.
“We’re not playing to lose,” Bachmeier told USA TODAY Sports. “So, we put our balls on the chopping block, and we’re going to be aggressive, and that’s what we did.”
Call it what you want to. Just don’t call it a fluke.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Call BYU's win anything you want just don't call it a fluke | Opinion