BYU football's game with 2nd-ranked Notre Dame has been called the one-to-watch since it was announced last December. Since the USC Trojans dropped out of being involved in the big rivalry with the Irish, the next one up happened to be the Cougars. But the home-and-home series might be the best arrangement for both teams.
Expect Saturday's contest to be one of the better non-conference games during this college football season for a few different reasons. Both teams are ranked in the top 10 and this is the biggest game on each of their respective schedules so far. Kalani Sitake and Marcus Freeman are both players' coaches. They're respected for being leaders in the sport.
This game will have College Football Playoff implications as well. A loss would mean more for Notre Dame than it would for BYU due to conference alignments. Obviously, the Irish not being aligned with a conference likely cost them a trip to last year's Playoff over runner-up Miami.
As for the Cougars, being close to a real postseason bid each of the past two seasons isn't good enough. If Sitake and his staff hope to get over the hump, this is where the "rubber meets the road" in the Playoff race. Being able to upset good teams is how teams win championships. Curt Cignetti and Indiana made it happen last year, creating a blueprint for teams like BYU and Notre Dame to find success in future years.
“For us, we need to be at our best,” Sitake said this week. “I think these games get the sense of urgency up a little quicker.”
Sitake understands the magnitude of the game. Notre Dame coming to Provo is rare. And when they offered BYU to be a replacement for USC, Sitake didn’t want any time for Irish officials to look elsewhere or resend the offer. He wasted no time making sure the Cougars had a quality opponent to fill an opening in the 2026 schedule.
“It would be crazy for us to turn them down,” Sitake added. “When they reached out and wanted a series, I thought it was a huge opportunity for us to play them.”
He went on to say, "I’d like to think that we’re different as a program and a team now than we were in that game. But so is Notre Dame.” The two programs share more than their 10-game history, too, as two of the most prominent faith-based universities that play major college football in the country."
No. 8 BYU and No. 2 Notre Dame will meet for the tenth time in a series that dates back to 1992. The Irish have won all but two contests during that time. It’s also the first-ever matchup between two top-10 teams in Provo, and the highest-ranked opponent to come to LaVell Edwards Stadium in 22 years.
The Cougars host the Irish on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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