Notre Dame football suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday night, falling on the road to BYU, 28-24.
The Irish found themselves down 21-10 at halftime, and stormed back to take a 24-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Notre Dame couldn’t finish off the comeback, as the Cougars scored with under two minutes left and the last-second touchdown pass attempt was incomplete.
Notre Dame now is 6-1, and without a game next weekend. It’s going to be a tough two weeks as this loss will be on their minds the whole time. Speaking of what’s on mind, here are five instant reactions to the Irish getting upset by BYU.
Notre Dame beat themselves
Marcus Freeman: Offense wasn’t hitting on plays they normally execute. Will need to watch the film to see where the disconnect was.
— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) October 18, 2026
This is one that the Irish would love to have back, as they had uncharacteristic mistakes that ultimately cost them. The four penalties for 40-yards wasn’t much, but the way they happened made significant impacts. Boubacar Traore was flagged for a targeting, which was upheld and he was disqualified during the first drive of the game. It was the right call, but a costly one. There were more aspects of this that I’ll touch on below, as this one will sting for a while.
CJ Carr did not look like himself
Notre Dame QB CJ Carr tried to spike the ball, but replay overturned it to a fumble.
— Underdog CFB (@UnderdogCFB) October 18, 2026
BYU leads 21-10 at halftime. pic.twitter.com/mtmlyhWFBm
Carr almost redeemed himself with a game-winning drive, but his pass couldn’t find Jordan Faison in the end zone. On the night he’d throw for 261-yards, but it took him 49 attempts without throwing a touchdown pass. Carr missed multiple open receivers, passes that he normally makes. The fumble at the end of the first half was costly, as points could have turned the tide in the end. It was a terrible game for Carr to have his worst one of the season.
Chris Ash’s struggles against top teams continues
Notre Dame under Chris Ash is allowing 28.5 points per game against Top 20 opponents.
— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) October 18, 2026
Allowing 12.3 points against everyone else.
You wonder if we've overrated the defensive turnaround a bit since the start of last season. The next two quarters may inform that opinion.
For much of the second half, it looked like Ash had figured out the BYU offense and was able to stop them. However, when it counted the most, on the final drive, he couldn’t find a way to slow down the Cougars. As Pete Sampson shared during the game, Ash’s defense against top-20 opponents has not been good, as he met his average of 28 points allowed. It’s games like these that define a program, and right now, it hasn’t been good enough.
What happened to Jonaz Walton?
Do not understand Notre Dame’s refusal to play Jonaz Walton!
— PEARatings (@PEARatings) October 18, 2026
Nolan James Jr. was hot early, so it made sense to stay with him. However, we’ve seen Jonaz Walton enter the game later and run wild, but he didn’t get his chances tonight. He’s finished with just 5 carries for 17-yards, and while he did score, it left many wondering why such a small amount of carries.
The loss hurts, but Notre Dame is still in the running for the College Football Playoff
Final: BYU 28, Notre Dame 24.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) October 18, 2026
Look around college football today, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Indiana and now the Irish all lost, every one of the ranked inside the top-10. It’s not the end of the world in the 12-team College Football Playoff, but it does make the margin for error much smaller. Notre Dame does not want a 2025-situation to happen again, so beating Miami and SMU is a must.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: 5 instant reactions to Notre Dame’s comeback bid falling short vs. BYU