The Big Picture

Notre Dame football came up short in its first major test of the 2026-27 season.  The team is now 6-1 coming out of Week 7 following a 24-28 loss to the BYU Cougars that came down to the final second(s).

BYU found the end zone first on an 11-play, 75-yard drive and closed out the first quarter up 7-3. The Irish got their first touchdown in the second quarter but the Cougars still had the 14-7 advantage. Notre Dame rebounded after halftime with a 6-0 third quarter in their favor.  And although they finished the fourth quarter with eight points to BYU’s seven points, it wasn’t enough to overcome the damage that had been done during the first half.

The team is averaging 41.1 points scored and 13.4 points allowed through Week 7. This was their lowest scoring affair so far, with the 27-point game against Michigan State in Week 3 occupying the second slot. BYU’s 28 points were the most scored by an opponent and North Carolina’s 26 points in Week 5 holding the second slot. With the -4 Week 7 loss, the team’s overall differential is sitting at 27.7. 

Yardage Summary

Despite the final outcome, Notre Dame was +16 in total offensive yards. They recorded 376 yards of total offense, benchmarked against their 445 yards earned per game through Week 7. It was the second worst game, in terms of overall offensive production.  The worst outing was the 350 yards of total offense tallied up against Wisconsin in the season opener. 

The Irish were +22 in the passing yardage category. They finished the loss with 261 passing yards, compared with BYU’s 239 passing yards. The team is averaging 261 passing yards earned per game through Week 7, and the BYU game stats sits right at that average mark.

Notre Dame was -6 in the rushing yardage category. They earned 115 yards on the ground compared, with BYU’s 121 rushing yards. The team had been on a very decent uptick in rushing production but regressed significantly in Week 7. The only game of the season with less rushing production was the Week 1 win over Wisconsin. That regression also translated on the efficiency side. Collectively, the Irish had 30 rush attempts and an average of 3.8 yards earned per attempt.

The Quarterback Stats

CJ Carr took all of Notre Dame’s quarterback snaps in the BYU and had his worst statistical performance up to this point in the season. Prior to Week 7, Carr had been averaging 24 pass attempts per game. His utilization went up significantly against BYU. He attempted 49 pass attempts and completed only 27 of those for a 55.1% completion rate. He threw zero touchdown passes and zero interceptions but was responsible for the team’s only turnover, a lost fumble that ended a 10-play, 69-yard drive late in the second quarter. 

The Rushers

Sophomore Nolan James Jr. claimed the Irish’s RB1 title against the Cougars.

• James logged 16 carries, 77 rushing yards, an average of 4.8 yards earned per carry and was responsible for one of the team’s two rushing touchdowns.
• Freshman running back Jonaz Walton had five rush attempts for 17 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
• CJ Carr had 6 carries for 13 yards.
• Aneyas Williams logged three carries for eight yards.

The Receivers

Senior Jaden Greathouse had one of the biggest wide receiver performances for Notre Dame through Week 7. 

• Greathouse pulled down eight catches for 125 yards. His second-best performance in terms of overall production so far was the Rice game when he finished with three catches for 48 yards. Wide Receiver Jordan Faison walked away from the loss with six receptions for 64 yards.
• Micah Gilbert had three catches for 31 yards.
• Junior tight end Jack Larsen logged four catches for 23 yards.
• Running back Nolan James Jr. contributed on the receiving side of things with three catches for 18 yards. 

The Defensive Stats

The BYU game marked one of the Notre Dame defense’s worst statistical performances through Week 7. The Cougars put up a season high 360 yards of total offense, with the next best performance by an opponent being North Carolina’s 286 yards. At this point, opponents are averaging 235 of total offense per game. 

BYU put up the most passing yards, 239, by opponents. Overall, teams are averaging 167 passing yards per game against the Irish defense.

The Cougars had the most rushing yards, 121, earned by an opponent at this point in the season. Opponents are collectively averaging 67 rushing yards per game. 

The defense closed out the Week 7 action with zero sacks, two tackles for loss and three pass deflections. 

• Sophomore cornerback Jayden Sanders nabbed the defense’s sole interception.
• Senior linebacker Luke Talich had one tackle for loss.
• Freshman safety Joey O’Brien recorded one tackle for loss and one pass deflection. 
• Junior cornerback Leonard Moore had one pass deflection and senior defensive lineman Keon Keeley had one pass deflection. 

The Flow Stats

Notre Dame had eleven full offensive drives and turned five of them into points. 

Closing Thoughts

Consistency was one of themes prominent characteristics of this year’s Notre Dame football squad heading into Week 7. It was great, particularly from an analysis perspective, but one of the underlying concerns wa whether or not those stats representing an average or a ceiling.

In almost all major categories, it looks like the latter may unfortunately be the truth. It was an indisputable bad game for CJ Carr and while he didn’t fall off in terms of passing yards, nothing about how many attempts it took or the impact of the completions was particularly impactful. And there were a handful of good moments to be seen by rushers, the stats demonstrate a regression all the way back to square one.

It takes two to make a football game go and it’s clear that BYU was a significant step up in completion for this year’s team. And although it wasn’t a pristine game by the Notre Dame defense the numbers show signs that they’ve still got some wiggle room to meet fluctuating levels of competition. Spencer Porath did his part when called upon, successfully knocking through all three of his field goal attempts and the one extra-point attempt. But the offense’s performance during the BYU loss raises a lot of questions about the collective ceiling when facing formidable opponents.

The bIrish head into what I imagine is a much desired bye week before meeting up with the Navy Midshipmen on Halloween morning.