What a night for the BYU football program. With the nation watching, no. 8 BYU delivered a 28-24 upset over no. 2 Notre Dame. In this article, we're breaking down the grades, advanced metrics, and snap counts from the Cougars' win over the Fighting Irish.
Controversy Aside, BYU Was the Better Team
The controversial ending partially overshadowed how well BYU played in this game. The Cougars were simply the better team. BYU's postgame win expectancy was 93.9% (SP+). Said differently, if BYU and Notre Dame played the exact same game again, BYU would be expected to win 94% of the time. Why? The advanced box tells the story.
BYU forced Notre Dame three-and-outs on 27% of their possessions. BYU had just one three-and-out all night (11%). BYU gained 57% of available yards and Notre Dame gained 50% of available yards.
The Cougars were more successful, more explosive, much better in the red zone, and they created more havoc. Every advanced metrics says BYU was the better football team. Without special teams blunders in the third quarter, the data suggests BYU could have won this game by double digits.
Bear Bachmeier with the Highest PFF Grade
We found out after the game that the Notre Dame game was personal for BYU star quarterback Bear Bachmeier. Bachmeier delivered an unbelievable performance against the nation's top defense. Bachmeier threw for 14 first downs and he carved up Notre Dame's defense, especially when they didn't blitz. He had a 90.7 grade when Notre Dame dropped into coverage.
He was credited with one big-time throw and he also had two turnover-worthy plays, including the throw that was intercepted in the fourth quarter.
On top of that, Bachmeier was BYU's highest-graded rusher as the Cougars were without star running back LJ Martin. Bachmeier's performance against Notre Dame will be remembered for a long, long time.
Notable PFF Grades
Excluding Bachmeier, Walker Lyons was the highest-graded player (minimum 15 snaps played) against Notre Dame. Lyons was targeted in key moments and he had the go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes. Here were the 10 highest grades.
- Bear Bachmeier - 82.0
- Walker Lyons - 74.4
- Bruce Mitchell - 73.4
- Kyler Kasper - 73.0
- Isaiah Glasker - 71.8
- Raider Damuni - 71.4
- Cade Uluave - 70.7
- Hunter Clegg - 70.6
- Bott Mulitalo - 70.2
- Legend Glasker - 69.3
BYU true freshman right tackle Bott Mulitalo was the second highest-graded offensive lineman on a night where BYU's offense line was great. Mulitalo was making just his third career start and he has gotten better every game. Mulitalo is a future star for BYU.
BYU starters Isaiah Glasker and Raider Damuni returned from injury and made major impacts in this game. Damuni played 65 snaps and Tommy Prassas only played 8 snaps, a signal that Prassas may have been banged up in the first half. Damuni had a team-high six stops. No other defender had more than three.
Pressure Rate
Going into this game, pressure rate was one of the metrics we were monitoring the most. The Fighting Irish ranked first nationally (P4 vs P4 games) in pressure rate forced and they were top 10 in pressure rate allowed. In only P4 vs P4 games, BYU was also in the top 10 in both categories.
Going into this game, Notre Dame was generating pressure at a 45.9% clip. Against BYU, Notre Dame had a 16.7% pressure rate. Bachmeier was consistently throwing from clean pockets.
On the other side of the ball, BYU generated pressure on 25.5% of dropbacks. The Cougars won the pressure battle and it made a huge difference in the game.
CJ Carr had a 57.0 grade. Before the BYU game, his lowest grade of the season was a 71.2 against Stanford. BYU's pressure and multiple defense gave Carr a lot of problems.
BYU used Cade Uluave as a pass-rush specialist, especially on the final drive. Uluave had a team-high five quarterback pressures. Nobody else had more than two pressures.
Snap Counts
A few bullet points on snap counts:
- Bott Mulitalo played every snap at right tackle. He has become the full-time starter at that position.
- Preston Rex played 52 out of 68 snaps at running back. Journee Tonga played 17 snaps and Devaughn Eka did not play.
- BYU played four wide receivers and Reggie Frischknecht only played 19 snaps. BYU's wide receiver rotation was really tight with Kyler Kasper, Jojo Phillips, and Legend Glasker playing at least 46 snaps each.
- Faletau Satuala and Evan Johnson were the only BYU defenders that played every snap.
- Isaiah Glasker and Raider Damuni played 65 snaps out of 81 total snaps.
- Tommy Prassas only played 8 snaps.
- Backup cornerback Matthias Leach played 33 snaps when BYU cornerbacks got banged up and he played very well. He only allowed 14 receiving yards.
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