BYU vs. Notre Dame recap, results: Irish lose 28-24 on last-second incompletion in Cougars' end zone

With an opportunity to seize the No. 1 ranking in the country, Notre Dame came up just short on the road in a 28-24 loss to eighth-ranked BYU in Provo, Utah.

Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier ran for two touchdowns, threw for one and caught another in an electrifying performance before the crowd at LaVell Edwards Stadium. BYU took the lead for good with a 6-yard TD pass from Bachmeier to Walker Lyons on third and goal with 1:47 remaining, capping a 10-play, 55-yard drive.

Notre Dame made a final drive behind quarterback C.J. Carr, who converted twice with passes on fourth down while moving the Irish to the BYU 4-yard line with 4 seconds remaining.

Under heavy pressure from the BYU defense, Carr heaved it into the end zone for Jaden Greathouse, who was unable to corral the ball while making contact with a Cougars defender.

"They wanted some pressure, we gave it to him, it worked out for us," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "Our coaches did a great job. I told you we were going to have fun tonight. We wanted to make some memories, you've got to be aggressive. Really proud of our guys and happy for our fans. We're going to stay humble and hungry and keep working. Hats off to Notre Dame, I appreciate them giving us a chance to play them."

With top-ranked Georgia losing to unranked Auburn earlier Saturday, the No. 1 ranking will likely be inherited by No. 3 Miami, which needed double overtime to beat Florida State 43-28 in a wild finish.

Notre Dame joined Georgia, Indiana, Alabama and Texas as five of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 poll lost Saturday.

The Irish had taken a 24-21 lead with 9:31 remaining on a 3-yard TD run by Jonaz Walton, but they were left lamenting their inability to capitalize on two miscues by BYU.

Notre Dame settled for a field goal after getting the ball on the BYU 24-yard line when the Cougars' failed to convert a fake punt on fourth and 5. An earlier recovery in BYU territory of a fumble on a punt return also led to a field goal.

From the outset, little seemingly broke the Irish's way.

Just 2:30 into the game, star defensive lineman Boubacar Traore was ejected for targeting after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Bachmaier.

After Notre Dame fell behind 21-10 (its biggest deficit of the season) with 1:29 left in the second quarter, Carr drove the Irish down the field to the BYU 6-yard line with 6 seconds remaining. But while attempting to spike the ball to stop the clock, Carr lost the handle on the football.

A replay review rule Notre Dame had committed its first fumble of the season, negating an attempt at a field goal or touchdown to end the half.

Bachmeier became the only BYU quarterback to have a rushing and receiving touchdown in the same game. Asked about calling the trick play, Sitake said, "this is the first time we've had two ranked teams in the top 10 at LaVell Edwards Stadium. We're going to have some fun."