BYUquarterback Bear Bachmeier turned a 28-24 upset of No. 2 Notre Dame into a personal score-settling moment Saturday night, saying the Fighting Irish wronged him and his family while recruiting him out of high school.
“Out of high school, Notre Dame disrespected me and my family pretty badly, and I wasn’t going to lose to those guys,” he said after BYU moved to 6-0. “There’s no way I was going to lose to those guys tonight. There are some receipts kept.”
Bachmeier declined to explain what the Irish did. After a moderator ended the postgame news conference, the sophomore softened the jab, telling reporters he loves Notre Dame and praising Irish quarterback CJ Carr.
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How did Notre Dame recruit Bachmeier?
Notre Dame offered the Murrieta Valley High School star in July 2023, two months after Irish quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli visited his school. Bachmeier learned of the offer while visiting his grandmother and called it “truly special” because his late grandfather was a lifelong Irish fan.
Notre Dame chased two 2025 quarterbacks at once, and Mississippi passer Deuce Knight committed to the Irish in September 2023. Rivals reported that Bachmeier had been seriously considering a commitment when Knight beat him to it.
Bachmeier committed to Stanford in February 2024 over finalists Oregon, Arkansas and Michigan State, while Knight later flipped to Auburn. The Southern California native enrolled early at Stanford, then transferred to BYU in spring 2025 with his older brother, receiver Tiger Bachmeier.
Raised Catholic, Bachmeier acknowledged Notre Dame “recruited me” during game week but didn’t elaborate.
BYU snaps Notre Dame’s win streak
Bachmeier backed up the words with four touchdowns. He ran for scores of 5 and 1 yards, caught a 15-yard touchdown from receiver Kyler Kasper on a double pass and finished 23-of-36 for 224 yards with 45 rushing yards.
Notre Dame erased a 21-10 halftime deficit after BYU muffed a punt and failed on a fake punt, then took a 24-21 lead on Jonaz Walton’s 3-yard run with 9:31 left. Jayden Sanders intercepted Bachmeier at the Irish 15 on the next possession.
The 6-foot-2, 230-pound sophomore answered with a 10-play, 55-yard drive and hit tight end Walker Lyons for a 6-yard touchdown on third-and-goal with 1:47 left. Carr drove Notre Dame to the BYU 9, but his final pass fell incomplete in the end zone.
“We’re tired of being disrespected,” Bachmeier said. “We know who we are.”
What’s next for BYU?
The win was BYU’s first over Notre Dame since 2004, and it ended the Irish’s 16-game winning streak a week after College GameDay announced its first trip to Provo since 2009. The teams were supposed to meet sooner, but Notre Dame withdrew from bowl consideration after missing the 2025 College Football Playoff, wiping out a planned Pop-Tarts Bowl matchup with BYU.
BYU visits UCF on Oct. 24 in Orlando, and the Cougars travel to Notre Dame in 2027 to complete the home-and-home series.
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