Emotions ran high at Lavell Edwards Stadium Saturday after quarterback Bear Bachmeier led the No. 8 BYU Cougars to victory over No. 2 Notre Dame.
ESPN’s College GameDay made its first appearance in Provo for the first time in 17 years, and although the official numbers haven’t been released yet, it could be one of the largest turnouts in GameDay history.
The energy was high in Provo throughout the day, and that energy carried into Lavell Edwards Stadium for the biggest matchup of the season.
“There was a spotlight on this game, and I thought our guys embraced that opportunity, embraced GameDay being here and all that stuff,” head coach Kalani Sitakes said.
This game was personal for Bachmeier, who was very outspoken about his past with Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame disrespected me and my family pretty badly,” Bachmeier said. “And I wasn’t going to lose to those guys.”
And disrespect seemed to be a theme for Bachmeier, who thinks this game might have finally opened people’s eyes to the kind of team BYU is.
“We’re tired of being disrespected,” Bachmeier said. “We know who we are and this was a great win for sure.”
A big question going into this game for the Cougars was if they could score against Notre Dame's top-tier defense. But leave it to Bear Bachmeier to find the endzone. Bachmeier scored 2 rushing touchdowns, 1 passing touchdown and even caught a touchdown pass from wide receiver Kyler Kasper. He becomes the first player to do that in an AP Top 10 matchup since 1997.
Sitake said this game was crucial for the growth of his team.
“I felt it was a good move for us to have this game because our team grew up quite a bit,” Sitake said. “I was really proud of the way they developed throughout this week, and the sense of urgency that we’ve been wanting for this team I think is here.”
BYU’s offense played great, but the defense made some crucial stops, especially before halftime. With Notre Dame inside the 5-yard line and trailing 21-10, CJ Carr fumbled while trying to spike the ball. BYU recovered, denying the Irish a chance to score before the break.
And with the game on the line, BYU’s defense once again came up with the stop. The Fighting Irish, positioned on the 9-yard line down by four points, took a shot into the endzone. The pass flew incomplete and the Cougars came out on top 28-24 against the No.2 team in the country. The sold-out crowd stormed the field.
The win at home moved BYU up 6 spots in the most recent AP Top 25 poll, claiming the number 2 spot just behind Miami.