No. 2 Notre Dame and the nation's top defense visit No. 8 BYU in a matchup of undefeated teams with playoff implications
PROVO, Utah — Something has to give at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Neither team has lost.
No. 2 Notre Dame (6-0) visits No. 8 BYU (5-0, 3-0 Big 12) at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC in one of the biggest games of the weekend. The Irish have won their last five by at least 11 points. BYU has won its last two by seven and 14.
Notre Dame's defense ranks first in the country in ESPN's Football Power Index. Boubacar Traore has 3.5 sacks, and Drayk Bowen leads the team with 30 tackles. The Irish held Rice scoreless and gave up seven points to Stanford last week in a 58-7 win.
The offense is nearly as good, ranked fifth. CJ Carr has completed 102 of 144 passes for 1,378 yards with 16 touchdowns and one interception. Jonaz Walton leads the rushers with 409 yards, and Jordan Faison has four touchdown catches. Marcus Freeman is in his fifth season. Notre Dame is without several players, including Charles Jagusah, Chris Terek and Brauntae Johnson, and Leonard Moore is a game-time decision.
BYU, under Kalani Sitake, has been efficient and patient. Bear Bachmeier has thrown for 1,033 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception. Legend Glasker averages nearly 20 yards per catch, and LJ Martin leads the rushers with 344 yards. Tausili Akana has 3.5 sacks. BYU's defense ranks 19th in ESPN's index, and its offense ranks 23rd.
The Cougars have won close games against TCU (17-10) and Iowa State (24-10), and they're 3-0 at home.
Notre Dame leads the series 7-2. The last meeting was a 28-20 Irish win in Las Vegas in 2022.
The history on the Notre Dame side is unmatched: 11 national titles, coaches like Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy and Ara Parseghian, and seven Heisman winners. BYU won the 1984 national championship under LaVell Edwards, and Ty Detmer won the Heisman in 1990.
The weather should be calm and 68 degrees.
Notre Dame gets an open week before facing Navy on Oct. 31. BYU visits UCF next week.
Notre Dame's defense against BYU's offense is the biggest difference, though BYU's home crowd and Notre Dame's missing pieces up front keep it competitive.
Our call: Notre Dame 28, BYU 17.