Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 OCT. 10, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: BYU Coordinator continuity and Freeman's pres- ence give Notre Dame the edge, even over an impressive BYU staff. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES We write these two weeks in advance, so we don't know if BYU and Notre Dame will both enter mid-October undefeated. How- ever, that is absolutely the expectation. The Irish should take care of North Carolina and Stanford, while the Cougars should take care of TCU and Iowa State. That would make this a top-10 matchup, as well as the biggest matchup of the season that does not involve one of the "Power Two" conferences to date. Both teams will give the other their best shot, as they look to prove to the country (and the College Football Playoff Selection Committee) that they're legit. There are intangible factors working both ways here. BYU is at home, but Notre Dame has handled hostile road environments well over the past two years. The game will be played at altitude, though not quite as high as something like Denver, and the Irish sports performance staff is adept at preparing its players for adverse conditions. Notre Dame has more recent experience winning playoff games, while BYU is looking to rebound from two decisive losses to Texas Tech last season. However, the Red Raiders blew them out both times. Experience is experience for a burgeoning program with a young quarter- back, but Freeman knows how to win these types of games and Sitake, as of this writ- ing, does not. It's like the old Bobby Bowden quote: "First you lose big, then you lose close. Then you win close, and finally, you win big." In terms of facing CFP teams, BYU has yet to get past the "lose big" stage. The Cougars are absolutely capable of giving the Irish a fight, but it will be tough to skip a step. Advantage: Notre Dame Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 24, BYU 21 The most difficult test for Notre Dame so far this season, BYU returned 13 starters this year, including many of its top skill-position players. Under 11th- year head coach Kalani Sitake, BYU has won at least 10 games in four of the last six seasons and looks on pace to do so again in 2026. BYU has also been tough to beat at home and entered its home date against Iowa State Oct. 9 as winners of nine straight at LaVell Edwards Sta- dium. We talked some last week about how this Notre Dame campaign has stayed on course and been beautifully boring, but there's nothing mundane in the toughest road game on the Irish schedule this season. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 20, BYU 16 It's happening 294 days late, but it's finally happening. When the Irish opted out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl last December, they denied the Cougars an opportunity at a marquee matchup. Even better for the Cougars and their fans, they get the Irish on their home turf. BYU has gone 5-1 against Associated Press Top 25 teams in Provo, Utah, from 2021-25. BYU also has an all-time mark of 3-6 against AP top-10 op- ponents in Provo, with the wins coming against No. 4 Air Force (28-21) in 1985, No. 1 Miami (28-21) in 1990 and No. 9 Baylor (26-20 in 2OT) in 2022. However, Notre Dame's previous visit as a top-10 team produced a 45-20 Irish victory in 1993 when it was ranked No. 3. The pivotal matchup will be BYU's running game against Notre Dame's de- fensive front. The Cougars averaged 262.7 rushing yards per game and 6.74 yards per carry through three contests, but the Irish were allowing just 53.8 and 1.75, respectively, during their 4-0 start. Eric Hansen: Notre Dame 27, BYU 17 Lyons, Tigers and Bears? Well, Notre Dame will be facing only one of each in BYU's passing attack Oct. 17 in Provo, Utah — that's tight end Walker Ly- ons, wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier and younger brother, quarterback Bear Bachmeier. But BYU's aerial game is efficient, not overwhelming. What the Cougars present that figures to be most challenging for the Irish is the balance of be- ing a team that does a lot of things well — especially rushing offense, rushing defense, protecting its quarterback, winning turnover battles and excelling on special teams. But the Cougars are in for some culture shock of their own, especially with what Notre Dame brings to the table on defense and the best quarterback BYU has seen by far. And that will carry the Irish to a victory in their biggest test to date in 2026. Tyler James: Notre Dame 30, BYU 20 There's no doubt that BYU will be Notre Dame's biggest test of the sea- son to date. The Cougars have no obvious weaknesses to exploit, but they haven't seen an opponent quite like Notre Dame either. The superior talent on Notre Dame's roster will need to shine in Provo, Utah. Expect Notre Dame's elite rushing defense to be tested by the Cougars. Expect the Irish to have trouble running the ball with consistency themselves. Expect quarterback CJ Carr to rise to the occasion for the Notre Dame of- fense. Expect the Irish's defensive playmakers to create a couple of turnovers to quiet the BYU home crowd. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 37, BYU 16 One of the few blemishes on Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman's im- pressive résumé is his 0-3 record in true road games against top-10 teams. However, this Irish team is unrecognizable compared to the one that lost to No. 2 Ohio State in 2022 and later that season to No. 5 Southern Cal. It's even different from the one that lost on the road against No. 10 Miami just last season. Notre Dame unequivocally has the most dominant defense in college football and an exceptional starting quarterback to go along with it. That's a great recipe to deliver Freeman his first road win against a top-10 team in his coaching career. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 31, BYU 20 The Cougars should offer quite the jump in competition for this road matchup, but unless the Irish come out completely unprepared, Notre Dame should have too much talent on both sides of the ball to lose this contest. Defense travels well, and Notre Dame might just have the best defense in America. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 24, BYU 13 I like this BYU team a lot, particularly its run game and the back end of its defense. But Notre Dame has three key advantages: BYU's lack of a real pass rusher, an elite run defense that should counter the Cougars' biggest strength and experience winning games like this in the past. I'm expecting the Irish to carry a 17-13 lead into the fourth quarter, and a masterful CJ Carr-engineered drive will put the game away. Senior cornerback Evan Johnson recorded 5 interceptions and 8 passes broken up in 2025, providing BYU with a proven playmaker in the secondary. PHOTO COURTESY BYU ATHLETICS Staff Predictions