Mike Mann makes the case for Notre Dame to continue their winning streak with a double-digit cover on the road at BYU.
Notre Dame vs. BYU
Saturday, October 17th, 7:30 PM
In arguably the most stacked college football weekend of the regular season, featuring six matchups between ranked opponents, BYU plays host to Notre Dame in the not only the final matchup of the day, but also the only one where both sides are undefeated. The Fighting Irish hold a 7-2 all-time advantage against the Cougars, riding a current streak of three wins in a row with the most recent a neutral site, 28-20 victory in Las Vegas back in 2022.
CONFERENCE HUNT
BYU heads into the weekend tied to the BIG-12 lead with Utah and Texas Tech with all three having gotten through their conference schedule unscathed so far. The Red Raiders have the advantage as they avoid both other teams on their schedule, and it’s beginning to look more and more like the Cougars game at Utah to begin November will be a battle to see who faces Texas Tech to vie for a conference title and a better seed in the BCS Playoffs. It will be up to BYU head coach Kalani Sitake to keep his squad focused on the task at hand on Saturday against non-conference Notre Dame and attempt to trade points against a dominant Irish defense with the Cougar offense missing one its best weapons.
LJ KO
Entering the season, BYU’s top running backs were LJ Martin, the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, and Sione Moa, a talented Sophomore who had shown flashes of talent in limited work over the previous couple of years, but similar to Martin had multiple injury issues in his past. Cougar fans were worried about backfield depth coming into 2026, and their concerns proved warranted when Moa was lost for the season in week one and Martin for at least a month thanks to leg injury suffered against TCU two weeks ago.
T-REX UP NEXT
Journee Tonga and Preston Rex are next up on the depth chart at running back for the Cougars. Both have rushed for a pair of scores apiece, but as a combo were ineffective a week ago with just 40 yards combined on 14 carries against an Iowa State defense that ranks just 90th against the run. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick will have to come up with a much better rushing attack battle plan this weekend going up against a Notre Dame rush defense that has allowed just one rushing touchdown all season while limiting their opponents to less than 60 yards per game on the ground.
DOUBLE BACH
The player who feels the loss of Martin the most is quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who is quite the talented runner himself but now has to carry nearly the entire offense on his shoulders. The Cougar QB has been played efficiently through the air, with eight touchdowns compared to only one interception, and has used the threat of the pass to open up running lanes for himself with a team leading four rushing scores and over 200 yards on the ground as well. The Irish defense has yet to allow over 220 yards passing in a game and provides easily the most difficult matchup that Bach Bachmeier has faced in his college career.
LEGEND IN THE FALL
The clear favorite target in the passing attack is freshman wideout Legend Glasker, who has 200 more receiving yards than anyone else on the team while also tying for the team lead in touchdown catches at three. Junior receiver Kyler Kasper and tight end Walker Lyons are usually options two and three for Bear, and all will be watching the Irish injury report during the week with their top-rated cornerback in the country, Leonard Moore, questionable for Saturday after missing the teams’ blowout win against Stanford due to a concussion. Considering the limited risk the Cardinal posed in actually beating Notre Dame, it’s easy to see why they also held out linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa as he makes his way back from a thumb injury.
HALFWAY THERE
The Fighting Irish reach the midway point in their 2026 campaign with an unblemished 6-0 record while still in the midst of 16 game winnings streak, all of which were won by double-digits. This is the longest the team has gone undefeated in a season under Marcus Freeman, though he would also be the first one to point out that what actually matters is what is awaiting his team the remainder of the year, beginning this week with BYU and followed by Navy, Miami and SMU.
CARR SHOW
Quarterback CJ Carr continues to impress on a weekly basis, directing the Irish offense near flawlessly up and down the field. The teams’ running game has undoubtedly been an important counter to his play, but with each passing week it easy to see why Carr continues to catapult up draft boards with an impressive 16/1 TD-INT ratio this season to go along with an additional three scores on the ground. The BYU defense will be the toughest one he has faced this season, as the Cougars rank in the top ten in scoring, rushing and total yards per game to go along with a 24th rated pass defense led by standout safety Faletau Satuala.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
Notre Dame’s passing game has recently done well to get multiple people involved, with an average of just under 10 different players catching passes in each of the last three games. Jordan Faison, Micah Gilbert and Jaden Greathouse remain the top targets through the air, though the additional ball catching abilities of their backfield trio add even more options for Carr to press the BYU defense with.
CERBERUS
While Carr is the leader of the offense, the three headed backfield attack has continued to excel with the explosive addition of freshman Jonaz Walton to the mix along with Nolan James and Aneyas Williams. Combined the three of rushed for over 1000 yards on the season with a total of 15 touchdowns scored, and the ability by offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock to seamlessly rotate them while keeping all fresh and fully effective has been an unheralded part of their recent success and will be relied upon Saturday to keep the BYU defense honest and clear of Carr. The most impressive win by the Cougars this year was against Arizona, and their ability to limit the Wildcats running game allowed them to pressure quarterback Noah Fifita into his worst game of the season.
BOOK OF COVERING
BYU has posted a 39-8 straight up record over their 47 games at Lavell Edwards Stadium, but within that streak is something far more impressive. Over the Cougars last nine games in which they were an underdog at home, they have gone 8-1 against the spread and more importantly 7-2 straight up, with four of those seven upset wins coming against ranked teams. On the other side the Irish have done well when playing away from home, going 32-12-1 straight up in their last 45 games not played at Notre Dame stadium, which includes a 19-9-2 mark against the spread in their last 30 games as a road favorite.
PICK ME OUT A WINNER
The loss of running back LJ Martin to the BYU offense cannot be understated and with less than effective backups behind it, it shines a spotlight on how one dimensional the Cougar offense will turn if they can’t take advantage of early momentum from the hometown crowd. Bear Bachmeier is undoubtedly talented both running and passing the ball, but he has yet to face anything like the Notre Dame defense, who now have the advantage to focus nearly all of the attention on him and primarily Legend Glasker in the passing game.
Notre Dame’s offense is clicking on all cylinders and their top ranked defense showing no signs of weakness through the first half of the season. They are also well disciplined, ranking 1st in the country in penalties with an average of only three per game, which should help that much more playing on the road against a sellout crowd under the lights in Provo. The Irish have shown a consistent ability under head coach Marcus Freeman to win (and cover) on the road and with BYU missing their best offensive weapon, I am confidently picking the Irish to continue their winning streak with another double-digit win on Saturday against the Cougars.
PICK: Notre Dame -9.5
