The Cougars were feeding off the frenzied home crowd on the opening drive, completing three passes for first downs. BYU also were given 15 yards on a roughing the passer penalty on Boubacar Traore which also included targeting. After review, the call was upheld and Traore would be ejected for the remainder of the game.
BYU converted a key third down at the nine-yard line, then scored one play later on a short touchdown run by quarterback Bear Bachmeier.
Notre Dame answered with a 46-yard field goal from Spencer Porath. Nolan James Jr. rushed for 15 yards and two first downs on the drive, while Jordan Faison caught two passes for 24 yards.
BYU earned two first downs on its second drive of the game to inch across midfield until the Irish defense earned the stop. On second and long, Keon Keeley knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage and BYU dropped a third-down screen attempt with Jaylen Sneed in close pursuit. The Irish took over possession at their own 16.
Faison started the drive off with a six-yard catch. James Jr. then burst up the middle, cut outside, made a defender miss and earned 26 yards on the final play of the first quarter. James Jr. got four more, but then was caught in the backfield on second down to make it third and long.
Carr looked to Micah Gilbert and with the defender all over him, Gilbert stuck out his hand on the sidelines and made a spectacular one-handed grab for 13 yards to move the sticks. James Jr. continued his hard running between the tackles, getting 16 yards for another first down. The Irish got a short run next followed by Carr throwing a perfect come back pattern to Faison who made a diving catch at the 12-yard line.
The next play was a quick shot out to James Flanigan for no gain, then Carr carried on a designed quarterback draw to make it third down and six at the eight-yard line. Notre Dame turned back to James Jr. who powered in for the touchdown behind devastating blocks from Sullivan Absher, Guerby Lambert and Flanigan.
BYU moved down the field to retake the lead while going deep into their playbook. Two quarterback runs and a pass across the middle moved the ball to the Irish 27-yard line. On third and six, BYU ran an option right and was able to dig out eight yards for a first down. The ensuing play, BYU threw it backwards, then back to Bachmeier who made an Irish defender miss to score the touchdown. The home team had taken the lead 14-10 with 5:52 left in the second quarter.
The Irish went three-and-out quickly when a Carr pass was knocked in the air and he was forced to catch it to maintain possession. BYU took over at their own 28 after a Jasper Scaife 51-yard punt.
The momentum was all in the home team’s hands and they took advantage. The Cougars ripped off their biggest run of the game for 23 yards across midfield and completed another long pass to get the Irish 15-yard line. The Cougars continued their creative play calls in the redzone, pulling out a reverse that ended up at the one-yard line. Bachmeier jumped in from there and BYU had a 21-10 lead with 1:37 left in the half.
Notre Dame needed a drive to get points and appeared on their way to at least a field goal. Carr found Greathouse for 24 yards, then seven more before a third down pass to Larsen gave the Irish a first down at the BYU 37. Gilbert earned a pass interference call down the right sidelines to put the ball at the 17-yard line.
Carr then tried Larsen twice, once at the pylon and then on a deep fade but missed both throws. Gilbert stepped up next, stabbing a slant out of the air at the five for a first down with nine seconds left. Notre Dame appeared to spike the ball with six seconds remaining but Carr, in his haste to get the ball to the ground, lost control and after review – and after it was called a spike on the field – BYU was given the ball when one of their defenders jumped on the loose ball.
Instead of heading into halftime down by one score, BYU retained their 11-point lead after taking a knee on the final play.
Notre Dame received the kick after halftime but could manage just one first down before kicking it away. The defense did get the Irish the ball back after a key second down stop by Jaylen Sneed on a Bachmeier draw play. BYU was called for offensive pass interference on the next play and would have to punt the ball away.
The Irish continued to struggle on offense and could not earn a first down. Two short runs, then a slant pattern to James Jr. was tackled one yard short of the first down.
BYU’s first miscue of the game earned Notre Dame a scoring chance. Scaife punted the ball away and the catch was dropped by Cannon DeVries at the BYU 41-yard line. Freshman Bubba Frazier was there for the recovery and the Irish were back in business.
Carr found Greathouse for eight yards, then James Jr. got the first down. Two incompletions were sandwiched between a James Jr. six-yard run and Notre Dame faced fourth and four at the BYU 24. This time the slant to James Jr. got the first down after the Irish back fought for the final yard at the 19.
The Irish would have to settle for a 31-yard field goal after Carr scrambled for four yards, overthrew Flanigan in the end zone and James Jr. was able to only get one yard on third and six.
Notre Dame had cut the lead to eight points with 3:17 left in the third quarter. The Irish needed the ball back quickly and the defense did its job. Leonard Moore broke up a pass on third down to force BYU to punt at its own 28. BYU called for a fake punt that had no chance of success, as Luke Talich led a group of Irish defenders to swallow up the punter and give the Irish the ball at the 24-yard line.
The Irish could not move much farther than that position. A short run, an incomplete pass and a Carr scramble brought out Porath yet again who converted a 39-yard field goal to make the score 21-16 BYU just before the end of the third quarter.
Another three-and-out was needed from the defense and they stepped up again. Sneed performed a great open field tackle on second down and Joey O’Brien swatted away a slant pass on third down to force a punt.
Notre Dame took over at its own 32. It was third-and-four as Carr bought time moving to his right and found Greathouse wide open behind the defense for a 38-yard gain. Greathouse got eight more on a catch on first down, but two consecutive runs by Aneyas Williams were stuffed and Notre Dame faced fourth and one. Carr picked up the fourth down conversion on a burst up the middle behind a block by Williams. It was first and goal at the 10-yard line.
Jonaz Walton powered down to the two-yard line, then followed Anthonie Knapp and Sullivan Absher into the end zone for a touchdown. The Irish went for two and Walton walked into the end zone cleanly behind a Guerby Lambert block that cleaned out the entire BYU defensive line. The Irish had the lead for the first time in the game 24-21 with 9:31 left.
The defense needed another stop and yet again delivered. BYU moved the ball across midfield and on the tackle, DJ McKinney limped to the sidelines. Jayden Sanders came on in substitution and BYU looked his way on the first play with a double move down the sidelines. Sanders was not fooled in the least, stayed with his assignment and made an interception at the Notre Dame 15-yard line.
Unfortunately, the Irish could not earn a first down on their possession after a run for negative yardage on the first play and punted away. Scaife uncorked a 60-yard boot but a 23-yard return gave the home team the ball at their own 45 with just under six minutes left.
BYU converted a third and five at midfield, then completed a long pass down to the Notre Dame 15-yard line. Bachmeier then powered to the 10, the five and the two-yard line before the two-minute timeout. A false start pushed BYU back, but on third down Bachmeier found Walker Lyons in the end zone after a subtle push off of the Notre Dame defender. The home team had the lead back.
The final Irish drive began with a Larsen catch for eight yards followed by two incompletions. Carr found Faison on fourth and two to keep the drive alive, then moved to his left and hit a Greathouse for a first down at the BYU 39.
BYU continued to bring pressure and Carr was up to the task when on third and four he side-stepped a free rusher and found Greathouse for a sliding catch. Faison notched yet another grab to get the ball to the 19 with 26 seconds left. Larsen got six yards on a catch and on fourth down Gilbert converted with just four seconds left to place the ball at the seven-yard line and give Notre Dame one more shot.
Carr looked for Greathouse in the back right-corner of the endzone, but the ball fell incomplete.
