Thursday Tidbits — Brigham Young University
Happy Thursday - These are your Thursday Tidbits - Brigham Young University
198 Points
The Irish have won their first six games by a total of 198 points. The 33 point average margin of victory is more than 87 teams are averaging per game this season. At 16 straight games, ND’s double digit victory margin is now just one shy of Miami’s (2000-01) modern day streak record. The Irish have spent just 7:44 of game time all season trailing.
CJ Carr now has 40 career touchdown passes, tying Rick Mirer for eighth in Notre Dame history. He is one behind Everett Golson’s seventh-place total of 41.
Jonaz Walton’s 181 rushing yards against Stanford is the most in a game by a Notre Dame true freshman, surpassing Josh Adams’ 168 at Stanford in 2015. Walton finished with 13 carries and two touchdowns, recording his second consecutive 100 yard rushing day.
The 14 takeaways by the Irish through six games, including seven interceptions and seven fumble recoveries against just one turnover, gives the Irish a plus-13 turnover margin. Boubacar Traore became the first Irish player since 1998 to record both a strip sack and an interception in the same game, accomplishing the feat against Stanford.
The Cougars
BYU enters Saturday’s contest with a record of 5-0 and ranked 8th in the country. They are the third winningest program over the past three seasons (IU and ND). They are 8th in the country in total defense, allowing 254 yards per game (ND #1 @ 214 yds). Offensively, they are 44th in total offense averaging 433 yards and 35 pts per game (ND # 28 @ 457 yds and 44 pts). This is against the 56th most difficult schedule played (ND #31).
Offensively, they are led by QB Bear Bachmeier (47). He was a freshman all-American last year, and this year has accounted for eight TD passes and four rushing TD’s. He is a true dual threat QB with 240 yards rushing and over 1,000 yards passing this season. His favorite target is Legend Glasker (1) who is averaging 19.89 yards per reception, 10th nationally. The cougars will be without 2025 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, running back LJ Martin.
Defensively, they are led by a pair of nationally recognized linebackers Isaiah Glasker (16) and Cade Uluave (4), along with DT Keanu Tanuvasa (57) who anchor a formidable front seven, allowing only 80 yards rushing per game. While they only have six interceptions so far this season, they have consistently been in the top 20 in that category over the past five seasons. The unit is very good.
In 1923, BYU athletic director E.L. Roberts asked the legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne to come to Provo for a coaching seminar to help the recently established program. Rockne spent weeks instructing and sharing his knowledge of the game with BYU head coaches. The two schools did not meet on the gridiron until 1992 despite the early connection.
BYU boasts the largest collegiate ballroom dance program in the world. Because the school’s Honor Code prohibits coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco, commercial coffee shops are absent from campus, though the famous campus dairy-bar, BYU Creamery, is a staple for ice cream, selling more than 190,000 gallons a year. BYU students also consume more than 300,000 bottles of chocolate milk from the Creamery each year, with the campus selling thousands of gallons of milk products daily.
Famous BYU alumnus game show host — Who is Ken Jennings, the host of Jeopardy?
The Game
Saturday evening will mark the 10th meeting between Notre Dame and BYU. The series stands at a 7-2 Irish advantage all-time. The two teams last faced off at the 2022 Shamrock Series in Las Vegas in 2022, when the Irish defeated the Cougars 28-20.
Saturday's matchup between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 8 BYU is the first meeting of two top 10 teams at LaVell Edwards Stadium. It is just the second time BYU has ever been part of a top-10 game after taking on No. 9 Texas Tech in last year's regular season while ranked No. 8 at the time. Notre Dame hasn’t won a true road game against a top 10 foe since doing so at Oklahoma in 2012. They are 0-7 since then (3X under Freeman).
ESPN’s College Game Day returns to Provo for the second-time ever. This will be the 42nd appearance for the Irish on College Game Day, sporting a 20-21 all-time record, winning five of its last six games in such environments.
A win for Notre Dame will be victory 1000* in program history.
The Irish are favored by 10.5 points with an O/U of 46.5.
The BYU campus sits at 4,553 feet above sea level, nestled in the beautiful Wasatch Mountains. The elevation regularly impacts teams coming from lower lying regions, however given the experience of our training staff, led by Loren Landow, ND is a well conditioned team and has a deep rotation at many positions, them to weather the elevation. It will be interesting to see how many wide receivers play for ND because of these conditions.
BYU is good. They will stress the Irish running game, and expect CJ Carr to be under some pressure throughout the game. An interception or two is not out of the question, especially if the Irish have less experienced receivers getting increased reps.. The Irish defense will be tested by Bachmeier - he has only been sacked three times this season. The heavy defensive line rotation should keep ND fresh, enabling containment on the mobile QB, however don’t be surprised by a couple of longish runs.
ND has successfully waded through the “preseason,” however BYU now provides a significant step up in competition. Expect a close, grind it out battle with ND putting some distance on the Cougars in the last 20 minutes or so of the competition. Chocolate milk will be served on the ride home.
Those are your Thursday Tidbits - BYU
Stay thirsty, my friends.
Go Otters and Go Irish!
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