The 2nd-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel out west to take on the undefeated and 8th-ranked BYU Cougars in a battle of unbeatens, under the lights, inside of LaVell Edwards Stadium. This is what college football is all about. The Irish and the Cougars have been two of the better teams in college football the last couple of seasons.

In 2024, the Irish went on a run and finished the season 14-2 after playing for the national title. In that same year, BYU went 11-2 and followed that up with a 12-2 season in 2025. This season, the Cougars are 5-0 while the Irish are 6-0 after their 10-2 season in 2025. Their matchup tomorrow night is going to have several College Football Playoff implications and will garner a lot of national attention.

Here is everything you need to know prior to kickoff: 

Where: Provo, Utah - LaVell Edwards Stadium 
When: 7:30 PM ET 
Television: ABC - Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe (sideline)
Radio: Tony Simeone (play-by-play), Mike Golic Sr. (analyst); SiriusXM 85
Line:

The Irish are riding a 16-game win streak, winning every contest by double digits. The last one-possession game they won was back in 2024 in the Orange Bowl against Penn State. From Purdue in 2025 through Stanford this past weekend, the Irish have won every game by 10 or more points, but that streak is at stake this weekend when facing a very physical, disciplined and undefeated Cougar football team. Notre Dame is led by head coach Marcus Freeman who is in his 5th season at the helm and has this program firing on all cylinders.

Junior quarterback CJ Carr is amongst the best in the country and has a host of talented weapons on offense and one of the best defenses in the country on the opposite side of the ball. This game will come down to who the more disciplined and physical team is going to be. This is an environment that Notre Dame has played in before, with the altitude being the only outlier. But this is why players come to South Bend, to play in games like this. 

BYU has quietly put together one of the better college football resumes over the last two and a half seasons. Since the start of 2024, they are 28-4 and are currently undefeated in 2026. Head coach Kalani Sitake has turned this program around and has them in contention for the Big 12 title on an annual basis. This, however, is going to be the biggest test for them in the regular season in quite some time. 

This weekend will be the first weekend that College GameDay will be in Provo since 2009 and the first time they've hosted Notre Dame since 2004. Sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier has one of the most impressive resumes in the Big 12 and is currently 17-2 as a starter and threw for over 3,000 yards last year as a true freshman. This is a program that's built its identity through the trenches on offense and defense. They're physical, disciplined and aggressive up front on both sides of the ball, but this is also the most talented skill talent they've had on the perimeter on offense and defense under Sitake. 

This will be the 10th all-time meeting between Notre Dame and BYU. The Irish hold a 7-2 series lead and won their previous matchup in 2022 28-20 in the Shamrock Series. This series, albeit sporadic, has had it's fair share of drama. Notre Dame never returned the favor and played BYU out in Provo and then elected to sit out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl against the Cougars after last season's playoff fiasco. This will be an intense matchup for both teams. 

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