BYU pulled off one of the most dramatic wins of the college football season Saturday, outlasting No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 with a touchdown and defensive stand in the final two minutes.
Bear Bachmeier recorded his fourth touchdown of the game with the go-ahead scoring pass to Walker Lyons with 1:47 to play. The star quarterback also found the end zone twice on the ground and added a receiving score.
TOUCHDOWN COUGARS Bachmeier 🤝 Lyons 📺 ABC https://t.co/WHwVf5hXk4
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 18, 2026
That set the stage for a nail-biting finish in front of a capacity crowd in Provo, and Notre Dame did not disappoint in making it interesting. CJ Carr drove the Irish the length of the field to set up one play from inside the 10-yard line with four seconds remaining.
Carr got the pass off, but BYU's tight coverage insured and incompletion and no flag was thrown for pass interference to give Notre Dame another chance.
Should this have been pass interference? https://t.co/d59qBx5P2C
— WestCoastCFB (@WestCoastCFB) October 18, 2026
The Cougars victory made the Irish the fifth different top-7 team in the AP poll to lose Saturday, marking the first time that's happened since the publication started ranking teams in 1936.
Bachmeier was suitably fired up after the contest, admitting this win meant more than a regular triumph due to past history he had with the opponent.
BYU QB Bear Bachmeier said Notre Dame "disrespected me and my family pretty badly" when he was in high school, and that "there are some receipts kept." He declined to elaborate but said, "I wasn't going to lose to those guys tonight."
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) October 18, 2026
BYU's victory gives it the type of resume-building win it didn't get last season when it was left out of the CFP field. The Cougars' only two losses heading into bowl season came to Texas Tech, but the committee left them out of the 12-team field.
Notre Dame was also notably omitted from the CFP field, prompting them to opt out of playing a bowl game in the postseason. Miami is the only top-20 team remaining on the Irish's schedule, making that contest almost a must-win for Marcus Freeman's program.











