Moment made: BYU takes a monumental 28-24 win over Notre Dame
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- BYU linebacker Isaiah Glasker celebrates his team’s 28-24 win over Notre Dame. October 17, 2026
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- BYU tight end Walker Lyons celebrates his game-winning touchdown reception versus Notre Dame. October 17, 2026
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- BYU tight end Walker Lyons hauls in what proved to be the game-winning touchdown receptions during the Cougar’s 28-24 win over Notre Dame on Saturday. October 17, 2026
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- BYU fans rush the field to celebrate their team’s historic 28-24 win over Notre Dame. October 17, 2026
When considering national scope, coupled with the rounding validation that Saturday’s 28-24 win over No. 2-ranked Notre Dame provided, it’s hard to overstate the moment’s significance.
And BYU players and coach Kalani Sitake made no pretense otherwise.
Following a hearty postgame celebration, which included the attending BYU fans pouring on to the field of play upon the game’s conclusion, BYU safety Raider Damuni took to the podium and held back none of his emotions.
“Growing up watching college football, especially BYU, you dream of playing in these kinds of games,” Damuni said. “You dream of not just playing in them but coming out victorious. Having the opportunity to go out there — that was the funnest game of college football I have ever played. I feel super blessed to be in this position to play at BYU and have teammates who love the university as well.”
Sitake, who like Damuni grew up yearning for the moment Saturday’s win provided, was like-minded with his comments.
“I got really emotional in the locker room just thinking about it,” Sitake shared. “I have so much gratitude that I get to be the head coach during this and have the best seat in the house. I just have a lot of really good people around me that sacrificed for me to be here. I’m the result of a lot of other people’s hard work and sacrifice, and even though there’s a fan part of me, I just need to make sure that I follow through as a coach and don’t jeopardize all the sacrifices that other people have made for me.”
Yes, Saturday’s win was a big deal while providing at least some degree of validation for a BYU program that fans, coaches, and players feel has been lacking from a national perspective. While often short and guarded with his comments, BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier exuded some rare emotion as he took to the podium and made a particular effort to state what this win meant with regards to national recognition.
“We are tired of being disrespected,” he said. “We know who we are, and this was a great win for sure.”
“A lot of people weren’t respecting us. That’s just flat-out truth,” added BYU linebacker Cade Uluave. “A lot of people thought we were flukes. Some people didn’t think we were all that. We just went out and beat the No. 2 team in the nation. Hopefully, we put some respect on our name.”
What BYU is and showed forth on Saturday could best be defined as the embodiment of Kalani Sitake, who continues to take copious notes from his former coach and mentor LaVell Edwards in elevating the Cougars to a level LaVell himself wasn’t able to quite realize. Saturday’s game exhibited just about everything Sitake’s brand of football provides, with some of it frustrating, but ultimately roundly satisfying and even inspiring.
As he often does, Sitake began his press conference focused on his own deficiencies — namely an ill-advised fake punt attempted late in the third quarter. With BYU holding a 21-13 lead at the time, Sitake opted to run a fake with his team situated on its own 28 yard line and faced with a 4th-and-long situation. The attempt didn’t come close to materializing, with the Cougar head coach putting the onus completely on himself when opening his comments to the heftier-than-usual media gathered just outside the Cougar locker room.
“We made some mistakes, but that was probably more on me than anything else,” Sitake said. “I probably got a little too risky and aggressive, but we’ll be alright. I can learn from some lessons and be better. The fake punt was on me. I thought we had a good call there, but Notre Dame had a better one.”
But that’s Kalani Sitake football. It’s not perfect, and is oftentimes too hasty and frustrating, but ultimately rewarding to a degree never experienced before by the thousands of fans gathered as LaVell Edwards Stadium, not to mention the perhaps million more watching earnestly on ABC’s primetime broadcast.
The Irish responded four plays after the failed fake punt with a field goal that cut down the lead to just five points at 21-16 with BYU’s defense stepping up to limit the damage, much like it has done often during the Cougar’s remarkable 20-2 stretch to games dating back to the end of the 2024 season.
“The (offense) took a shot, and it didn’t work out, and that’s fine. That’s what we do. We have the offense’s back,” Uluave said. “Whatever happens on the field, like if Bear throws a pick, that’s the time for us to step up. We thrive in those moments, and we want those moments.”
Defensive stop aside, Notre Dame ultimately jumped through the window that was pushed open by BYU’s special team foibles, which included a muffed punt return by Cannon DeVries on top of the failed fake punt, and took a 24-21 lead early in the fourth quarter with a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Jonaz Walton.
But as Sitake’s teams often do, they made certain that it wasn’t Notre Dame that provided the game’s defining moment.
First up was the BYU offense, which was bogged down considerably during the course of much of the second half up until an 11-play touchdown drive that covered 55 yards and chewed up just over four minutes of clock. Yet again it was Bachmeier taking matters into his own hands in taking out chunks of yardage on the ground while making timely passes to his receivers, namely Legend Glasker, who was targeted five times during the possession. The drive culminated into a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Walker Lyons during a 3rd-and-goal situation to put BYU up 28-24 with just 1:51 remaining in regulation.
“We had a penalty right before that and again ebbs and flows down at the goal line,” Bachmeier said. “We dialed that play up, and we were executing it well in practice, and I was very confident in the play call. They brought the house, and Walker just made a great play and touchdown.”
Topping Saturday’s moment off was again the BYU defense, and although the unit allowed the Irish to march clear down to BYU’s eight yard line, the unit stepped up big when it mattered most. On a goal-to-go situation, BYU cornerback Evan Johnson applied tight coverage in forcing an overthrow by Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr to secure the win and usher in a postgame celebration that won’t soon be forgotten by all involved for some time.
And although the moment is big, while elevating BYU to a degree of status and credibility perhaps not enjoyed by any team prior, bigger goals are still in mind.
“This game and these moments are something I will always remember. I will tell my kids about (this game.) My family being from Provo, it was awesome to experience it together with them all here,” Damuni concluded. “We understand how big this was for us, and we are going to continue to get better and not let this take over our whole season, because we didn’t come here to just beat Notre Dame. We have bigger goals.”
