BYU 1-on-1: Taking a deep breath before the Cougars take on No. 2 Notre Dame
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- BYU football coach Kalani Sitake (center) talks to officials in a Big 12 football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, on Friday, October 9, 2026.
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- Notre Dame defensive lineman Keon Keeley (11) attempts to get around the block of Stanford offensive lineman Niki Prongos (66) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, in South Bend, Ind. (
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- BYU’s Robert Wright III goes in for a layup in a men’s college basketball game against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025.
Daily Herald sports writers Darnell Dickson and Brandon Gurney debate and pontificate on the hot BYU sports topics of the week.
1. Before we move on to Notre Dame, were you more encouraged or more discouraged after BYU’s 24-10 victory against Iowa State?
DICKSON: Can I be both encouraged and discouraged? I mean, I wrote the question, so I guess I can answer them any way I want. I was encouraged because the offense piled up 506 yards and Bear Bachmeier was simply amazing. But I was discouraged with the failed fourth downs and the special teams work on punt returns. Those two thing really prevented BYU from scoring 40 points or more. Sure, a couple of pass interference calls (seemed pretty obvious from the press box) would have been nice but you really just need to execute the plays. Both of Bachmeier’s passes on fourth down hit receivers in the hands and should have been caught. Aaron Roderick said there was a communications problem on one of those plays and he wishes he had the failed fourth down run play back, so there you go. What is most important here is for the Cougars to win on Saturday against Notre Dame, it has to be complimentary football at its finest. There will be no room for special teams gaffes or poor execution on offense.
GURNEY: I was more discouraged, and for one big and obvious reason. Without LJ Martin in the lineup the Cougars needed to show at least some semblance of a serious rushing attack, but didn’t come close to doing as much against a rather mediocre Iowa State defense. Neither one of the trio of Preston Rex, Journee Tonga or DeVaughn Eka came close to providing the consistency and overall play of Martin, and especially during redzone and short-yardage situations. BYU will have to mount a serious rushing attack to counteract Notre Dame’s stellar defense, and based on last Friday’s returns, it’s dubious if that’s going to happen.
Sure, BYU’s defensive performance was cause for encouragement, but we sort of knew already what that unit was capable of. So yeah, I’m a little less optimistic about BYU’s chances versus the Irish based on the meager running back returns than I was a week ago at this time.
2. It maybe seems obvious, but is this the biggest football game ever played in Provo? Why or why not?
GURNEY: Darnell is probably going to accuse me of recency bias, and it could well be argued that BYU’s game versus then No. 1-ranked Miami in 1990 was the bigger game, but I’m going with Saturday’s matchup that will be broadcast on ABC in primetime and called by Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit. The main reason being due to my belief that Notre Dame this season than that Miami team, which ultimately finished 10-2 while struggling to defeat San Diego State late in the season. The Cougars have a real pathway to enter the College Football Playoff with a win on Saturday while garnering a lot of credibility for the Big 12 Conference with a win along with for themselves. So yeah, I’m going recency bias or whatever, and stating that this Saturday’s game will be the biggest in BYU football history when given the scope and quality of opponent.
DICKSON: I was at the BYU-Miami game in 1990 (as a college student) and I covered the BYU-Notre Dame back in 2004. And this one on Saturday dwarfs both of them. The main reason is that the Cougars were in the WAC when they beat the Hurricanes and in the MWC when they beat Notre Dame. There was never any question if BYU was on equal ground playing those games in terms of recruiting or resources. It was laughably one-sided in favor of Miami and Notre Dame. That simply isn’t the case anymore. While Notre Dame still has advantages in those areas, the gap is a lot smaller than in 1990 or 2004. BYU has improved recruiting, resources, facilities, depth, everything. With ESPN GameDay in town and both teams ranked in the Top 10, there’s no question in my mind that this is the biggest sporting event ever played in Provo.
3. What’s the biggest obstacle for BYU football to overcome on Saturday against Notre Dame?
DICKSON: Over the course of my career covering college football there have been a number of huge opportunities that overwhelmed BYU, including TCU in 2009 (the last time College GameDay was in Provo) and last year in both games against Texas Tech. There’s a lot of pressure on the Cougars and they have to deal with everything going on this week. It’s kind of a coaching cliche, but players can’t feel like they have to do something they’ve never done or try to do too much on the field. Do your 1/11th and handle your business with the opponent in front of you. That mindset comes from good leadership, both coaches and players. The moment simply can’t be too big for you or you’ll find our pretty quickly you’re in over your head.
Oh, and somehow BYU has to find a running game without LJ Martin and without getting Bachmeier hurt. So no big deal, right?
GURNEY: I’m going to go somewhere else than the obvious answer of establishing a credible rushing attack and go with stopping Notre Dame’s passing attack. CJ Carr is very good and he has receiving options that are quite a bit better than anything BYU has faced so far this season. It’s a group of quick and elusive receivers — the type that BYU had trouble defending when matching up against Arizona during the second week of the season. Sure, the pass defense has been very good, but let’s be honest, Iowa State didn’t present nearly the challenge that Notre Dame will come Saturday. Oh yeah, and Carr is merely the No. 2-rated quarterback in the country currently and he’s show particularly effective in torching defenses when they bring extra pass rushers. I believe BYU has the goods to keep Notre Dame’s rushing attack in check, but for me, there’s still some questions to be answered with how well it defends CJ Carr and company through the air.
4. Aside from quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who is going to have to step up with a huge game on Saturday for BYU?
GURNEY: I’m going to stick with my line presented with the last question and go with Evan Johnson. I believe Johnson could very well prove to be the best cornerback BYU has ever had pass through its program, but he’s going to undertake a tremendous challenge in locking down Jordan Faison, who is very similar with his abilities to Arizona’s Giovanni Richardson, who Johnson struggled to cover earlier this season. Johnson needs to have his best game and prove that he can cover Notre Dame’s top receiver man-on-man should the Cougar defense hope to hold Notre Dame to a manageable score total.
DICKSON: BYU’s offensive line has performed pretty well this season but Saturday’s opponent brings a whole ‘nother level, doesn’t it? Are they up to the challenge? True freshman Bott Mulitalo and redshirt freshman Siosiua Latu-Finau have had a couple of games to get comfortable filling in at right tackle for injured senior Andrew Gentry. Saturday will be a huge test, both in the run game and in the passing game. I believe Mulitalo and Latu-Finau are going to be multiple year starters for the Cougars but they simply don’t have Gentry’s experience. Can they hold their own against Notre Dame? Can they avoid costly penalties? Can they plow the road for the run game and protect Bachmeier in pass pro? I’ll be watching those two closely on Saturday.
5. We finally get a look at BYU men’s basketball in Friday’s exhibition game against Nebraska. What are you expecting from the Cougars?
DICKSON: I’ve never gone this long (mid-October) without at least seeing a little bit of practice or a Blue-White scrimmage. This team is really a mystery to me. I’ve seen individual clips and watched Robert Wright III play all last year, but there are some many questions about how this team fits together. College coaches are excellent at telling you what they expect and how they have built the team but I want to see this group with my own eyes. To be honest, I expect there to be some rough spots and questionable play early as they grow together. Sure, the potential is there, and good teams are built through the portal all the time now. It’s kind of the norm. But it does make it difficult to get a read until you actually see them play.
Nebraska is coming off a Sweet 16 season and has a lot of unanswered questions, too. Last year, BYU let big man Rienk Mast go crazy from 3 (he made his first seven 3-point shots) and recovered from a 13-point second half deficit to pull within one late. AJ Dybantsa scored 30 in that one and he’s off playing for the Washington Wizards now. A lot has changed and I’m intrigued to find out how much of what we’ve heard about the Cougars is hype and how much is reality.
GURNEY: I’m expecting a lot for this team and feel that all the right pieces are in place for BYU to exceed last season’s ultimate disappointment while proving to become a legitimate national championship contender. Yes, I just said that, but I think that’s what this roster is capable of given the overall talent and inclusion of Jaxon Kohler at the critical 5 position. The Cougars now have the type of backcourt experience with what should prove a to be a much-elevated inside game to make some serious noise this season and we’ll see that begin to unfold against Nebraska this coming Friday. So that’s a bit more of a macro answer than Darnell probably anticipated, but given Friday’s game is the first of the season, that’s the direction I went with.
