DICKSON: The entire day was something unique and special, for sure. The game itself felt like the old days of college football, before NIL and the transfer portal and players suing the NCAA for eligibility. I sat in a press box full of media members but there was a palpable electricity up there. There are so many moments that stand out but I’m going to choose the Bear Bachmeier to Walker Lyons touchdown pass that put the Cougars ahead for good. Everything about that play was pure football at its best. The drama and the buildup was ridiculous: BYU falls behind in the fourth quarter, makes a late drive, picks up a false start penalty to force third-and-goal from the 6-yard line, Notre Dame sends the house and Bachmeier makes a clutch throw, the back judge ducking to avoid getting hit by the pass. Pure cinema.

GURNEY: My enduring memory from the game is probably going to be the postgame scene and the interviews that were conducted thereafter. Bear Bachmeier particularly comes to mind with his unusual candor and effort made when asked questions regarding his play and approach to what is certain to be one of the top wins in BYU football history. Bachmeier has a tendency to give the media as little as possible while issuing the shortest answer imaginable to any given question, but it was clear just how much the win meant to him with how he addressed each and every question with far more genuine emotion and honesty than every before. And it wasn’t just Bear as every player and Kalani Sitake himself really poured on the emotion and insight, which I felt added to the overall accomplishment considerably.

2. Aside from Bear Bachmeier’s performance, who came up big for BYU on Saturday?

GURNEY: There’s so many players I could point out from Cade Uluave, Kyler Kasper, Raider Damuni, and Preston Rex, among many others, but the guy I want to highlight is linebacker Isaiah Glasker, whom almost no one, including Kalani himself felt would be able to return and play versus Notre Dame. Kalani went into detail regarding how painful Glasker’s injury was, and likened it to “biting down on tinfoil” over and over again, but the senior gutted through it and made a big impact on the game. Most notable were Glasker’s three defended passes, with at least two of those being swatted down at the line of scrimmage. Glasker made a big impact, and without him on the field last Saturday BYU’s chances in pulling off what is perhaps its biggest win to date wouldn’t have been as likely.

DICKSON: I chose the right tackle position as something to watch going into the game and it proved pivotal. Yes, Notre Dame’s best defensive lineman, Boubacar Traore, was ejected for targeting on BYU’s first drive. But I was suitably impressed by freshman Bott Mulitalo. He graded out as one of the top offensive lineman not only in the game but in the country. I’ve been watching Mulitalo maul defenders for years at Lone Peak, and he was supposed to be a player for the future as a Cougar. Because of the season-ending injury to Andrew Gentry, the future is now. Mulitalo stepped up in a huge game and was out in front blocking for Bachmeier on the double-pass play resulting in a touchdown. Overall, the offensive line was terrific against the Irish.

3. I guess we’d better address the final play of the game. Your thoughts?

DICKSON: The coping by Notre Dame fans is amazing to watch. Just about every fan base can relate, because everyone has gone through games were something that happened late was controversial (BYU at Utah in 2024, BYU at Arizona State in 2024 ring a bell?). It seems questions about the clock have been answered (it started late) but the thing that’s drawn even more “measured discussion” online has been the lack of a pass interference call on the final play. I’m saying this in a Taysom Hill voice: Look, it seems the national media and Notre Dame fans are convinced that receivers should be allowed to grab, push and hold the defensive back as much as they want, but when the DB tries to fight back and hold his ground, it’s automatically defensive PI. Good officials recognize that and allow the players to settle things on the field. That’s what I think happened on that final play and frankly, throughout much of the game. Those Notre Dame receivers were as physical as I’ve seen and BYU matched that.

GURNEY: Notre Dame receiver Jaden Greathouse appeared more intent on drawing a pass interference flag than actually catching the football after watching the play upwards of 10 times on replay. Greathouse clearly grabbed Evan Johnson’s arm and forced the initial contact, which I didn’t see live, and is why I came away somewhat surprised that the officials let the play go. But on replay it’s clear that a no-call was absolutely the correct decision, and especially when considering how much contact the officials allowed throughout the game. I felt that Johnson played a very good game on Saturday and defended that final pass almost perfectly. As far as the clock goes, the big mistake was made by the Big 12 Conference by even issuing a ‘my bad’ statement. Just leave it be, and considering that CJ Carr was overthrowing just about everyone in the endzone on Saturday, it probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

4. Do you think it will be difficult for BYU to be ready for a cross country trip to UCF?

GURNEY: It’s not going to be an easy game, and especially when factoring that UCF enjoyed a bye this past week and will enter Saturday’s game with two weeks to prepare for the Cougars. Sure, BYU won the Pop-tarts Bowl in Florida to end last season, but go back and look to see how well the Cougars have fared on the east coast in recent history. Not great, would be the answer. Oh, and UCF is a pretty solid football team anyway, and will present a pretty stingy defense. All that said, I think this is a mature and focused BYU team that will rise to the challenge, but I do not anticipate this to be an easy game by any stretch.

DICKSON: The mantra from Kalani Sitake and the players has been to stay “humble and hungry.” That will be put to the test this week. The Cougars are being told by their families and friends how awesome they are, and the national media is jumping on board as well. Surely the BYU coaches are trying to keep the players’ heads in the the game and the leaders on the team will have to shoulder some of that responsibility as well. UCF is a dangerous team with good athletes. The two league losses for the Golden Knights have both been to ranked teams (27-17 to then-No. 20 Houston and 42-28 to then-No. 18 Oklahoma State). BYU knows what’s at stake so I don’t expect a let down.

5. What are your general impressions after BYU men’s basketball beat Nebraska in last week’s exhibition game?

DICKSON: First thing is I really like the trend towards playing good teams in exhibitions and not the AAU All-Stars or some directional school. Nebraska made the Sweet 16 last year and has a great coach in Fred Hoiberg. I thought BYU played well defensively and showed some good depth in the game. We finally got a look at how all the pieces fit together and the prospects are interesting, especially since center Jaxon Kohler got some very good news via the courts on Monday. Looks like the chances that he’ll get to play this season are definitely improving.  This group seems to have pretty good chemistry and a renewed attention to detail on the defensive end. It’s just one game, and an exhibition at that, but it was a good start.

GURNEY: I had the thought throughout the offseason that Bruce Branch may be the most under-hyped 5-star recruit in BYU history, and by a wide margin. Of course a lot of that has to do with AJ Dybantsa and Branch’s star not being quite as bright, but still, Branch signed on with BYU as one of the top recruits in the entire country and I think you could see why during the win over Nebraska where he scored 15 points on 6-9 shooting while handing out five assists on top of grabbing six rebounds. Those are great stats for his first game, and given his potential, I think bigger things can be anticipated from Branch moving forward, which should boost the Cougar’s overall prospects considerably.