top ten show in provo: #2 notre dame travels to #8 byu

College Gameday is heading to Provo for the first time since 2009 for the showdown between the second-ranked Fighting Irish and the eighth-ranked Cougars. This is the tenth meeting all-time, and Notre Dame currently leads the series with a 7-2 record. This game marks the first time in series history that both teams enter the game ranked in the Top 25.

BYU enters this game 5-0, with three Big 12 wins over Arizona, TCU and Iowa State. They will be without their Star Running Back LJ Martin, who was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year last season.

Notre Dame enters the game 6-0, with their highest regular season ranking during the Marcus Freeman Era. They have the top-ranked defense in the country and are beginning to develop a more multi-fascited offensive attack as the season progresses.

The BYU offense seems to go all through Quarterback Bear Bachmeier with the absence of Martin. Bachmeier threw for 329 yards and ran for another 109 yards last week against Iowa State. Three running backs, Preston Rex, Journee Tonga, and Devaughn Eka, combined for 17 carries and 54 yards last week. The Cougars will need a running back to step up against Notre Dame, as Bachmeier will not be able to do it all himself. Notre Dame currently has the #3 run defense in the entire nation.

To make it simple, BYU’s wide receivers will be severely outmatched by Notre Dame’s elite secondary. Freshman Wide Receiver Legend Glasker leads the Cougars this season with 378 yards, and Kyler Kasper is next with 178 yards. Notre Dame’s secondary is highlighted by Leonard Moore, DJ McKinney and Tae Johnson, all of which have received first round NFL Draft grades.

Christian Gray, Jayden Sanders, Adon Shuler, Luke Talich and Joey O’Brien are also elite players in the secondary for Notre Dame. Tae Johnson looks to remain sidelined for this game with injury, but a starting safety tandem of Shuler and Talich is still one of the nation’s top safety duos. 

Containing Bachmeier will be crucial for the Fighting Irish defense. Their pass rush has greatly improved this year, headlined by Edge Rushers Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore, who have combined for 6.5 sacks this season. Like every other position group on this Notre Dame defense, the defensive line has immense depth, as they rotate many different edge rushers and defensive tackles onto the field. The defensive line will need to be rested to prevent Bachmeier from generating big plays with his legs, and Notre Dame’s depth certainly provides them with potential to do so.

The Irish also have four experienced linebackers, including Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who was PFFs top graded linebacker in the country heading into last week. Viliamu-Asa and Leonard Moore sat out last week due to injury, but those decisions seemed precautionary and they will be good to go against the Cougars.

What will decide this game is whether Notre Dame can establish a complementary offense from the jump. Their elite defense will keep BYU’s offense contained, but I see Notre Dame’s offense as the group that could potentially come out slow in this game.

Notre Dame struggled with the run game to start the year totaling 111 yards, 118 yards and 161 yards in the first three games of the season. Since then, Notre Dame has had 177 yards, 241 yards and 361 yards on the ground. 

Jonaz Walton has been the source of most of these yards, recording 362 yards on 43 carries in the last three games. Nolan James has also produced this season, averaging 5.2 YPC, but Aneyes Williams, who was looked at as the starter heading into the year, has struggled.

It will be interesting to see the split against BYU. Personally I believe it should be a 60-30-10 split with Walton, James and Williams, respectively, mixing Williams in on 3rd downs to take advantage of his passing game upside. However, I do not believe this is what Coach Freeman will do. 

BYU has the 11th-ranked run defense in the country, led by Linebackers Cade Uluave and Jake Clifton. Running the ball on this defense will certainly be a challenge for Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock and his offense.

CJ Carr has been nothing short of elite so far this season. He has the 4th-ranked QBR in the nation, and while his stats aren’t particularly impressive, he has been highly efficient.

It seems as if there have only been a handful of “bad throws” from Carr this season. He also has thrown 16 touchdown passes, tied for the 6th most in the country. Jordan Faison leads the offense in receiving yards with 387, and Micah Gilbert is right behind him with 378.

Surprisingly, Notre Dame tight ends are not a major part of this offense, only tallying 117 yards this season. BYU ranks 28th in passing defense this season. 

Overall, this game will be an absolute bloodbath. With two elite defenses, we can expect a gritty, defensive battle, where every yard will count. The first quarter will be very telling, and if Notre Dame can establish the run or drive down the field through the air early in the game, opening up the other aspect of the offense, they should be able to put up enough points to beat the Cougars.

The way I see it, the pressure here is all on the Notre Dame offense and BYU defense. BYU’s path to victory is not a shootout. Without LJ Martin, it will be nearly impossible to light up the Notre Dame defense. 

The game will kickoff in Provo at 7:30 P.M. EST on ABC. As college football fans, this game will tell us a lot about these two teams that have not faced a test anywhere close to this one.