Instant takeaways from No. 8 BYU’s upset win over No. 2 Notre Dame
Oct 17, 2026, 10:58 PM
PROVO — BYU football pulled it off. The Cougars defeated No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 to improve to 6-0 on the season.
Takeaways from the win that catapults BYU into the national title contender conversation.
BYU WINS IT pic.twitter.com/o1BwQf4mdm
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) October 18, 2026
Bear Bachmeier is a winner
BYU sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier delivered a memorable performance.
He had one touchdown pass, two touchdown runs, and a receiving touchdown.
The Murrieta, California, native finished passing for 224 yards and led BYU to a thrilling victory that will be remembered for decades.
Walker Lyons had his best game as a BYU Cougar
The former USC transfer came into this game with an edge. He was one of the first BYU football players to enter LaVell Edwards Stadium, and the usually calm and collected Lyons hyped the student section upon his arrival.
Lyons went on to grab the game-winning touchdown with 1:47 remaining.
He finished the night with five receptions for 49 receiving yards and the one fourth-quarter touchdown when BYU needed it the most.
Jayven Williams came up with a fumble recovery that will be remembered forever
BYU cornerback Jayven Williams made a great play to recover a spiked pass by Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr. It was a heady play that would have left many wondering why the Mississippi State transfer bothered to recover it.
He and fellow BYU defensive teammate Cade Uluave knew that Carr lost control of that ball when he was attempting to spike it.
Notre Dame was in a position to get a double-play with taking over possession at the start of the second half. They were at the BYU five-yard line and looked well on their way to securing some points before the break, but BYU had other plans.
Williams has been an excellent transfer portal addition this season.
What’s even more impressive about Williams’ fumble recovery is that a few plays prior, he was on the end of a penalty that didn’t look to be pass interference. At first, it looked like offensive pass interference. BYU didn’t fold at that moment and kept battling, ultimately leading to Williams’ fumble recovery on the Carr attempted spike.
The first offensive series was a tone-setter
Throughout the week on Cougar Tracks, we noted it was critical for BYU to score points on its scripted points. They did that impressively with an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by a touchdown run from Bear Bachmeier, with the right side of the offensive line featuring freshman Bott Mulitalo.
What was impressive about the opening drive was that it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for BYU. It was power read, play-action passes, and direct QB runs.
It set the tone for the night.
Remember, national media: BYU did this without their star, LJ Martin
BYU looked like a team that could compete at home against a highly ranked Notre Dame team. But that commentary was tempered by the fact that BYU entered the game without star running back LJ Martin.
Throughout the offseason, Kalani Sitake always highlighted his team’s depth, especially at running back.
Once again, BYU backs up its coach.
They always find answers when faced with a glaring question.
Preston Rex stepped up in a big way, delivering his best game as a running back for BYU. Then Journee Tonga showed some shifty moves to keep the chains moving.
Remember national media, LJ Martin will return at some point this season. But they knocked off the No. 2 in the land without the star.
Fake punt in the third quarter
Move along, Jonny Linehan, your 4th & 19 punt return from your own endzone in 2016 at Boise State has company.
In the third quarter, up by eight with a 4th & 5 from their own 28, BYU punter Fuller Shurtz took off and ran with the snap and was stuffed.
Kalani Sitake said that he got too aggressive. That was as aggressive as it gets. In the future, just punt that ball away. Fortunately for BYU, it didn’t cost them in the end.
Muffed punts show up again
Starting punt return specialist Cannon DeVries returned to action this week after missing last week’s win over Iowa State. Even with DeVries back in the return spot, there was another week with a muffed punt.
This time it occurred in the third quarter when Notre Dame was punting from its own 10-yard-line. Devries then muffed the punt, with Notre Dame’s Bubba Frazier being on the spot to recover the muff.
Notre Dame then needed 10 plays to go 28 yards and settled for a field goal, cutting the deficit to 21-13.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSL and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast daily on KSL Sports YouTube and KSL NewsRadio (SUBSCRIBE). Harper also co-hosts Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL NewsRadio.
Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU athletics in the Big 12 Conference on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram: @Mitch_Harper.
