Updated October 18, 2026, 11:55 p.m. ET
No. 8 BYU’s dramatic — if not controversial — victory over No. 2 Notre Dame featured plenty of intriguing storylines.
Did the Cougars commit pass interference? Why didn’t the officials check the game clock? And what exactly did the Fighting Irish do to “disrespect” BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier and his family?
Speaking after the game, Bachmeier — when asked by USA TODAY’s John Brice what it was like to be part of a victory that had fans storming the field — hesitated for a moment.
Then he targets Notre-Dame:
“(Coach Kalani Sitake) won’t like it because I’m talking about myself,” Bachmeier said, “but right from high school, Notre Dame disrespected me and my family. And I wasn’t going to lose to those guys. There was no way I was going to lose to those guys tonight.”
Indeed, Bachmeier’s play was arguably the game’s deciding factor, as the BYU signal-caller played a role in every Cougars score in the 28-24 victory. He completed 23 of 36 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown to one interception.
He also rushed 13 times for 45 yards and two more scores, and even had a 15-yard touchdown on a trap play. His go-ahead run and 7-yard touchdown pass to Walker Lyons at the 2-minute mark was the ultimate difference in the game.
Bachmeier’s comment likely has to do with his recruitment out of high school, with the prevailing theory that Notre Dame took the No. 28 ranked quarterback in the class for a visit as a recruiting tactic to seal the commitment of another quarterback in the class, five-star Deuce Knight.
Ultimately, neither Bachmeier nor Knight enrolled at Notre Dame: Bachmeier committed to Stanford before transferring to BYU, while Knight landed at Auburn. Bachmeier leading BYU to a victory over the Fighting Irish was the latest – and perhaps final – chapter in this story.
Gn sports
