Controversial ending aside, BYU’s win over Notre Dame was transformational moment for the football program

Proof that these aren’t your grandfather’s BYU Cougars, or even your father’s, or even the plucky bunch from the last two seasons — in terms of national perception — came about 15 hours after No. 8 BYU toppled No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday night.

Voters in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, comprised of media members from across the country, mostly ignored the noise about the wild and somewhat controversial ending, and how the Big 12 said the final play should have been reviewed to see if there was any time left on the clock, and how there might have been defensive pass interference on the play, and ranked undefeated BYU No. 2 in the country anyway.

Now that’s respect.

It’s respect that wasn’t readily apparent before the game began, with most national pundits predicting an easy Notre Dame victory and a comeuppance of sorts for a good-but-not-great BYU program that did a face plant — twice — last year against Texas Tech when the lights were shining the brightest.

I think if you come to our house, we’re gonna defend it. We can play with anyone in the nation, and the job’s not finished.

BYU running back Preston Rex

“Yeah man, we were tired of being disrespected,” said BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier, who inched closer into the Heisman Trophy race by outplaying Notre Dame QB CJ Carr, who is on that list, when it really mattered. “We know who we are, and man, this was a great win for sure.”

Really, it was a transformational win for the program. The Cougars seem to have finally arrived.

“A lot of people weren’t respecting us,” said linebacker Cade Uluave, who led BYU with nine tackles, including a tackle for loss. “A lot of people thought we were a fluke or didn’t think we were all that. Now we went out and beat the No. 2 team in the country, so hopefully people will put some respect on our name.”

A quick perusal of social media accounts throughout the game in which BYU matched the mighty Irish in almost every meaningful statistical category proved that respect, indeed, and finally, has set up shop in Provo.

Wrote Stewart Mandel of The Athletic: “I will admit, I did not think No. 8 BYU could beat No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday with its star running back LJ Martin on the shelf. I sorely underestimated Bear Bachmeier and the Cougars. The Irish may have, too.”

Missing its top two running backs — Sione Moa was listed as questionable this week but did not play — BYU had 87 rushing yards in the first half and finished with 121, the most the Irish have given up on the ground this season. The previous high was 77, by North Carolina.

“In the first top-10 matchup ever played at LaVell Edwards Stadium, BYU made a statement not just for Kalani Sitake’s program — which is now 29-4 over the past three seasons (the second-highest winning percentage behind only Indiana) — but for the terminally disrespected Big 12,” Mandel wrote.

Also in the new AP poll released Sunday, Texas Tech moved up to No. 8, Utah moved up to No. 10, Houston moved up to No. 14 and Arizona — now one of BYU’s two wins over ranked teams — snuck in at No. 25. National observers said BYU was carrying the banner of the Big 12 on Saturday night, and the Cougars passed with flying colors.

A message was sent, and the rest of the country received it.

“I think if you come to our house, we’re gonna defend it. We can play with anyone in the nation, and the job’s not finished,” said running back Preston Rex, who ran for a career-high 66 yards on 10 carries. “It was a great win. We’re gonna celebrate it for the weekend. But come Monday, we’re gonna make the necessary preparations for the next game, for UCF and then for ASU. We are a real contender and we’re just gonna take it week by week.”

There are more BYU believers now than in recent memory. But the target on their backs will grow bigger, beginning this weekend in Orlando, Florida.

“Notre Dame is a great team, and they got the most out of us. I thought it was a good move for us to have this game, because our team grew up quite a bit, and I was really proud of the way they developed throughout this week, and the sense of urgency that we’ve been wanting from this team, I think, is here,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake.

“So we just gotta stay humble and keep working. I mean, this is one game that we’re really proud of, and really excited for, but we gotta get ready for the next one, too, and we’ll celebrate and be happy about this win. We’ll look at the things that we can learn from and get better, but we’ve got to be humble and hungry, and we’ve got to find ways to get better and improve for next week.”

In many ways, Sitake’s coaching mettle will be tested like never before this week. Fresh off their emotionally draining victory over a Notre Dame team that had won 16 straight games by double digits, the Cougars have to travel two time zones away and take on a decent UCF team (1-2, 3-3) that had a bye this past weekend.

Saturday’s Big 12 game will kick off at 1:30 p.m. MDT and will be televised nationally by FOX.

“Did you guys see what happened (in college football Saturday)?” Sitake asked. “I just heard about a lot of the scores, and so college football is hard, and it’s difficult to win games, and you can never take anything for granted. You just have to keep playing the game and keep working hard. So we’ll test our humility, but we’ve got to find ways to stay humble, and we’ll make that work.”

BYU safety Raider Damuni returned to action since going down in the opener and immediately made his presence felt, notable considering two of BYU’s top three cornerbacks — Tre Alexander and Jayven Williams — got dinged up.

Damuni had seven tackles and broke up a pass. More proof that BYU matched Notre Dame’s physicality: BYU had three tackles for loss, while Notre Dame had two. BYU won despite losing the turnover battle, 2-1.

The Cougars were a perfect 4 for 4 in getting touchdowns in the red zone, eight days after struggling there in the 24-10 win over Iowa State.

“It is one of those moments that you dream of as a kid,” Damuni said. “Growing up as a BYU fan, you dream of playing in these games and winning these games. That’s the most fun I’ve ever had playing a college football game.”

So remember the day — Oct. 17, 2026.

It was the day that BYU not only upset the biggest brand in college football, but did so when the entire country was watching, from daybreak to day’s end — controversial finish, or not.

It will never be forgotten. It was transformational for a program that has punched above its weight class for decades. Now it has to be considered a heavyweight in the college football world.