Could a win over mighty Irish put Bear Bachmeier into Heisman discussion?

According to a poll of Heisman Trophy voters conducted by On3.com after Week 6 of the college football season, neither Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr nor BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier are serious contenders for college football’s most prestigious individual honor, despite the fact that both QBs are leading undefeated, top-10 teams.

Other surveys, such as one conducted by Sporting News, have Carr among their top five Heisman candidates, but list Bachmeier in the “fringe category.”

Then there’s former Heisman-winning quarterback Robert Griffin III of Fox Sports, who on Tuesday put BYU’s Bachmeier at No. 4 on his “Top 5 Heisman Front-Runners” list after Week 6. RGIII’s leading candidate is Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith, followed by Miami quarterback Darian Mensah and Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor.

The On3 poll has OSU’s Smith at No. 1, followed by Mensah at No. 2, Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss at No. 3 and Alabama QB Keelon Russell at No. 4.

The point is that midway through the season, the quarterbacks in Saturday’s epic showdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium (5:30 p.m. MDT, ABC) when No. 8 BYU hosts No. 2 Notre Dame have work to do if they hope to even be invited to New York City for the Heisman ceremony on Dec. 12.

It should also be mentioned that the numbers of Carr and Bachmeier are not as gaudy as those of some of the other outstanding QBs in the country because they have been involved in so many blowouts — especially Carr — that they haven’t played as much.

They are also surrounded by phenomenal running backs, three for Notre Dame and one for BYU — before reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year LJ Martin sustained a serious lower leg injury in the first quarter against TCU.

Also, neither Carr nor Bachmeier were the focus of preseason Heisman campaigns from their respective schools; BYU was more focused on pushing Martin for postseason honors, until the senior went down against the Horned Frogs.

A redshirt sophomore who is listed as a junior on Notre Dame’s roster, Carr has thrown for 1,378 yards and 16 touchdowns, with one interception through six games.

A sophomore, Bachmeier has thrown for 1,033 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception through five games. Bachmeier has also rushed for 239 yards and four touchdowns as one of the better dual-threat QBs in the country.

BYU on Carr: ‘Best quarterback in the country’

Notre Dame has produced seven Heisman Trophy winners, including quarterbacks Angelo Bertelli (1943), John Lujack (1947), Paul Hornung (1956) and John Huarte (1964). BYU has produced one, quarterback Ty Detmer in 1990.

So Carr’s chances are seemingly much higher than Bachmeier’s, thanks in part to that national cachet the Irish have.

After studying Notre Dame film the past week, BYU defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga has become a believer. He says Carr is “the best quarterback in the country” and should be in Heisman race.

“He’s a rhythmic quarterback where he can get the ball out on time, and he knows exactly where to throw the ball if you show him what coverage you’re in,” Poppinga said. “As far as a (comparison) of somebody that we played before, I can’t (think of one).”

Arizona’s Noah Fifita “is a different type of player. He gets out of the pocket a little bit more, makes plays with his feet, where this guy (Carr) is more like a true NFL-style quarterback. But he’s athletic enough to get out of the pocket and make plays as well.”

Poppinga said the key to stopping the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Carr will be to give him multiple defensive looks in an attempt to “confuse him” and get him to throw into a defense he is not expecting.

Freeman on Bear: ‘He’s the real deal’

Both quarterbacks moved into the spotlight in a big way last year, in their first full years of college football. Carr filled in seamlessly for Duke transfer Riley Leonard and Bachmeier won a three-way quarterback battle two months after joining the program when Jake Retzlaff transferred to Tulane to avoid a seven-game suspension at BYU.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the Irish, which have the best total defense in the country, allowing just 214.2 yards per game, will have to contain the 6-2, 230-pound Bachmeier if they hope to stay undefeated.

“They play really well at home and they play well at night, so it’s going to be a great challenge for us. On offense, it all starts with the quarterback. He’s a special player,” Freeman said Monday. “He can hurt you in the run and the pass (game). Sees it well, gets the ball out of his hands, puts his shoulder down if he needs to, and runs you over.”

Bachmeier almost single-handedly beat TCU with his legs, running for 66 yards when rain and mist made throwing the ball difficult. He followed that up with a 109-yard rushing performance against Iowa State last week, while also throwing for 329 yards.

“He’s the real deal. He’s big. Like, he’s big. Like, he will try to run you over big,” Freeman said. “But he also can throw, and so that’s what makes him good. That’s why he was the (freshman) player of the year last year in the Big 12. So we got to have a good plan.”

Bear Bachmeier on the big game

Both schools have produced outstanding quarterbacks the past 50 years, with the Irish boasting the likes of Lujack, Hornung, Joe Montana, Tony Rice and Brady Quinn, who, coincidentally, was the losing quarterback in BYU’s 20-17 win in 2004.

At the top of BYU’s list of QBs are Detmer, Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson, Taysom Hill, Max Hall, Zach Wilson and Steve Young, who has been selected to be the guest picker during the “College GameDay” broadcast Saturday morning in Provo.

Bachmeier, who began his college career at Stanford, participating in spring practices before transferring to BYU, said Monday that BYU’s success with quarterbacks “was a big factor” in his decision to attend BYU.

“Yeah, a big quarterback lineage, and just honored to be a part of that,” he said.

To beat Notre Dame, Bachmeier will have to figure out how to get the Cougars into the end zone more frequently than they did in the 24-10 win over Iowa State.

“We want to be aggressive,” he said. “You don’t play the game to be a scaredy cat or anything like that. But yeah, we just have to execute down there in the red zone.”

Suffice it to say that neither quarterback will be able to win this game on his own, but Carr appears to have more weapons at his disposal. That’s probably why most national pundits see the Irish winning easily.

BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said Bachmeier is a “really mature guy” who has played in a lot of big games and predicts that the sophomore will handle the spotlight well.

“This one’s big, but they’re all big, and I expect Bear to play with a lot of poise,” Roderick said. “We’re playing against a very good defense. So I’m not saying it’s going to be easy at all. It’s going to be tough to move the ball on these guys, but I think Bear has handled any adversity that’s been thrown at him in the past very well, and I expect him to play well.”