No. 8 Cougars’ national standing, and the Big 12’s reputation, on the line in Provo

The notion that Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. MDT showdown with No. 2 Notre Dame is the most important regular-season college football game in BYU history has been cemented the past month and a half as both squads have performed as expected when the season began.

A case could be made that it is also the most important game of the season for the power conference to which BYU belongs, the often-disrespected Big 12, a case the Deseret News made in early September.

“How the Cougars fare against Notre Dame will have a direct impact on their CFP hopes and an indirect impact on whether the conference sends more than one team (the champion) to the playoffs,” said Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News in August.

Well, nothing has changed.

Although BYU’s 28-21 upset of then-No. 1 Miami in 1990 was huge and launched Ty Detmer’s Heisman Trophy candidacy, this one is even bigger because the Cougars (5-0) are not only playing for themselves in the nationally televised (ABC) primetime affair, they are playing for the other 15 teams in their league — including rival Utah.

The Big 12’s reputation is on the line for arguably the first time since 2025 champion Texas Tech was throttled 23-0 by Oregon in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal last December, an outcome that put the conference in an unfavorable light after the Red Raiders had blitzed runner-up BYU twice.

“The unfortunate reality is that BYU is playing for the entire conference on Saturday,” wrote John Kurtz in his Big 12-centric “Open for Business” newsletter. “There’s a pack of rabid sharks circling the waters, out for blood. They want to feel justified in belittling the Big 12.

“… And I have to be honest, I’m concerned. The reaction to Texas Tech’s shutout loss to Oregon last year was brutal, and the scars remain. That mob will grab its pitchforks again if the same thing happens to BYU on Saturday.”

An even scarier notion for the undefeated Cougars two weeks before Halloween is that they will be without all-conference running back LJ Martin for at least a couple more weeks, and two-year starting right tackle Andrew Gentry for the rest of the year. And Notre Dame just happens to have the best rush defense in all of college football.

“Buckle your chin strap,” was BYU offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick’s message to quarterback Bear Bachmeier and the rest of the Cougars on Tuesday. “These guys are good. Nobody has been able to run the ball on them at all.

“They’ve given up the fewest yards of any defense in college football this year — first or second — in just about every category,” Roderick continued. “They are very good. So yeah, it is all 11 guys on offense (playing well), man. We have to have our minds right, and it is going to be a physical game. These guys are tough.”

As reported Wednesday, BYU could get back its second-best running back behind Martin, sophomore Sione Moa; however, Moa hasn’t played since the opener against Utah Tech and barely played at all last year after contracting compartment syndrome in his right leg.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, is getting back two of its top defenders, cornerback Leonard Moore and defensive lineman Jason Onye.

On the injury front, fortune has smiled on the Irish. On the other hand, BYU’s Bachmeier, who is 17-2 as a starter, is coming off arguably the best all-around performance of his career, throwing for more than 300 yards and rushing for more than 100 in the 24-10 win over Iowa State.

Bachmeier will need another sensational game if BYU hopes to stay close to the 6-0 Irish, who have won 16 straight games dating back to last year, all by double digits.

“Yeah, of course (there is concern over Bachmeier’s many runs),” Roderick said. “I mean, we are choosing those runs wisely. He had nine rushing attempts (vs. ISU). Six of them were called runs. Three of them were scrambles. I am very aware of how many times he runs.”

So the stakes are incredibly high for a nonconference clash.

“BYU doesn’t necessarily need to win, but it cannot get demolished — the damage would resonate across the Big 12 throughout the CFP selection process,” Wilner said.

Coincidentally, the CFP on Thursday moved closer to expanding to a 24-team format in 2027, an expansion that would make matchups such as Saturday’s at LaVell Edwards Stadium not as important as they previously were.

Of course, head coach Kalani Sitake and his players are aware of the implications, freely acknowledging that this is not just another opponent.

“This week is a different beast, obviously,” Sitake said. “It is a huge opportunity for us to play them.”

There’s risk involved, too, if the Cougars don’t play better than the last time they were in a top 10 matchup, the 29-7 humbling they suffered at the hands of No. 8 Texas Tech when they were No. 7 and undefeated in early November.

“Our approach is the same, but it’s a different opponent. We see it on film. We know they’re ranked really high. We know that they’re very talented, and so the sense of urgency ramps up a little bit more,” Sitake said.

BYU’s defense should also get a boost Saturday, as three key defenders who have been out but have practiced this week are “on track” to return, according to defensive coordinator Kelly Poppinga. Safety Raider Damuni, linebacker Isaiah Glasker and nickel Cannon DeVries will join their teammates in trying to slow outstanding Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr and his plethora of weapons.

“I don’t want to guarantee anything, but I would say as of (Wednesday) it looks that way, but you never know,” Poppinga said. “I have been pleased with the way Glasker is moving around, Raider as well. … Sometimes it just depends on how they wake up and the stiffness and all that. But I would say they are progressing in the right direction right now.”

Poppinga acknowledged that practices this week have been more focused as the Cougars realize the importance of what lies before them.

“I think they’re mentally and physically and emotionally ready to play this game,” he said.