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Roundtable Sports
Keys to Victory For The Notre Dame Defense vs BYU
- Story byRoundtable Sports
- Keys to Victory For The Notre Dame Defense vs BYU
(Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)
The 2nd-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the 8th-ranked BYU Cougars square off later tonight in one of the biggest games of the college football season. Notre Dame needs this win to boost its playoff resume, and it would also give the Irish their first road win over a Top 10 team since 2012. Notre Dame's success this season has been largely fueled by it's elite defense, and that will need to continue against the Cougars.
If the defense is going to continue its dominant ways it will need to thrive in five key areas, which will also fuel an Irish victory.
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1) Dominate the Middle of the Line of Scrimmage- BYU has averaged 190.1 rushing yards and 5.0 yards per carry in 19 games with Bear Bachmeieras the starting quarterback. There is no doubt that Bachmeier can hurt you with his arm, especially with talented weapons like Legend Glasker, Walker Lyonsand Kyler Kasper. But the key to stopping this BYU offense is shutting down the run game. If BYU gets its downhill run game going its offense can be very difficult to stop and the Cougars will move the chains, get points and keep the Irish offense off the field. It will also wear down the Irish defense, who will be playing at altitude for the first time this season. The key to shutting down the run game is dominating the middle of the line of scrimmage.
That's an easy recipe, but actually pulling it off is the hard part. BYU has one of the nation's best centers in Bruce Mitchell, and guards Sonny Makasiniand Kyle Sfarciocare experienced and quality blockers. Notre Dame defensive tackles Francis Brewuand Armel Mukamhave been outstanding this season and that will need to continue against the Cougars. In fact, they'll have to be in top form, as will Tionne Gray, Sean Sevillano Jr. and Elijah Hughes. Getting Jason Onyeback could help, but we haven't seen him since week one and we don't know yet how much he'll play.
Defensive coordinator Chris Ashwill clearly need a game plan that slows down the run game, but it can't be one where too many resources are committed to the run game. That makes the RPO game and play-action looks more dangerous. The key is the interior defenders and the linebackers being physical, pushing the BYU linemen off the ball and the linebackers playing an aggressive downhill game.
2) Don't Let Bear Bachmeier Get Going- Part of slowing down the run game is keeping Bear Bachmeier from getting rolling. With LJ Martinout with an injury, Bachmeier becomes the focal point of the run game. Part of that is him being a good decision maker in the give/keep situations, which means Notre Dame will need the ideal blend of aggressiveness attacking the ball and being smart to stay on your keys. But the other aspect is Bachmeier's own ability to run the football. He is coming off his first 100-yard game in the win over Iowa State, and I have a hard time envisioning this offense consistently moving the chains without him having success with his legs, both on designed runs and scrambles.
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Slowing down Bachmeier isn't just about his ability to run. He passed for over 3,000 yards as a freshman in 2025, and he went for over 300 yards against the Cyclones. That was Bachmeier's fourth 300-yard game, which is twice as much as CJ Carrin just two more starts. That's another conversation for another day, but the point is keeping Bachmeier from getting comfortable in the throwing game is as important as slowing down the run game. That means mixing up coverage looks and not letting him get a feel on what the Irish are trying to do, and even more important is putting pressure on him with the front.
A big day from Boubacar Traoreand Bryce Youngwould certainly help, and getting Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asaback does as well.
3) Dominate Early Downs- I talked about the importance of winning the early downs in the offensive keys article and that's a vital key for the defense as well, and for the same reasons. BYU ranks 23rd nationally in third-down offense, but like most teams in college football, the further back they are the less effective they are.
BYU has converted third-and-short (1-3 yards) at an 89.5-percent clip.
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BYU has converted third-and-medium (4-6 yards) at a 47.1-percent clip.
BYU has converted third-and-long (7+ yards) at a 23.8-percent clip.
Getting BYU into as long of third-down situations as you can is vitally important for Notre Dame in order to get off the field consistently in this game. To do that the Irish must be strong on first down against a BYU offense that averaged 5.7 yards per carry on first down and 6.9 yards per carry on second down.
4) Limit Big Plays- BYU ranks 71st in the country in gains of 20 yards or more and 87th in gains of 30 yards or more, but they rank 12th in gains of 50 yards or more. BYU isn't a team that rips off a bunch of chunk plays (20+), but they are able to manufacture the big, game changing gains of 50+ yards. When they go big, they really go big. A key to success in this game is making BYU consistently go on long drives, which means limiting, if not eliminating, the big gains.
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5) Get The Ball- BYU has lost just four games since the beginning of the 2024 season, which is the same number as Notre Dame. The Cougars have lost the turnover battle in all four of those games, including going minus-7 in two losses to Texas Tech last season. Notre Dame has forced just two turnovers in its four losses. If the Irish can get after Bachmeier, confuse him and if the secondary is able to play its best football there will be chances to get the ball, and if they can do that the Irish will be hard to beat.
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