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Roundtable Sports
Notre Dame vs BYU Countdown: Irish Defense Faces Biggest Test So Far
- Story byRoundtable Sports
- Notre Dame vs BYU Countdown: Irish Defense Faces Biggest Test So Far
(Michael Caterina, USA TODAY Sports)
There's a certain level of confidence we have in Notre Dame's defense after they've built up their reputation over the last 16 games. This weekend, they'll be tested against a BYU offense that's 5-0 this season and ranks 10th in the country in yards per play, 8th in the country in yards per rush, 12th in the country in plays of 50 yards or more and 6th in the country in plays of 60 yards or more.
Thankfully, Notre Dame brings one of the best defenses in the country to the table, but it's fair to say that neither the Fighting Irish defense or the Cougar offense has been tested the way both sides of the ball will be tested Saturday night. These are the three biggest storylines, two crucial battles and one player to watch for Notre Dame in their Top 10 matchup Saturday night inside of LaVell Edwards Stadium.
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THREE BIGGEST STORYLINES
1. D-Line's Time To Shine
The Notre Dame defensive line has certainly lived up to their preseason hype in many ways through the first six games of 2026. They have not, however, faced an offensive line to the caliber of BYU. I would argue that this will be their biggest test from a physicality and discipline standpoint that they'll face the entire regular season and potential into the postseason. The Cougars offensive line is the primary driver of their success on offense and the Notre Dame defensive line will have to be ready for a battle. Players like Boubacar Traore, Bryce Young, Armel Mukam, Francis Brewu, Tionne Gray and Jason Onye if he's able to go will be crucial in the success of the defense.
2. Toughest Quarterback Test This Season
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The Irish have faced some decent quarterbacks this season. In the opener, they faced Colton Joseph for the Badgers. Since their loss to Notre Dame, Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne has started to light it up in the Big 10. Stanford quarterback Davis Warren is much better than anticipated after leaving Michigan to head out west. But any one of those quarterbacks don't compare to BYU signal caller Bear Bachmeier who is 17-2 as a starter and a dominant dual-threat player. In the preseason we said the three best quarterbacks the Irish will face are down the stretch and this is the first of their three tests. Bachmeier is coming off his most productive game of the 2026 season against Iowa State. Containing and limiting Bachmeier will have to be top-of-mind for the Fighting Irish defense.
3. Preventing The Big Play
Despite what some may believe, the BYU offense hits quite a bit of big plays on offense. They aren't an offense that will chunk you to death with 20 or 30 yards plays. They'll gash you for six yards, four yards, seven yards and then take a deep shot over top. They rank 12th in the country in plays 50 yards or longer from the line of scrimmage and 6th in the country in plays of 60 yards from the line of scrimmage. Despite only playing five games through this point in the season, the Cougars have four plays of 60 yards or longer and have two plays of 70 yards or more. Preventing the big play was one of our keys to victory in Wednesday's show and this is why.
TWO CRUCIAL BATTLES
1. Safties vs Walker Lyons
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One of the better portal pick ups of the offseason was BYU snagging former USC tight end Walker Lyonsfrom the transfer portal. He's an athletic tight end that can hurt you down the field and is also a pretty solid run blocker. The Notre Dame safeties have gotten beat by a couple of talented tight ends in recent weeks and this weekend, they'll be put to the test once again. The Irish safeties in Adon Shuler, Luke Talich and Joey O'Brien (if he's put into the rotation) will be key to shutting down Lyons' impact down the field. North Carolina's tight ends got them on a couple of big plays and Stanford's tight end caught their only touchdown of the game last week.
2. Boubacar Traore vs Bott Mulitalo
Traore has been on a tear this season and is working his way up the ranks as one of the best edge rushers in college football. In games like this, you need your 'dudes to be dudes' and Notre Dame's biggest 'dude' on the defensive line is Traore. The 6-5, 253-pound defensive end will be matched up against two young right tackles including Bott Mulitalo. Traore has done a tremendous job of forcing turnovers or being the cause of turnovers this season and that will have to continue Saturday night. The Cougars have done a really good job of protecting the football this season, but we've seen this narrative before of teams doing an excellent job of protecting the football until they play the Irish.
ONE PLAYER TO WATCH: DE BRYCE YOUNG
The 6-6, 260-pound edge rusher has gotten off to a hot start this season, but has had relatively quiet games in their last two outings. Due to his dominant start, teams started focusing more on Young and left Traore one on one. With Traore's performance over the last couple of weeks, I expect BYU to gameplan around Traore meaning Young is going to have to be effective and win his one on one matchups. This is the game I had circled on my calendar for Young to have his biggest impact yet on the season. I'm not overly surprised he played well against Wisconsin, Rice and Michigan State. But this weekend could truly be Young's coming out party and solidify the Young-Traore duo as one of the best edge rushing duos in the nation.
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