PROVO, UT — A sellout crowd got the kind of night college football fans circle on the calendar. BYU edged Notre Dame 28-24 on Saturday, and quarterback Bear Bachmeier had a reason for wanting this one more than most.
Bachmeier played a brilliant game, and the Cougars’ defense made the stop Notre Dame needed to get out. That result moved BYU to No. 2 in the AP College Football Poll.
BYU’s defense dominated the final minutes. With the Fighting Irish in position to take the lead and steal the win, the Cougars forced a critical stop, ending Notre Dame’s comeback hopes and sending the home crowd into a roar. It followed a night when Bachmeier led the offense with poise and big plays, while the defense answered every challenge when the game was on the line.
In the post-game press conference, Bachmeier said this win meant more to him than to most. He knew his coach, Kalani Sitake, wouldn’t love the topic, but he said it anyway.
“[Coach] Kalani [Sitake] won’t like this because I’m talking about myself, but out of high school, Notre Dame disrespected me and my family pretty badly, and I wasn’t going to lose to those guys,” Bachmeier said. “There was no way I was going to lose to those guys tonight.“
He acknowledged his revenge mentality and realized he may have said too much in the excitement of the major win.
“Just, yeah, I shouldn’t have said that, but there were some receipts kept, and man, I’m glad we won,” Bachmeier said.
On whether that history gave him extra motivation, Bachmeier emphasized that he never forgot it and delivered payback to the Fighting Irish.
“For sure! I mean, I wanted to keep the same process, but I definitely had an extra chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I hate talking about myself.“
BYU is now ranked No. 2 in the current AP College Football Poll and will face UCF on the road this Saturday.
