Notre Dame beats BYU 28-20

LAS VEGAS, NV -- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat the BYU Cougars 28-20 on Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium as part of the Shamrock Series.

The Irish started on defense and picked off BYU quarterback Jaren Hall on the first play of the game. That lead to a Notre Dame field goal early in the quarter, and the Irish took a 3-0 lead. A long punt return set BYU up with great field position a few drives later, and they eventually capitalized on a 4th and goal TD pass. They would miss the extra point, giving the Cougars at 6-3 lead to end the first quarter.

Notre Dame put together an impressive drive to start the second quarter. That drive was capped with a touchdown pass to Michael Mayer, giving him the school record for receptions by a Notre Dame tight end. The Irish regained the lead, 10-6. Notre Dame would be stopped on a 4th and 1 inside the five-yard line. However, on the very next play, they would tackle Jalen Hall in the endzone for a safety. That made the score 12-6. Notre Dame was not done on offense, marching down the field and converting some key third downs. Drew Pyne hit receiver Jayden Thomas for an athletic 30-yard touchdown pass near the end of the first half. The Irish would fail on the two-point conversion, so the score going into halftime was 18-6 in favor of Notre Dame.

Notre Dame got the ball to start the second half, and they had little trouble marching down for another Michael Mayer touchdown. The Irish took a 25-6 lead on the ranked BYU Cougars. But BYU would not go quietly, scoring quickly on their next drive on a 53-yard touchdown pass. That made the score 25-13. The Cougars would stop the Irish on their next drive, and were driving again as the 3rd quarter ended, the score still at 25-13.

BYU would score early in the 4th quarter to get the score to 25-20, and things were officially getting nervy in Nevada. Drew Pyne threw an interception at the BYU 25-yard line, turning the ball back over to BYU. But Notre Dame, helped by a BYU drop on 3rd down, was able to get a stop. The Irish then moved the ball downfield but had to settle for a field goal. The score was 28-20 with 6 minutes remaining. Notre Dame would get a stop on 4th down and run out the clock. Notre Dame, with the 28-20 victory, stays undefeated in Shamrock Series games.