Notre Dame opens as a favorite over BYU in Week 6 neutral-site matchup
Unranked Notre Dame is favored in a neutral-site game against a ranked opponent. The Irish (2-2) opened as a three-point favorite over No. 16 BYU (4-1) ahead of their Oct. 8 meeting at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC), per Circa Sportsbook.
Notre Dame had the weekend off and has won two straight games, most recently a 45-32 victory over North Carolina Sept. 24. It has not been ranked since losing its home opener 26-21 to Marshall Sept. 10. The last three Associated Press Top 25 polls have not included a single Notre Dame vote.
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The Irish were favored in home games against California (-13.5 points, per Caesars) and Marshall (-20.5). They were underdogs at North Carolina (+2.5) and Ohio State (+17)
BYU has a few days of extra rest before playing Notre Dame. The Cougars beat Utah State 38-26 Sept. 29 in a Thursday night game. They have won two straight games since a 41-20 loss at then-No. 25 Oregon. They defeated Wyoming 38-24 Sept. 24, then-No. 9 Baylor 26-20 in double overtime Sept. 10 and South Florida 51-20 in their opener.
The Irish and Cougars have met eight times, with Notre Dame holding a 6-2 lead in the all-time series. The most recent game was a 23-13 Notre Dame home win in 2013. The two schools agreed to a six-game series in 2010, when BYU announced it was leaving the Mountain West Conference to be an FBS independent.
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It was trimmed to three games, though, when Notre Dame announced its football partnership with the ACC. At that point, two had been played – both Irish home wins. BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe said in 2015 the third game, slated to be played at BYU, might never happen.
“We’re going to work it out one way or another,” Holmoe said. “If they come back to play us, that would be great. If they don’t, then there will be some type of settlement and we’ll part as friends.”
The solution was the game in Las Vegas, announced last fall, which is technically a Notre Dame home game and the 11th installment of the Shamrock Series. The Irish have won each of the previous 10, most recently beating Wisconsin 41-13 in Chicago last season. The Shamrock Series began in 2009, when Notre Dame beat Washington State 40-14 in San Antonio.
The game will be Notre Dame’s first in the state of Nevada.
