Notre Dame football score predictions: BYU vs. Fighting Irish staff picks

If you told any Notre Dame fan on the evening of Sept. 10 that all the Fighting Irish would need was three games to get their record back over .500, they would have all signed for that on the dotted line immediately.

Notre Dame was 0-2 with a loss to Marshall that day. Four weeks later, the Irish have a chance to improve to 3-2 with a win over No. 16 BYU (4-1). It would easily be the best win of the short Marcus Freeman era if it were to manifest.

Will it happen? The BlueandGold.com staff makes picks below.

Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 31, BYU 23 

Outside of an outburst for 314 rushing yards in the season opener against South Florida, BYU has struggled to run the ball after All-American Tyler Allgeier departed for the NFL. Notre Dame has a front seven that should shed some early concerns and be stout in run stopping by Oct. 8.

The Irish offense has steadily improved enough with the direction of quarterback Drew Pyne, meanwhile. The elephant in the room, of course, is whether his 289 passing yards and three touchdowns had more to do with the Irish’s offensive game plan and Pyne’s own prowess or with just how bad North Carolina’s defense is. Just a week prior, Pyne could only muster up 150 passing yards and two scores against Cal. But it was still enough to win.

Pyne will live somewhere in the middle of the wide valley between 150 and 289 Saturday. If he continues to take care of the football and Notre Dame is able to run for over 200 yards on BYU like Oregon and Utah State did, then the Irish should control the game much in the same way it did against UNC. Pyne makes enough plays, the Irish D makes enough stops and Freeman gets a big early-tenure victory. 

Patrick Engel: Notre Dame 27, BYU 20

Notre Dame will have its hands full with BYU quarterback Jaren Hall, a gifted passer who can make difficult throws look easy and burn defenses with his ability to extend plays. It’s a good defense against a good quarterback. Strength on strength.

Where this will be decided, though, is a matchup that looks like a strength on a weakness – if the last six quarters are an indication of what Notre Dame’s rushing operation will largely be going forward. The Irish have controlled the line of scrimmage on offense and ridden the run game to victories. BYU’s run defense has given up at least 120 yards to every opponent this year, including 204 to a 1-4 Utah State team last time out.

If the Irish can run the ball on BYU, they will leave Las Vegas a winner.

Mike Singer: Notre Dame 34, BYU 26

BYU has had teams run wild against them this season, which is music to the ears of the Notre Dame fan base. The key to the Notre Dame offense is controlling the line of scrimmage and asserting itself in the run game. If they can do that against BYU, then they will win. The Notre Dame defense should hold up against the Cougars, but it’s the offense that is more of the question mark. If the Irish have to rely on Pyne’s arm to win, it’ll be a tricky proposition.

Todd Burlage: Notre Dame 21, BYU 20 

Notre Dame takes a perfect 10-0 record in Shamrock Series games to Las Vegas Saturday for a date against No. 16 BYU. 

Seventh-year BYU head coach Kalani Sitake quietly went 21-4 in 2020 and 2021 and finished in the top-20 of the final AP Poll both seasons. 

With 16 starters back, Sitake’s Cougars started this season 2-0 and rose to No. 12 in the AP Poll before slipping some following a 41-20 loss at No. 15 Oregon on Sept. 17.

BYU is a good and balanced football team — one of the best Notre Dame will play this season — that returned nearly all of its elite players, including Hall, who has won plenty of big games against Power 5 teams as a two-year starter.

Notre Dame comes off a bye week but also after showing across-the-board improvement in the 45-32 win Sept. 24, at North Carolina. 

This will be another tussle, but the Irish and Pyne find a way to secure a third-straight win. 

Steve Downey: BYU 27, Notre Dame 20

This felt like a coin-flip game prior to the start of the season, but after watching their offense slog through the first three weeks it was hard to feel good about the Fighting Irish’s chances against a good BYU team. The offensive performance against North Carolina Sept. 24 definitely helps change that perception, but the Irish still need to prove they can get the job done against a competent opponent.

The clear path to victory for the Irish against the Cougars is another strong performance from their running backs. Against the Tar Heels, while fueling a ground attack that racked up 287 yards, junior Chris Tyree (104) and sophomores Audric Estime (134) and Logan Diggs (115) became the first trio of Irish running backs to post 100-plus total yards from scrimmage (rushing and receiving) in the same game since 1987. BYU ranks just 91st in the country in rushing defense (159.8 yards allowed per game) and surrendered 204 yards on the ground against Group of Five foe Utah State in its last outing.

If Notre Dame can’t take advantage of that matchup, it means it’ll come down to the two quarterbacks. The Irish were finally able to push the ball down the field in their passing game against UNC, but Pyne still ranks only 76th nationally with 7.29 yards per pass attempt. The Cougars’ Hall, meanwhile, can beat you with his arm or his legs. After leading the Cougars to a 4-1 start, he ranked 18th nationally in passing yards (1,438) and touchdowns (12), and was 25th in passing efficiency (162.8 rating). He also possesses the type of mobility that can neutralize Notre Dame’s pass rush.

In the end, I think Hall makes more plays than Pyne en route to a BYU victory.

Season-long straight-up records

Tyler Horka: 2-2

Patrick Engel: 3-1

Mike Singer: 3-1

Todd Burlage: 2-2

Steve Downey: 3-1