PROVO, Utah — Bear Bachmeier threw a go-ahead touchdown pass to Walker Lyons with 1:47 left on Saturday night, and BYU held on to beat No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo. The Cougars, ranked No. 8, led 21-10 at halftime. The Irish cut the deficit to five entering the fourth quarter, and Jonaz Walton’s 3-yard run gave them a brief lead before BYU answered.
Bachmeier had 224 passing yards and two rushing touchdowns. CJ Carr threw for 261 yards for Notre Dame, and Nolan James Jr. added 77 rushing yards and a touchdown. The Cougars (6-0) beat the Irish for the first time since 2004. It was BYU’s first win over a top-10 opponent since 2018, and it ended Notre Dame’s 16-game winning streak.
Notre Dame got the ball back one more time with a chance to win. The Irish drove to the BYU 8-yard line, and the clock ran out before they could score. In the box score, the game ended with a 28-24 final, a BYU win, and a Notre Dame possession that never reached the end zone.
That is where the team’s accounting parts ways with the scoreboard. Notre Dame’s official calendar lists the possession as open. A line marked “in progress” appears under Saturday, with the ball placed at the 8-yard line and no entry closing it. The Irish are scheduled to resume it when they return to South Bend, according to the calendar.
Pat Duchene, 52, a Notre Dame season-ticket holder from Mishawaka, Indiana, watched the game from his kitchen and said the calendar settled the matter. He keeps a paper copy of the schedule on the refrigerator, next to the grocery list, and has checked it every week since 1994.
“The drive is still ours,” Mr. Duchene said. “It’s on the calendar.”
He said he had not read the box score, which he described as “a document about a different game.” Asked whether the Irish could finish a drive that ended in Provo, he said they could finish it at home.
BYU coaches and players celebrated in the stadium, and the Cougars’ record stands at 6-0. Notre Dame’s record shows the loss. The calendar shows the drive. Mr. Duchene said he plans to keep both, and to circle the eighth yard on the page for the next home game.