W.G. RAMIREZ, Associated Press
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Drew Pyne threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, Michael Mayer caught 11 passes for 118 yards and two scores and Notre Dame won its third straight by beating No. 16 Brigham Young 28-20 on Saturday night.
The sport was the eleventh edition of Notre Dame’s annual Shamrock Series and marked the primary time the Irish faced a fellow FBS Independent since a 44-6 victory over Army in 2016.
The Irish has opened 0-2 under first-year coach Marcus Freeman with losses against No. 3 Ohio State and at home to Marshall.
“It was hard fought,” Freeman said. “This group just continues to battle. They get well each week. We’re finding a solution to get well. You see the consequence today and I’m really comfortable for this team. I really like coaching this group.”
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BYU (4-2) was led by quarterback Jaren Hall, who was 9 of 17 for 120 yards passing with two touchdowns. Chris Brooks rushed for 90 yards on 14 carries, including one touchdown, while Kody Epps caught 4 passes for 100 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Notre Dame improved to 11-0 all-time in its Shamrock Series, in front of an announced gathering of 62,742, the most important crowd for a school athletic event in Nevada history.
“This was a house game for us, the fans showed out,” Mayer said of the pro-Notre Dame crowd.
Trailing 25-6 early within the second half, the Cougars made things interesting by scoring 14 unanswered points to make it 25-20.
After Brooks cut Notre Dame’s result in five with a 28-yard touchdown scamper, Cougars linebacker Max Tooley picked off Pyne and put the ball back within the BYU’s hands. However the Cougars couldn’t capitalize and went three-and-out.
Blake Grupe’s 20-yard field goal gave the Irish an eight-point lead. BYU then drove into Notre Dame territory but had its drive halted when defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola dragged Cougars running back Lopini Katoa down on 4th-and-1.
Notre Dame set the tone early when TaRiq Bracy intercepted Hall on the primary offensive play from scrimmage. The Irish’s ensuing drive stalled on the BYU 8-yard-line and so they settled for a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead.
The Cougars’ defense got here up big on Notre Dame’s second possession, and BYU specialist Hobbs Nyberg returned a punt 42 yards to the Irish 26. Seven plays later Hall found a wide-open Epps within the flat to provide BYU a 6-3 lead.
The Irish would answer in the identical corner of the top zone early within the second quarter when Pine hit Mayer for Notre Dame’s first touchdown of the night.
Later within the quarter, the Cougars’ defense held the Irish on a 4th and 1 on the BYU 4-yard line. But on the following play, Notre Dame’s Jack Kiser sacked Hall on first down for a security, to increase the result in 12-6 and provides the Irish the ball with a little bit greater than six minutes left within the half.
Pine, who accomplished 22 of 28 passes, capitalized and drove the Irish downfield before hitting Jayden Thomas on an inside-fade route in man-to-man coverage for a 30-yard touchdown strike. A two-point conversion failed and the Irish took an 18-6 lead on the half.
BYU: Playing the house of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders marked the second time BYU played at Allegiant Stadium after opening the 2021 season with a win over Arizona there. BYU is now 4-3 in NFL Stadiums under coach Kalani Sitake, while the Cougars dropped to 14-5 when playing in Las Vegas.
Notre Dame: Six of Pine’s first seven completions were to Mayer, the sixth being the second-quarter touchdown that put the Irish back in front. The catch also gave Mayer the all-time reception record by a decent end along with his 141st profession reception.
“Today’s not about me, today’s concerning the team getting an enormous win,” Mayer said. “The offense played great, the defense played great, we got here to Vegas and got a W and that’s all that matters.”
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BYU: Returns home to host Arkansas on Saturday.
Notre Dame: Will play the primary of back-to-back home games on Saturday, against Stanford.
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