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BYU traveled to Notre Dame Saturday, and fought valiantly against the fifth-ranked Fighting Irish, but fell just short of the upset win over the 13-point favorites. Despite the close 17-14 score against a good team, BYU fans are frustrated.
Here are some reasons why:
- Depth charges: The bottom line of this game was that BYU simply didn’t have the depth to win it. The vaunted BYU run defense got worn down by a bigger, better Notre Dame team in the trenches. The offensive line was also worn down by one of the best defensive fronts in college football. Two Notre Dame running backs rushed for over 100 yards. A team doesn't typically lose when that happens.
- This was not a trap game: I got so sick of hearing how much of a trap game this was for Notre Dame. It was disrespectful to BYU. Notre Dame was not flat. The Cougars are a better than they get credit for because they don’t score 5,000 points a game like the trendy teams of college football. Also, Notre Dame is not a top-5 team. Notre Dame slow and has very few skill players to produce. So, it wasn't a trap game. BYU just better than people thought and Notre Dame simply not as good as people think.
- Riley, Riley, Riley: Riley Nelson is just not good enough to beat quality teams. He played well, but that performance may be as good as he is capable of. I’m stealing this from a David James tweet, but you tell me that Max Hall or John Beck plays in that game and BYU still loses? Nelson got away with a few poor throws and then missed the potential game-winning touchdown to Cody Hoffman in the final minutes. Until BYU gets a quarterback, it will beat the teams that it's supposed to beat and lose to the teams it's supposed to lose to. Just think about it, do you think Utah State would trade BYU quarterbacks right now?
- Jamaal Williams is for real: It seems like this is a takeaway every week. How Williams was not the starter from the beginning of the season, I’ll never know. He’s young too, a lot of maturing and he could end up as BYU’s all-time leading rusher.
- If BYU can’t win that game: BYU got nearly every conceivable break and still fell short. Give credit to the Cougars, who played a near flawless first half, but a few penalty calls went their way in the first half. The second touchdown was not a touchdown, although the replay booth somehow did not overturn it. Finally, the interception that led to that touchdown went right through the hands of his the receiver and bounced straight up in the air for Kyle Van Noy to catch. “The church is true” was a common tweet among BYU fans in the first half. BYU hung tough and played well, but if the Cougars couldn’t beat Notre Dame with all those breaks, they never would have otherwise. For more opinion, rankings and bowl projections, go to BYUtahInsiders.com.
