Snake eyes: No. 16 BYU can't make up ground in loss to Notre Dame in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — With a comeback on the line in Sin City, BYU head coach Kalani Sitake fittingly rolled the dice on fourth-and-1 of a one-possession game with Notre Dame near midfield at Allegiant Stadium.

Sometimes the roll of the dice comes up snake eyes.

Drew Pyne threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, and Notre Dame piled up 496 yards of offense before holding off the No. 16-ranked Cougars 28-20 Saturday night.

But in an 8-point game inside of four minutes, BYU (4-2) found itself at the 47-yard line facing fourth-and-1. Sitake made a move, the Cougars called a timeout to check it, and then reaffirmed the decision to go for it on the midfield down.

But after six rushes on a seven-play drive, Lopini Katoa was stopped just short of the line to gain and Notre Dame took over to hold on for the win.

"I think the coaches have to critique themselves and see what the best play was for us," BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. "We even took a timeout to think about it, and it was disheartening that we weren't able to get that. Credit to Notre Dame; they made the play.

"They finished the game the way you want to: converted first downs and made big plays."

The Cougars called the same play before and after the timeout. They drew it up on the play sheet, called timeout to discuss, and thought it was the best decision to get a crucial fourth down.

It just didn't work, quarterback Jaren Hall said. They rolled the dice and came up with snake eyes as Notre Dame's Jayson Ademilola and Nana Osafo-Mensah made the game-saving stop.

"We love that play for short yardage in that situation," Hall said. "We've run it before in that situation, and it worked. We just didn't make it work."

Brooks finished with 90 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and Katoa added 45 yards on eight touches for a BYU ground game that started slow but eventually averaged 5.5 yards on 29 carries for 160 total yards.

"I'm sure the coaches are rethinking everything," Sitake said. "Whatever we can do to get the first down. ... I don't think there's an option not to think about. But when it doesn't go the way you want, fix it.

"We can't be too stubborn. We have to learn from this, and get better."

Kody Epps caught four passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns, the first triple-digit receiving game and first multi-touchdown game of his career, to lead the Cougars. But it was a career effort wasted because of the final offensive series, he admits — even for the chance to play one of the biggest names in college football.

"Those things are cool, but it's kind of weird when your team doesn't win," Epps said glumly. "Playing against Notre Dame, I've played NCAA 14 for a long time so I've played the Fighting Irish. When I got to score against them, it felt pretty good."

Jaren Hall completed 9-of-17 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, the first pass attempt of the game when he underthrew Gunner Romney on the first play of the game.

That play went to Notre Dame's TaRiq Bracy instead, and the Irish opened the scoring on Blake Grupe's 26-yard field goal to take the early advantage. From the opening play, something didn't look right, and fans began speculating online if a play suffered in the second half of last week's win over Utah State where Hall landed awkwardly on his shoulder didn't adversely affect him.

It's a fair question, Sitake admits.

"I don't think he was 100%," Sitake said. "We have to look at all the decisions that we're making, and making sure our guys are in the right spot.

"I think that he definitely was banged up," he added. "We have to go back and figure out what our game plan was and what he can do. I thought he made some good throws, especially in the second half. We'll just have to see how he feels after this, but we're open to whatever is going to help our team be successful and get a win."

Hall, for his part, disputes that theory. He's fine, or so he said after the game.

"Everybody's dinged up; everybody has a thing. I felt 100%," he said. "Earlier in the week was a little different story, but tonight I felt great.

"Contrary to popular belief, there's no shoulder injury. I feel good."

The lead was short lived, especially after Hobbs Nyberg used a 42-yard punt return to set up a short field and Hall found Epps for the receiver's team-high fourth touchdown of the season to go up 6-3 with 4:32 left in the opening quarter.

It would be the last lead the Cougars took, who got an interception and a game-high 13 tackles from Max Tooley on defense.

Michael Mayer caught 11 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Jayden Thomas added 74 yards and a score from Notre Dame's Pyne. Logan Diggs ran for 93 yards to lead the Irish (3-2), who got 93 yards on the ground from Audric Estime.

No moral victories here, but simply being in a position to win was a minor accomplishment for BYU. The Cougars were out-matched in every way during the first half — from Hall's game-opening interception to Pyne's perfectly timed 30-yard strike to Thomas on third-and-3 to go up 18-6 at halftime.

"The defense played a great game," Hall said. "The first drive, you throw an interception; that's on me.

"But we've got some good momentum, and then I took a sack in the red zone. It's not on the defense. … It's not sustainable. You can't score points that way, and it's really hard to win games."

The Irish outgained the Cougars 259 yards to 67 before the break, with 19 more plays and just over 13 more minutes in time of possession. BYU had moments to celebrate, including Hobbs Nyberg's 42-yard punt return that set up Epps' first touchdown to take a 6-3 lead in the first quarter.

But those moments were scant, and Notre Dame threatened to run away with a blowout when Pyne completed his 12th consecutive pass during an 11-play, 75-yard drive to open the third quarter with a 18-yard touchdown to Mayer.

Then BYU came back. Almost.

Hall found Epps with his second touchdown on the duo's second completion together for a 53-yard score midway through the third quarter. After another defensive stand, Christopher Brooks capped a 10-play, 87-yard drive with a 28-yard burst into the corner of the end zone that pulled BYU within 25-20 to open the fourth quarter.

The Cougars had a chance to pull ahead for the first time since the first quarter with another key defensive stand. Payton Wilgar tipped one of Pyne's passes near the line of scrimmage and Tooley came down with his third interception of the year to set up the Cougars with a potential go-ahead drive with 11:42 remaining.

But the final nail in the comeback never came before the Cougars' comeback came up empty.

Related topics