LIVE: Notre Dame Rallies to Lead BYU 24-21 in the Fourth Quarter in Provo

PROVO, UTAH · SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2026 · LIVE

LIVE REPORT

FOURTH QUARTER: At the latest ESPN scoreboard check, No. 2 Notre Dame leads No. 8 BYU 24-21 in the fourth quarter at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, with 5:43 left in the game at that check. The game is still in progress — this is a live score, not a final — and a night that belonged to BYU for two quarters has flipped entirely: the Irish have scored all 14 points of the second half to take the lead, and the Cougars now have one closing stretch to answer.

To understand how BYU built its position, start with the first half, which belonged almost entirely to Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier. BYU struck first on the game's opening drive, going 11 plays and 75 yards before Bachmeier finished it himself with a 5-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. Notre Dame answered with a 46-yard field goal from Spencer Porath to make it 7-3 after the first quarter, and the Irish briefly took control early in the second.

That control came on Notre Dame's best drive of the first half: 12 plays, 84 yards, nearly six minutes, finished by an 8-yard Nolan James Jr. touchdown run that put the Irish up 10-7 with 10:37 left in the second quarter. It was the kind of long, physical drive Notre Dame needed in a hostile road environment, and for a moment the No. 2 team in the country looked like it had settled the game down.

BYU's answer was the play of the night. The Cougars went 75 yards in 10 plays, and the touchdown came from the trick-play drawer: Bachmeier threw a backward pass to Kyler Kasper, who lobbed it back to Bachmeier, and the quarterback did the rest, scoring from 15 yards out to put BYU back in front 14-10 with 5:52 left in the half. A quarterback catching a touchdown pass against the No. 2 team in the country is the sort of moment that lives on highlight reels for years, and it swung the momentum in Provo hard in the home team's direction.

The Cougars were not done before the break. Working the final minutes of the half, BYU benefited from a Notre Dame illegal substitution penalty at the two-minute timeout that extended a drive, then a 12-yard reverse to freshman receiver Legend Glasker set up first-and-goal at the doorstep. One play later, Bachmeier went in for a 1-yard rushing touchdown — his second rushing score and third touchdown involvement of the half — to make it 21-10 with 1:29 left before halftime.

Notre Dame had one final chance to answer before the break, and it ended in disaster for the Irish: quarterback CJ Carr fumbled a snap near the goal line as the half expired, BYU recovered after review, and the Irish walked to the locker room down 11 with nothing to show for a drive that looked certain to produce points. At halftime, the contrast was stark: BYU had converted its biggest moments, and Notre Dame had let its biggest one slip away.

The second half has belonged to the Irish. Notre Dame outscored BYU 6-0 in the third quarter to trim the margin to 21-16, turning a comfortable Cougars lead into a one-possession game, and the Irish have added the only points of the fourth quarter so far to move in front 24-21 — their first lead since that 10-7 edge in the second quarter. BYU's offense, so sharp in the first half, has yet to score after halftime, and the home crowd that sensed an upset all night is now watching its team chase the game in the closing minutes.

The stakes could not be clearer. Notre Dame arrived in Provo at 6-0 and ranked No. 2; BYU came in 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big 12, ranked No. 8. One team keeps its unbeaten season tonight; the other takes its first loss. At the latest check it is Notre Dame 24, BYU 21, late in the fourth quarter, still in progress — and Previously will update this story when the game goes final.

What makes the closing minutes so tense is the profile of the two seasons on the line. Notre Dame has not lost this year, and a road defeat would not end its ambitions, but it would surrender the inside track the Irish have held near the top of the rankings all season. BYU, unbeaten itself and playing at home, has the chance to turn a strong start into a defining one — the kind of win that reshapes how a team is discussed in November. Neither season ends tonight in Provo, but the shape of both races changes with whatever happens next, which is exactly why every remaining snap carries the weight it does.

Around the night window (games still in progress at the latest check)

The BYU–Notre Dame showdown is the headliner, but it is not the only live game in the Saturday night window. At the Rose Bowl, UCLA has finished off Wisconsin 17-7 in a game that went final during the latest checks — the Bruins were up 10-0 at halftime and held the Badgers at arm's length all night. And in the fourth quarter of their matchup, Houston led Oklahoma State 35-25; the Cougars led 14-3 at halftime and remain in front, though the Cowboys have made it a game in the second half. The Provo and Houston scores are live scores from the latest ESPN check — not finals; the UCLA score is final.

One more time, for the record at publication: Notre Dame 24, BYU 21 in the fourth quarter in Provo (live); Houston 35, Oklahoma State 25 in the fourth quarter (live); UCLA 17, Wisconsin 7 (final). Check back for full final coverage once they go final.