5 instant reactions to Notre Dame’s comeback bid falling short vs. BYU

Notre Dame football suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday night , falling on the road to BYU , 28-24.

The Irish found themselves down 21-10 at halftime, and stormed back to take a 24-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Notre Dame couldn't finish off the comeback, as the Cougars scored with under two minutes left and the last-second touchdown pass attempt was incomplete.

Notre Dame now is 6-1, and without a game next weekend. It's going to be a tough two weeks as this loss will be on their minds the whole time. Speaking of what's on mind, here are five instant reactions to the Irish getting upset by BYU.

This is one that the Irish would love to have back, as they had uncharacteristic mistakes that ultimately cost them. The four penalties for 40-yards wasn't much, but the way they happened made significant impacts. Boubacar Traore was flagged for a targeting, which was upheld and he was disqualified during the first drive of the game. It was the right call, but a costly one. There were more aspects of this that I'll touch on below, as this one will sting for a while.

Carr almost redeemed himself with a game-winning drive, but his pass couldn't find Jordan Faison in the end zone. On the night he'd throw for 261-yards, but it took him 49 attempts without throwing a touchdown pass. Carr missed multiple open receivers, passes that he normally makes. The fumble at the end of the first half was costly, as points could have turned the tide in the end. It was a terrible game for Carr to have his worst one of the season.

Chris Ash's struggles against top teams continues

For much of the second half, it looked like Ash had figured out the BYU offense and was able to stop them. However, when it counted the most, on the final drive, he couldn't find a way to slow down the Cougars. As Pete Sampson shared during the game, Ash's defense against top-20 opponents has not been good, as he met his average of 28 points allowed. It's games like these that define a program, and right now, it hasn't been good enough.

Nolan James Jr. was hot early, so it made sense to stay with him. However, we've seen Jonaz Walton enter the game later and run wild, but he didn't get his chances tonight. He's finished with just 5 carries for 17-yards, and while he did score, it left many wondering why such a small amount of carries.

The loss hurts, but Notre Dame is still in the running for the College Football Playoff

Look around college football today, Georgia , Alabama , Texas , Indiana and now the Irish all lost, every one of the ranked inside the top-10. It's not the end of the world in the 12-team College Football Playoff, but it does make the margin for error much smaller. Notre Dame does not want a 2025-situation to happen again, so beating Miami and SMU is a must.

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