Saturday’s game against BYU was considered a trap game for No. 5 Notre Dame with a trip to Oklahoma coming up next week. Indeed, the Irish nearly fell victim to an upset that would have inflicted a blow to their BCS championship hopes.
But a George Atkinson touchdown run early in the fourth quarter gave Notre Dame a 17-14 lead. That’s where the score would stay until the end of the game. It wasn’t sexy, but Notre Dame is still undefeated.
Last year’s starter at quarterback, Tommy Rees, started over Everett Golson (concussion) and had a modest 7-of-16 day for 117 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Notre Dame relied heavily on the run, keeping it on the ground 43 times for 270 yards. Both Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood went over the 100-yard mark.
Next week’s game in Norman will be the Irish’s toughest test of the season and this offense has struggled the past couple of weeks. Once again, the Notre Dame D may be called upon again to win in a low-scoring game.