Undefeated Notre Dame was trying to avoid the trap game as the 5th ranked Irish brought in BYU. Two very strong defenses would battle it out.
Brigham Young managed to score two touchdowns in less than three minutes against a Notre Dame defense that hadn't given up a TD in four games.
The Cougars just couldn't stop Notre Dame's rushing game and the No. 5 Fighting Irish rallied for a 17-14 victory.
The hardest runner to bring down was Theo Riddick, Notre Dame's smallest running back bat 5-11 and 200 pounds. But he ran for a career-high 143 yards against a Cougars defense that entered the game third in the nation against the rush.
"Just run and run until you can't no more," Riddick said. "And I got a little gassed at the end."
Riddick said it was exciting to see the Irish backs come up so big.
After going 17 quarters without giving up an offensive touchdown, Notre Dame gave up two in a span of 2:18 as Nelson threw a 6-yard scoring pass to a wide-open Cody Hoffman in the end zone and a 2-yard pass to Kaneakua Friel after an interception by Kyle Van Noy.
