Notre Dame football projected for a unique “Holy War” that brings very brief history following the first CFB playoff rankings

Notre Dame could have a Holy War on their hands.

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Notre Dame football received some good news on Tuesday night, coming in as the No. 10 team in the first College Football Playoff ranking. That’s a really good place to be considering that this team began the year with two straight losses, but has since rebounded to push their record to 6-2 on the year. At this point, if the Fighting Irish win out, they will be in. 

With this being just the first iteration of the rankings, things are going to change drastically from here until the field is officially set. Teams will lose, others will rise, and chaos is sure to ensue. As we have seen over the last couple of years, College Football is good for some drama down the stretch of a season. 

If things did end today, however, head coach Marcus Freeman and his Fighting Irish squad would be traveling out to Provo, Utah to take on the BYU Cougars in the first round of the playoffs. That matchup would be a unique one for the Irish, although not a totally foreign one. It is, however, a series with very little history.

Notre Dame vs. BYU series

  • Notre Dame and BYU have played nine times (two games vacated) in the series history, Fighting Irish lead 5-2
  • Last matchup came in 2022 for a Shamrock Series matchup, Notre Dame won 28 to 20
  • Eight former Heisman Trophy winners between the two programs
  • Marcus Freeman holds a 39-12 overall record as head coach of Notre Dame
  • Kalani Sitake holds a 80-43 overall record as head coach of BYU

When you talk about Notre Dame football, they are arguably the biggest brand in college football history. BYU, in comparison, is a much smaller brand, but still one with a good overall history. Most fans don’t talk much about the Cougars, but they are undefeated, playing good football, and would bring some intrigue if they were matched up in that opening game.

It’s also a very unique matchup in terms of the religious aspect as well. In one corner, you have the top Catholic university of the country. In the other, you have another school that is deeply connected to its Mormon heritage, and their Christian faith. That unique “Holy War” matchup is just a fun layer between two talented football teams.

In the histories of these two programs, they have met on the football field in nine games (two of them were vacated), with the Fighting Irish leading the series 5-2. The two teams last met in 2022, which was a shamrock series game. Notre Dame came out of that contest with a 28 to 20 victory, a good early win for Coach Freeman.

All of those nine games have come out since the 1992 college football season. The last win for BYU came back during the 2004 season, where they beat the Fighting Irish 20 to 17 in their home stadium. The average margin for error in this series has Notre Dame edging out the Cougars with a 32.6 to 19.1 margin for the games that counted.

While this game wouldn’t bring a lot of national attention, it would be a fun early test for Notre Dame. BYU head coach Kalani Sitake has done some tremendous things out in Provo, and is quietly one of the better coaches in all of college football.

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