Saturday night in Provo, Utah, the heart of Notre Dame faithful was ripped out again. In the first half, it looked like another big game meltdown. The Irish were just out of sorts, conceding a 21-10 lead to the Cougars. In the second half, they gave hope they would get that long-wanted, top-ten road win. They chipped away at the BYU lead, even taking control 24-21. The Cougars would retake a lead late that they never relinquished, beating Notre Dame 28-24.

Notre Dame falls to BYU in a sloppy performance.

William Shakespeare wrote, “Discretion is the better part of valor,” in Henry the Eighth, Part 1. Though not widely attributed to him, the quote suggests that caution is often the better move. Photo by USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Many seem to have forgotten that quote when discussing Notre Dame Football and its decision to opt out of a bowl game last season after being snubbed for the College Football Playoff. For a while, it seemed like a largely forgotten hot-butt

On offense, BYU will be missing its heartbeat, RB LJ Martin, along with starting LT Andrew Gentry for the second straight week. They were able to get by last week against Iowa State, in large part due to QB Bear Bachmeier’s dual-threat abilities, but the Notre Dame defense will provide a different level of test for this unit. Defensively, they were also able to maintain a high level of play against the Cyclones last week despite several key players with injuries.