Cougar Trash Talk Differs from the Usual Opponent Banter

14 minutes ago

3 min read

Anticipation is sky-high for the matchup between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 8 BYU this Saturday, October 17th, in Provo, Utah. It's no surprise that both teams have had this game marked on the calendar for some time now, given that the Irish declined to take on the Cougars last season in the Pop-Tart Bowl after a controversial playoff committee decision. Throw in a series of matchups that featured legendary head coaches Lou Holtz and LaVell Edwards at its conception, and a storm of Twitter beef and trash talk emerges. The Notre Dame fanbase is quite accustomed to hate from opposing fans; however, the banter from the BYU faithful has been more reserved and intelligent than the average weekly feud.

The main focus of the Cougar trash talk has largely been centered upon Notre Dame's independent status and controversial strength of schedule.

"Notre Dame finally plays a non-ACC or G6 opponent and finds out what it’s like to play in the big leagues"- via @garyfattersonBU on X

However, the remainder of Notre Dame's schedule features teams such as No. 3 Miami and No. 24 SMU after playing the eighth-ranked Cougars. In fact, Notre Dame's strength of schedule (S.O.S.) is currently ranked 20th. On the other hand, BYU's S.O.S. is ranked 37th, while the remainder of the Cougars' season features only one other ranked team, No. 11 Utah, outside of Notre Dame.

Other instances of trash talk have been more pessimistic, with fans noting that they know BYU will "play hard" whilst comparing the Fighting Irish to the likes of "green Jell-O".

One of the most valid arguments made in support of the Cougars against the Irish comes from a geographic standpoint. Notre Dame's campus in South Bend sits in northern Indiana, objectively not as beautiful as Provo, Utah (as the Irish Tribune staff can attest). One X user even claimed, "I'd rather cheer on my 'mid' football team than live in... South (B)end, Indiana".

It's evident that the unusually intelligent and witty trash talk from a regular-season opponent is agitating many Irish fans online. However, not all BYU fans are coming up with quality jabs and are instead opting to engage in baiting Irish fans with absurd takes or laughable observations.

With some takes focusing on the weather and climate of Utah, others aim at the Notre Dame defense (which is ranked the best in the country). The absurd takes apparently get under fans' skin more than the witty snarks.

"It's one thing to have a joke made about Coach Freeman's hairline or something of that sort," Longtime Notre Dame fan Beau Warg explains. "But the talk about our defense being bad is just laughable."

Finally, a large portion of the ammunition for the Cougar vs. Catholic Twitter war is supplied by Notre Dame opting out of the Pop-Tart Bowl. @ESPNCFB tweeted regarding the Pop-Tart Bowl connection to this week's game, and the post had over 141k views in under four hours. BYU fans are clearly taking this ammo and running with it, with multiple posts mocking the program's decision last December.

While the majority of jokes made against the Irish have been focused on the Pop-Tart Bowl, Independence, or the geographic location of South Bend, a small minority of trash talk has just been plain ole' fashioned hate (which I personally enjoy the most).

Although the online presence of BYU has been more thought out and intelligent than other fanbases, one would be ignorant to think the actual game on Saturday will be tame. As gorgeous and aesthetically pleasing as Provo may be, we are talking about a top-ten matchup between two programs that have a historical and well-established rivalry. I expect the tweets and posts to only increase in entertainment value as the countdown to game day approaches zero. Kudos to BYU for having some quality roasts. It's been a joy to read them all while researching for this article.

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