After beating Baylor in overtime on the second Saturday of September, [autotag]BYU[/autotag] was 2-0 and knocking on the door of the top 10 in both the USA TODAY Coaches Poll and AP Poll. Things since then haven’t gone according to plan for the Cougars, however.
BYU was routed the following week at Oregon before rebounding with wins over Wyoming and Utah State to close September.
The Cougars haven’t won since.
Notre Dame largely controlled the Shamrock Series contest against BYU before letting them back in the game late before holding on for a 28-20 victory. Since then Arkansas (52-35) and Liberty (41-14) both put whoopings on the Cougars.
BYU closed their October to-forget with another loss, this one a 27-24 defeat at the hands of East Carolina as they allowed over six yards per carry in their latest loss that puts them at 4-5 overall.
Notre Dame fans can relate to BYU supporters as some outlets (I’m looking at you, USA TODAY Sports College Football Preview) had the Cougars in the preseason top 10 but with just three games to play a bowl game is far from a sure thing.
BYU travels to Boise State next week before finally reaching their bye week. They close the year with games against Utah Tech (yes, that’s a real program) and Stanford. The Cougars will have to go 2-1 over their last three to become bowl-eligible, something few if any saw coming this preseason.
Not that Notre Dame is in a position to compare their best wins to others for anything of real significance this season, but that victory over a ranked opponent at the start of the month looks more and more like another close call against a mediocre foe with each passing week.
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