It can never be easy, can it?
Leading 25-6 in the third quarter it looked like Notre Dame was certainly headed to 3-2 with relative ease and a second half that was in complete control.
It appeared that way until it didn’t.
BYU converted their first third down of the game with 6:44 left in the third quarter and suddenly a light when on for the Cougars. Two plays later Jaren Hall found Kody Epps for 53 yards and a touchdown and it was game on instead of game over.
Notre Dame ultimately survived with a 28-20 victory in a game that shouldn’t have been as close as the final score said, but the Irish have nobody to blame but themselves for it ending up that way, either.
Here are five instant takeaways from the thriller on the strip that simply shouldn’t have been close.