Box score

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - BYU rallied in the second quarter for two touchdowns to lead into halftime but was unable to hang on late to No. 5 Notre Dame in the fourth to fall 17-14 Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.

The Fighting Irish kicked off its game-winning drive in the fourth quarter with a 31-yard gain through the air before Theo Riddick pushed through the line for 19 yards to move the ball to BYU’s five. On third down, Notre Dame scored with a go-ahead touchdown from two yards out to take a 17-14 lead and secure the win with 12:52 in the fourth quarter.

After the Cougars (4-4) led 14-7 at the half, Notre Dame’s (7-0) Riddick gave the Fighting Irish momentum late in the third quarter breaking out of the pile for a 55-yard gain to set up 1st and goal. The Cougar defense once again shined in the red zone holding the Fighting Irish to just one yard on their three rush attempts. Notre Dame’s 24-yard field goal slipped in to close the gap to 14-10 with 2:25 remaining in the third.

“I was proud of our team, one or two plays short from being able to come away with a victory,” BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “Most likely the best game collectively we played offensively, defense and kicking, but when you put the composite together it was good enough to get us within striking distance and we had a great chance to pull off the upset. But ultimately we didn't make a critical play here or there right down the stretch to win the game.”

After going 17 quarters without giving up an offensive touchdown, the Notre Dame defense gave up two to BYU in the second quarter.

Freshman running back Jamaal Williams led BYU’s ground attack with 64 yards on 14 attempts. Williams also had seven grabs for 42 yards. Junior Cody Hoffman proved to be a steady target with 86 yards on eight completions and a touchdown.

Senior signal-caller Riley Nelson was 23 of 36 for 177 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Junior defensive back Daniel Sorensen led the defense with 10 tackles while senior linebacker Brandon Ogletree had two tackles for loss and seven tackles.

The Cougars stood firm in Notre Dame’s opening drive, holding the Fighting Irish to a 40-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide left after four minutes of play.

Nelson opened BYU’s initial drive with a 20-yard pass to Hoffman to get the offense rolling but Manti Te’o interrupted the drive picking off a tipped ball.

Notre Dame had big pickups of 29 yards and 20 yards to move down field on a 5-play 64-yard drive capped off by a 4-yard touchdown pass. The score put the Fighting Irish in the lead 7-0 with 1:30 left in the first.

Williams hurt the Fighting Irish on his feet with five runs including a 21-yard takeoff on BYU’s 8-play, 56-yard scoring drive that tied the contest 7-7 with 8:25 left before the break. Nelson found a wide-open Hoffman in the back of the endzone from six yards out for the score, ending a streak of four straight games the Notre Dame defense had not allowed a touchdown.

Ezekiel Ansah got a piece of a Notre Dame pass before Kyle Van Noy grabbed it for his first interception of the season. The Cougar offense capitalized on the turnover with a quick 4-play scoring drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown toss to Kaneakua Friel to put BYU on top 14-7 with 6:07 on the clock.

Notre Dame moved to BYU’s 14 for another shot in the red zone but the Cougar defense held firm and the Fighting Irish missed the 28-yard field goal with 2:30 left in the half.

Nelson hit Hoffman for two 19-yard passes, one coming on 3rd and 12, to set up a 46-yard field goal but the Cougars were unable to convert to keep the score 14-7 in favor of BYU with 6:31 in the third quarter.

BYU remains on the road as it travels to Atlanta to challenge Georgia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on the Fox Sports Network and ESPN3.

Postgame notes

BYU returns to the road to historic South Bend, Ind., to take on the undefeated and No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, Oct. 20. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EDT and will be broadcast live from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., on NBC and KSL Radio 1160 AM, 102.7 FM and ksl.com. 

Fans should tune into the live Countdown to Kickoff pregame show at 2:30 p.m. EDT on BYUtv and BYUtvsports.com. Also tune in to BYUtv and BYUtvsports.com for the live postgame show following conclusion of the game. Pregame radio coverage will begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT on KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM/1160 AM and BYU Radio (SiriusXM channel 143).

BYU (4-3) at No. 5 Notre Dame (6-0)
Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 3:30 p.m. EDT
Notre Dame Stadium
South Bend, Ind.

Complete BYU at Notre Dame game notes

SERIES INFORMATION
This is the 7th meeting between BYU and Notre Dame. The Cougars trail in the series 2-4 with the last matchup in South Bend going to Notre Dame with a 49-23 win. BYU has a 1-3 record at Notre Dame with the lone victory coming on a 21-14 win in 1994. This is the first time they meet together as independents.

TOP 10 DEJA VU
BYU is facing its second top-10 opponent in as many weeks. Last week the Cougars fell to 42-24 to No. 10 Oregon State and face a tough task in traveling to South Bend to take on No. 5 Notre Dame.

TOP 5 SUCCESS
The Cougars have won four games againsts top-5 opponents in school history. The last time BYU defeated a top-5 team was a 14-13 win over No. 3 Oklahoma in 2009. With a 4-8 record against the top-5, the Cougars other wins include No. 3 Pittsburgh (1984), No. 4 Air Force (1985) and No. 1 Miami (1990).

DEFENSIVE BATTLE
Notre Dame and BYU are two of the top defensive teams in the nation. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 in the following defensive categories: scoring defense, No. 2 Notre Dame (8.7), No. 7 BYU (13.6), total defense, No. 5 BYU (260.9), No. 11 Notre Dame (287.0), rushing defense, No. 3 BYU (67.8), No. 25 Notre Dame (113.5), pass defense, No. 14 Notre Dame (173.5), No. 24 BYU (193.0), red zone conversions allowed, No. 1 Notre Dame (50.0%) and No. 3 BYU (53.3%).

LINEBACKER LEADERS
Inside linebackers Brandon Ogletree and Manti Te’o lead their team as captains and defensive leaders. Both Lott Trophy watch list honorees, Ogletree leads BYU on the year with 57 total tackles, No. 52 nationally and Te’o leads the Fighting Irish with 59 tackles, No. 40 in the country. Ogletree also adds 6.0 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. Te’o brings 2.0 tackles for loss, three interceptions, three pass breakups, three quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries.

RECEIVER STREAKS
BYU wide receiver Cody Hoffman has a caught a pass in 26 straight games, tied for the 10th longest streak in the nation. He has caught a pass in 32 of 33 career games. Notre Dame’s TJ Jones has caught a pass in 20 consecutive games for the Fighting Irish.