Notre Dame's trip to Provo for a showdown between unbeaten top-10 teams turned chaotic almost immediately on Saturday night, October 17, 2026, when Fighting Irish defensive end Boubacar Traore was ejected for targeting just minutes into the game at BYU's LaVell Edwards Stadium. The call set the tone for a wild, back-and-forth affair between No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 8 BYU.
A Targeting Call That Shook Notre Dame's Defense
The Hit That Ended Traore's Night
Fighting Irish star defensive end Boubacar Traore was ejected for targeting on the first drive of the game, thrown out just five plays in after a hit on BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier. He was initially flagged for roughing the passer, but officials ruled it targeting after review, with the ejection occurring about two and a half minutes into the game.
Replay showed Traore made contact with Bachmeier's face using the crown of his helmet, and while the BYU quarterback's head snapped back, he stayed in the game and appeared unhurt. The penalty handed BYU 15 yards, and Bachmeier promptly drove the Cougars down the field for a touchdown on the opening possession.
Herbstreit's Instant Read
ESPN's broadcast crew flagged the hit the moment it happened. Analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on air, “At the very end right there, lowering the helmet, that's going to be targeting,” and the review confirmed his call. Traore had been considered one of Notre Dame's biggest advantages against a BYU offensive line already missing starting right tackle Andrew Gentry, meaning more pressure now fell on fellow edge rusher Bryce Young.
BYU Rides the Momentum in Provo
On Notre Dame's opening defensive series, Traore was disqualified after the targeting penalty, and the Cougars marched down the field as quarterback Bear Bachmeier found the end zone from five yards out. Notre Dame answered before the end of the first quarter, with kicker Spencer Porath hitting a 46-yard field goal to make it BYU 7, Notre Dame 3.
The Irish briefly grabbed the lead in the second quarter. Running back Nolan James Jr. burst up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown capping a 12-play, 84-yard drive, putting Notre Dame ahead 10-7. BYU answered right back, and by the closing minutes of the first half, the Cougars had pulled ahead 21-10 with 1:29 left before the break, with Bachmeier scoring again from short yardage.
What a Setback Like This Means for Notre Dame
The timing could hardly have been worse for the Irish. Notre Dame entered the night 6-0 and hadn't beaten a top-10 team on the road since knocking off No. 8 Oklahoma back in October 2012, making this matchup against a 5-0 BYU squad a chance to end that drought. Notre Dame was also playing shorthanded, as the team's injury report had already ruled out tight end Cooper Flanagan before kickoff.
The two programs carry history into these meetings. Notre Dame held a 7-2 series lead and had won the previous four matchups, including a 28-20 win in Las Vegas in the teams' most recent meeting in 2022. Losing Traore so early threatened to make extending that streak far harder against a Bachmeier-led BYU attack playing in front of its home crowd.
A Loaded Saturday Across College Football
The Notre Dame-BYU clash was only one marquee matchup on a jam-packed Week 7 college football slate. Elsewhere, ranked teams squared off in the Ohio State-Indiana showdown, Alabama and Georgia renewed their rivalry in the Alabama-Georgia clash, and Florida State and Louisville also drew heavy attention in the Florida State-Louisville game.
With both Notre Dame and BYU entering unbeaten and ranked in the top 10, the outcome carries weight for the College Football Playoff picture regardless of how the rest of the game unfolds. Traore's ejection will likely remain the headline storyline from Provo no matter the final result, given how early and how dramatically it reshaped the Irish defense's night.