ESPN College GameDay followed the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as it will be in Provo, Utah for its top-10 matchup in primetime against BYU.
The pregame show always makes their picks at the end of the broadcast, as Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, and Kirk Herbstreit along with guest picker football legend Steve Young made their selections in the top games of the weekend, and finished with the Irish and Cougars. It’s always interesting to see who they picked and it looked pretty good for Notre Dame.
It should come as no surprise that Young went with his alma mater, as he believes that BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier has his national breakout game. He joked about not taking his redshirt year and being the backup, even wearing cleats on set.
It’s a good football joke, considering the wildness that his season has had with eligibility.
Desmond Howard went next, as he sees an elite Irish unit as he said “defense travels,” which surprisingly I agree with. He would ultimately pick Notre Dame, as he thinks that side of the ball will make the biggest difference in the outcome. Legendary head coach Nick Saban was next, and he know’s ball. He’d go back to head coach Marcus Freeman’s biggest talking point of the 2026 season, “what is Notre Dame’s motto this year? Leave no doubt, Notre Dame.”
Kirk Herbstreit doesn’t pick games he call, as he’ll be on the mic later this evening, so the final pick was McAfee’s. He’s more of a vibes guy, and with Young on set, and the atmosphere in Provo, he’d pick the Cougars to upset the Irish.
Overall, it was a mixed bag with their picks, two each picked either Notre Dame or BYU. We’ll find out later who is correct, as we hope it’s Howard and Saban.
"Bear Bachmeier, you do not want to sleep on this guy!"
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 17, 2026
Steve Young takes BYU and is ready to back Bear up if needed 🔥😂 pic.twitter.com/XSyfDa3T0W
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: See who ESPN College GameDay picked as the winner of Notre Dame at BYU
