BYU at No. 5 Notre Dame - Game 8

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.