Notre Dame football vs BYU: Irish players to watch in Week 6
By Brad Weiss
The Notre Dame football team will take on the BYU Cougars in Week 6 after the bye week, and here are some Irish to keep an eye on in the matchup.
On Saturday night, the Notre Dame football team will try and continue to keep their season moving in a positive direction, taking on the BYU Cougars in Las Vegas. The Cougars go into this game as the No. 16-ranked team in the country, and while the Irish have not received an AP vote in weeks, this would be a big step in cracking the top 25 sooner than later.
For the Irish to win, they will have to beat a team that can be very potent on offense, led by a star quarterback in Jaren Hall. Here, we look at some Irish players that will key the victory on Saturday night.
Notre Dame football vs BYU: Irish players to watch
Drew Pyne
Since the beginning of the Cal game, a game that saw him get chewed out by Tommy Rees, Drew Pyne has been terrific as the starting quarterback for the Irish. We have seen him make countless big plays, he is protecting the football, and right now, he is the perfect signal-caller to run this Irish offense.
Pyne needs to continue to make sound decisions with the football, especially against a BYU team that can score in bunches. If the run game is on, and Pyne is throwing it the way he did against UNC, this is an offense that is going to be hard to stop on Saturday night.
Isaiah Foskey
The BYU Cougars have a terrific quarterback in Jaren Hall, a player who many feels will be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Hall can hurt you in so many ways, which is why it is paramount for Isaiah Foskey to cause some havoc on this offense in Week 6.
Foskey is starting to get rolling after a slow start to the season, and you can be sure Al Golden is going to dial up the blitz package for him in this one. If he can get to Hall early on, it could force him off his mark, disrupting what has been a potent BYU offense this season.
Benjamin Morrison
Looking at the depth chart for the BYU game, you can see that true freshman Benjamin Morrison has jumped Clarence Lewis as a starting cornerback in this game. Lewis once started as a freshman as well, so he knows all about the pressure Morrison will face Saturday night, especially against a capable quarterback like Hall.
The likelihood is that Hall is going to pick on Morrison, as any good offensive coordinator is going to go after a player who may be a bit green in their first collegiate start. If Morrison struggles, it could be a big deal for Hall in the passing attack.