No, Notre Dame should NOT play BYU every year
There are enough Holy War’s in college football (and the world); Notre Dame and BYU don’t need to create another one.
Oct. 22, 2005; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive back (9) Tom Zbikowski intercepts a John Beck (not pictured) pass in front of Brigham Young University Cougars tight end (20) Daniel Coats in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame's 49-23 win over the Cougars Saturday Oct. 22 at Notre Dame Stadium.
Zbikowski ran the interception back for a touchdown. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Matt Cashore-Imagn Images Copyright (c) 2005 Matt Cashore The idea of Notre Dame and BYU playing annually as a new “Holy War” in college football isn’t anything new. You can crawl through the archives of message board for the past 20 years and find this exact topic brought up by college football fans — though probably not that many Notre Dame fans.
Notre Dame and BYU have played just 9 times with the Irish holding a 7-2 edge over the Cougars. The last win by BYU was the first game of the last season in which Ty Willingham was in charge in South Bend. And yet… BYU fans often play around as if their program is on the same level as Notre Dame.
Hell — BYU even tried to be an independent in football, but quickly ran to the Big 12 once they had an opportunity to do so. Just because you CAN be independent, doesn’t mean you can be like Notre Dame as an independent. But there was a wrench thrown into all of this last season.