​BYU Cougars fans rush the field after the BYU Cougars won against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah, on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026.
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Tess Crowley, Deseret News
Even days after BYU’s 28-24 victory against Notre Dame, Hall of Fame quarterback Gifford Nielsen was still stuck in amazement. The unprecedented moment unfolded before his eyes on Saturday, and it reminded him of the vision LaVell Edwards had for BYU football five decades earlier.“I remember sitting in LaVell’s office and we were talking about what this program could become,” Nielsen told the “Y’s Guys” podcast this week. “He was committed to the passing game. He wanted to be relevant. He said, ‘We are going to do this.’”Nielsen and his wife Wendy stood on the field before the game and watched the Cougar Marching Band perform the fight song and then the national anthem before the powerful F-35 flyover. It was almost too much.“When those jets came overhead, I got tears in my eyes and they were rolling down my cheeks,” he said. “Wendy looked at me and said, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I said, ‘What has been built in the last 50 years?’ The stadium is packed with all the emotion of the fans who have been here for two hours and now we are on the national stage. What has been built in the last 50 years? I turned my attention to my coach and thought, ‘Wow! What we started in 1976 and where we are right now.’”Nielsen returned to the field for the final play and watched Notre Dame’s last pass attempt fall incomplete in the corner of the end zone to give the single greatest night in BYU football history an exclamation point. “What’s happening here is just above and beyond anything we could have imagined and it’s because of Kalani (Sitake) and the way he is coaching these kids and the way he is teaching them correct principles,” Nielsen said. “He’s got these guys believing and he’s got them believing in a higher purpose. Now, the key is to keep them focused and help them understand that they are in the driver’s seat of a higher purpose and that is to go to (UCF) and not stub your toe (Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MDT, Fox).”Rare BearWatching Bear Bachmeier march BYU down the field late in the fourth quarter and throw a game-winning touchdown pass to Walker Lyons only solidified what Nielsen has long believed about the sophomore quarterback.BYU should also thank this official for doing a hell of a job of ducking out of the way on what proved to be Bear Bachmeier’s game-winning touchdown pass. pic.twitter.com/bwGGNeujiy— Drew Mentock (@AndrewMentock) October 18, 2026“I’m just so impressed with