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Story AnalysisNews report

BYU caps insane college football slate with upset of No. 2 Notre Dame

The thriller capped a wild Saturday in which five of the top 8 teams in the AP Top 25 lost on the same regular-season day for the first time.

New York PostPublished Analyzed on October 18, 2026

This page is Both News's AI analysis of the article, not the article itself. Read the full story on the publisher's site.

Our verdict

Political lean

Center
◀ Left 10Center10 Right ▶

0 = center. The further from 0, the stronger the lean (max 10).

Reporting balance

56
Somewhat one-sided
56 / 100

How complete and even-handed the reporting is — separate from which side it leans.

This is a neutral, play-by-play sports recap with no political lean; its strengths are specific, checkable statistics and a fair account of both teams' mistakes. Its main weakness is the complete absence of quoted voices from either side, and the headline's 'insane slate' framing slightly overstates a story that is mostly about one game. Readers should treat it as a reliable account of the result, and look elsewhere for coach or player reaction.

Why this lean
This is a sports recap with no political or left/right dimension. Its framing is neutral toward both teams: the BYU win is described with the same play-by-play detail as Notre Dame's comebacks and mistakes, and both teams' errors get reported. The only evaluative language is sports-style colour ('riveting', 'punished'), which does not tilt the story toward one side's fans.
Framing
A play-by-play account of an upset that treats BYU's late drive and Notre Dame's red-zone and turnover problems as the central story, placed within a wider day of ranked-team losses.

Key Findings

  1. 1The recap is specific and checkable: the score, halftime margin, passing and rushing totals, first-half completion rate (72%), and historical firsts (win over Notre Dame since 2004, top-two losses on one day since 2012) are all given, which gives readers concrete material to verify.
  2. 2Both teams' mistakes are reported: Notre Dame's fumble at the BYU 5 and the missed red-zone chances (Takeaway section), and BYU's wiped-out 39-yard touchdown and back-to-back special-teams gaffes. This avoids a one-team cheerleading tone.
  3. 3The story contains no direct quotes from any coach, player or official, and the only attributed source is Sportradar for the wider-slate count. Readers get the event but not the people's reactions or explanations.
  4. 4Language is mostly plain, with sports colour ('riveting', 'punished the Irish defense', 'rumbled 15 yards') and an 'insane' headline adjective. These choices heighten the drama without altering any fact.
  5. 5The headline gives the wider Saturday slate top billing, but the body is almost entirely about the BYU-Notre Dame game. The slate material is confined to the opening paragraphs, so the headline slightly overstates the story's scope.

Who gets a voice

  • Sportradar (data provider)
    Source of the statistic that five of the AP top eight lost on the same regular-season day
    Sports data providerMinor voice
  • AP Top 25 poll
    Ranking framework used to describe the teams' status
    Official rankingMinor voice

Loaded language

“insane college football slate”→ busy day of college football upsets

Headline adjective amplifies the drama of the wider day; the body reports the facts without this adjective.

“riveting 28-24 victory”→ close 28-24 victory

Editorial praise in the lede, which is a sports-colour choice rather than a neutral description of the result.

“punished the Irish defense”→ scored on the Notre Dame defense on back-to-back drives

Suggests a deliberate, one-sided assault; the plain description conveys the same plays without the emotive verb.

“rumbled 15 yards”→ ran 15 yards

Colourful verb for a rushing play that adds flavour but no extra information.

Dimension Breakdown

Source Diversity3/10

No quoted coaches, players or officials at all; the story rests on game events and stats, with only one attributed source (Sportradar) for the wider-slate claim. A reader gets no direct voices from either side.

Language Neutrality7/10

Mostly plain, attributed description, with some sports colour ('riveting', 'punished the Irish defense', 'rumbled 15 yards') and a hype headline ('insane slate'). No partisan or dehumanising labels.

Data Balance8/10

Scores, halftime margins, passing yards, completion rate, streaks and historical firsts are specific and checkable, and one count is attributed to Sportradar. Inconvenient facts for BYU (its wiped-out touchdown, back-to-back special-teams gaffes) are included.

Perspective Completeness4/10

Both teams are described through their performance, but neither side's voice appears. A fuller recap would include at least one coach or player reaction and a Notre Dame response to its turnovers.

Headline Accuracy7/10

The BYU upset is accurately reported. 'Insane slate' gives the wider day more weight than the body, which spends most of its space on the single game, though the wider-slate facts are present in paragraph two.

Context Sufficiency7/10

Useful background is supplied: the Notre Dame winning streak that ended, BYU's 6-0 start for the third straight season, the first win over Notre Dame since 2004, and the rarity of the top-two loss. Reporting on the other top-ranked losses is limited to one sentence.

Missing Perspectives

  • Coaches or players from either side (BYU and Notre Dame) explaining key decisions, such as the failed fake punt or the fourth-down call that set up the final drive, and what the result means for their seasons.
  • Notre Dame's own response to its turnovers and red-zone struggles, which would balance the Takeaway's critical framing of the Irish offence.
  • Reaction from the other ranked teams affected by the Saturday slate, which is only summarised in one attributed statistic and one sentence about Georgia.

Highlighted Passages

“a riveting 28-24 victory Saturday night”
Editorial adjective in the lede praises the result; neutral reporting would simply state the score and the margin.
“Bachmeier used a combination of efficient passing and tough running to put the Irish on their heels early.”
Evaluative summary of the first half. The stats that follow support it, but it is the writer's judgment rather than an attributed assessment.
“The Irish struggled to finish drives in the red zone, turning the ball over once and settling for field goals after twice starting drives in BYU territory.”
Useful analysis, but no coach or analyst is quoted to support the characterization, so readers must take the verdict on the writer's word.

Key Facts

  • No. 8 BYU beat No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, with Bear Bachmeier's go-ahead touchdown pass to Walker Lyons with 1:47 left (article's own account, no outside attribution).
  • Five of the AP top eight lost on the same regular-season day for the first time, according to Sportradar.
  • Paired with No. 1 Georgia's 27-24 loss to Auburn, the top two teams lost on the same day for the first time in the regular season since Nov. 17, 2012.
  • Bachmeier threw for 224 yards and ran for two touchdowns; Preston Rex added 66 rushing yards on 10 carries.
  • BYU beat Notre Dame for the first time since 2004 and started 6-0 for the third consecutive season.
  • Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr threw for 261 yards; Notre Dame's 16-game winning streak ended, and the team was turned over only twice in the season before this game (second turnover came on a fumble at the BYU 5 at the end of the first half).
  • Notre Dame cut an 11-point halftime deficit to five entering the fourth quarter, mostly after a muffed punt return and a failed BYU fake punt.
Read the original articleNew York Post · nypost.com
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Read the original articleNew York Post · nypost.com