Little brother vs. big brother. The aspiring vs. the aspirational. BYU vs. Notre Dame.
Big brother vs. little brother, the rivalry will be restored this weekend to close a chapter of BYU history
“That game meant a lot to us,” recalled Falslev, a former running back who played on the last BYU team to play Notre Dame. “It’s big for the program. … I always wanted BYU to play [this game again].” It was a move made necessary after the Mountain West saw Utah and TCU bolt for Power Five conferences. But necessity didn’t translate to security — independence was the path less traveled in college athletics.
Holmoe originally had agreed to two separate three-game contracts with the Irish to get to six games. Notre Dame immediately lopped off one of those contracts, meaning there would be only one game left in the series. And that 2014 game, whcih was supposed to be in Provo, was rescheduled with no later date.But for BYU, actually playing the third game was a priority. Former players wanted it to happen, so did administrators and boosters.
The Cougars naturally had the option to take the payout from the Irish and move on. It surely would have paid handsomely — not unlike when Tennessee paid off BYU for $1 million this summer.
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