SOUTH BEND —  Any concerns No. 5 Notre Dame might have had about a letdown against unranked BYU on Saturday were, as it turned out, somewhat valid.             

The Irish (7-0) had to rally from a 14-7 halftime deficit to pull out a17-14 win over the Cougars at Notre Dame Stadium.            

It’s the second week in a row the Irish have had to rally after being down at halftime, and Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said the wins are a testament to his maturing team’s character.            

“Our guys believe they’re going to win football games,” Kelly said. “They work too hard not to appreciate what it takes to win college football games. You can’t win every game by 25 or 30 points. You’re going to have games where you have to find a way to win.” And on this brisk fall afternoon in South Bend, it was the rushing game that got it done for Notre Dame, as the Irish amassed 270 rushing yards against a BYU team that has been giving up just 75 yards per contest. Theo Riddick had 15 carries for 149 yards, including several critical long runs, and Cierre Wood added 114 yards on 18 carries.            

Early on, it was the Irish defense stepping up with a key play – as has been the case all season. After the Irish’s first drive stalled and misfired with a missed field goal, the Cougars drove to the Notre Dame 19 before a sack of quarterback Riley Nelson and an interception by Irish senior linebacker Manti Te’o stunted that Cougar march.            

The takeaway went for naught, however, as the Irish offense promptly went three-and-out.            

Junior Tommy Rees started at quarterback for the Irish, in place of sophomore Everett Golson, who was not cleared to practice until Wednesday after suffering a mild concussion against Stanford             

The Irish finally got their offense in gear late in the first quarter, putting together another sustained drive – and finishing it this time, as Rees and senior tight end Tyler Eifert hooking up on a 4-yard TD strike with 1:30 left in the opening stanza.           But the Irish offense again struggled early in the second quarter, and with 8:25 left in the second, BYU countered, driving 56 yards and cashing in on a 6-yard pass from Riley Nelson to Cody Hoffman.            

And the Cougars got their own defensive big play on the Irish’s ensuing possession, picking off Rees and finding themselves in business at the Irish 30. They needed just four plays to capitalize, Nelson and tight end Kaneakua Friel connecting on a 2-yard pass to put BYU up 14-7 with 6:07 left until halftime.            

If the Irish offense needed a wake-up call, this was it.            

And the Irish seemed to respond,  driving to the BYU 11.  Junior backup QB Andrew Hendrix came in to get a key third-down conversion for the Irish, scrambling for 12 yards on third-and-2 from the Irish. The drive stalled there and Notre Dame lined up for a 28-yard Kyle Brindza field goal try – which was no good.                

The Irish’s offensive doldrums continued early in the second half, but BYU was also unable to  move the ball, misfiring on a 45-yard FG attempt midway through the third quarter.            

Things changed late in the third when Theo Riddick, seemingly stopped at the line of scrimmage on a third-and-1 play, broke free for a 55-yard run to the BYU 8. But three straight rushing plays went nowhere, and Notre Dame settled for a 24-yard Brindza field goal to cut the Cougar advantage to 14-10.            

After a defensive stop, the Irish got the ball back again and showed further signs of coming alive on offense, driving for the go-ahead score on a 2-yard TD by George Atkinson III. The TD with 12:52 left in regulation put the Irish up 17-14.             

Nail-biting time ensued for the Irish and their fans as BYU drove to the Notre Dame 31 with under seven minutes remaining. But again, the Irish defense stepped up, sacking Nelson at the Irish 40 and successfully defending a third-down pass play to regain possession with just over six minutes left.            

The Irish were able to successfully kill about five and a half minutes of that remaining time, punting the ball back to the Cougars with 29 seconds remaining. One final defensive stand and a victory formation knee by Rees later, Notre Dame escaped with the win.

But for a play or two eitehr way, it could have been a different result, according to BYU head coach Bronco Mendenhall.

“Most likely the best game collectively we played offensively, defense and kicking,” Mendenhall said. “But when you put the composite together, it was good enough to get us within striking distance and had a great chance, a number of chances to maybe pull off an upset.  But ultimately didn’t make a critical play here or there right down the stretch to win the game.”

The Irish hit the road next week for a marquee matchup with No. 10 Oklahoma, a night game in Norman. BYU travels to Georgia Tech.

            

IRISH ITEMS:  Riddick’s 55-yard run in the third quarter was the second-longest rushing play of the season for the Irish … BYU’s second-quarter TD broke a string of 17 straight quarters in which the Notre Dame defense did not allow a TD … Riddick’s rushing performance was the best of the season so far for the Irish … BYU is just the second team in 2012 to put up at least two touchdowns on the Irish. Purdue scored two against Notre Dame in a 20-17 win for the Fighting Irish.