Lavell Edwards Stadium turf planted at Notre Dame campus

[u/AtroxVenom]

16 years ago, I attended a BYU vs. Utah “Holy War” rivalry game that ended in an overtime walk-off touchdown pass from Max Hall to Andrew George. The crowd went wild, and my brother and I rushed the field. When I got to the field, I realized there were large chunks of turf all over the place. I snagged a nice, big piece and shoved it in my jacket pocket.

As a lifelong fan of BYU football, I was so happy to take it home and plant it in my garden. It grew nicely and even survived a transplant into another garden when I moved a year or two later.

Three years later, in 2012, BYU was scheduled to play at Notre Dame. My dad surprised my brothers and I with the opportunity to travel to South Bend, Indiana, to see our Cougs play. I realized I had a golden opportunity to plant the turf from LaVell Edwards Stadium somewhere even better than my garden. How about on campus, at the feet of “Touchdown Jesus,” next to Notre Dame Stadium? I thought it was a great idea.

I took a good piece of the sod with its roots. I carefully wrapped it in a moistened paper towel, put it in a Ziploc bag, and packed it in my carry-on for the flight to Irish country.

The area was pretty busy with Notre Dame fans, so I had to figure out a way to get this done without anyone noticing. We identified the best spot for a successful turf transplant. I laid down a blanket and pretended to take a nap underneath it. What was really happening under the blanket was a landscaping project involving a flashlight, a six-inch pocketknife, and a soup spoon.

I was so proud of my handiwork. It looked so good that I couldn’t even tell the grass there had been disturbed or even walked on. We recorded the GPS coordinates and took pictures. I was certain this would help seal a victory for the Cougars that evening.

The victory eluded them by one field goal. The final score was 17–14 in favor of the Irish. Notre Dame finished the season by going to the National Championship. (They got throttled by Alabama.)

Notre Dame backed out of its deal to play BYU at home after that game in South Bend. (They were chickens that year.) I guess they had to wait until they knew they were good? Why wait 12 years?

This year, Notre Dame is coming in to Provo ranked No. 2 and will try to beat a No. 8 BYU team that hasn’t lost at home since 2024. This has the makings of an incredibly great game, with two amazing defenses.

Thank you, LaVell Edwards, for building this program into what it is. Thank you, Max Hall and Andrew George, for manufacturing the perfect opportunity for me to score some stadium turf. And thank you to my dad for always bringing me to the games with you. I will be at Lavell Edwards Stadium this Saturday. I probably won't need to take anymore turf. I can leave those kinds of shenanigans for younger hooligans moving forward.

Go Cougs!

[u/RedOnTheHead_91]

I know this isn't technically how this works, but considering that that win for Notre Dame (and the one next year) was vacated for NCAA violations, shouldn't the losses for BYU and every other team Notre Dame beat those years also be vacated?

I mean if Notre Dame doesn't get to count the wins, why should we have to count the losses? We weren't the ones that broke the rules

[u/cliffspooner]

The Clarks!

[u/LowCommercial4827]

It sounds like you took some of the good luck grass and transferred that luck to Notre Dame. Your job now is to go get that grass and bring it home before game time. Lol.