Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman had already fielded questions about the travel … and the altitude … and stopping Bear Bachmeier … and plenty more about this week’s top-10 matchup against BYU when he was asked about handling the noise at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

He paused for a brief moment before answering.

“It’s going to be about execution, right?” Freeman began diplomatically. “Like, we got to have a great plan for the crowd noise, and we got to prepare for it. We got to make sure that we’re ready for it. But your execution really dictates how loud and not loud it gets.”

Then Freeman smiled and lifted his arms, almost in a shrug.

“This isn’t something new to us. … This is what we do. I’m serious,” he said. “Like, this is what Notre Dame football does. We go into different places, and it’s a big game — that’s what we expect. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we choose to come to Notre Dame. We love this. I love it. They love it. This is exactly why we’re at Notre Dame.”

There’s a lot of pomp and circumstance around Saturday’s game. “College GameDay” is coming to Provo. Primetime TV slot on ABC. Top-10 matchup.

That’s largely new to the Cougars. For Notre Dame? It might not be old hat, but it’s not novel anymore, either.

Notre Dame is just two years removed from playing in the national championship game. More importantly, the Irish are, well, the Irish.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a cool experience — it’s just stuff you dream about as a kid — but at the end of the day, we are Notre Dame,” said offensive lineman Guerby Lambert. “I don’t mean that in a cocky way, but, like, we go into every away game and home game expecting a huge atmosphere.”

That’s all true: The Irish do play in a lot of big games. But it’s also true they have struggled to win the biggest ones — at least on the road.

Notre Dame has lost seven straight true road games against top-10 teams, with its last win coming in 2012 at Oklahoma.

Under Freeman, the Irish are 0-3 in true road games against top-10 teams, including a road defeat to No. 10 Miami last season that ultimately kept Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff.

So advantage Cougars? Not exactly, but the Irish understand what’s at stake on Saturday in Provo.

“This is going to be, on paper, the best opponent we’re going to see to date,” Freeman said. “It shows with the record, it shows with the ranking, and so let’s go play against the best in their home field, in their stadium, in their environment where it’s us against everybody.

“I kind of like it. Obviously I love playing at home, but there’s something about going on the road when it’s us against everybody, and it makes you say, ‘Okay, we got to do this thing together.’ And I love it. I mean, I love it. They love it because they’re competitors. We want to play against the best, and this is the best.”

There’s one player in particular the Irish have circled: BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier.

Freeman said BYU’s offensive scheme — built around Bachmeier’s ability to run and pass — will be a challenge to defend.

“He’s the real deal,” Freeman said. “He’s big, like, he’s big, like will-try-to-run-you-over big, but he also can throw.”

One Notre Dame player has seen that firsthand. Cornerback DJ McKinney has played BYU in each of the last three seasons while at Oklahoma State and Colorado, including BYU’s 24-21 win over the Buffaloes last season.

In that game, Bachmeier had 179 yards and two scores and ran 15 times for 98 yards.

“He’s a big dude,” McKinney said. “First time, I kind of got a feel for how his play style is. He really likes to run the ball and then take shots. So it’s gonna be a fun matchup.”