Eleventh-ranked Notre Dame could lose the respect of college football fans — and a $13 million bowl payday — with a loss to unranked Southern California on Saturday.
If the Fighting Irish come up short, they'll lose a possible berth in the Fiesta Bowl, which is part of the Bowl Championship Series, and probably be offered a spot in the Gator Bowl with its $1.4 million payout.
Notre Dame has been in this situation before. The Fighting Irish (8-2) had opportunities to play in major bowl games in 1996 and 1998, but lost to Southern California in their final game each year, costing themselves about $20 million.
"It's fun to play in a big-time game like this," Notre Dame coach Bob Davie said. "It'll be our third time playing there with BCS bowl implications, and we haven't been able to win it. I'm excited about this one."
Notre Dame isn't the only team with a key game this week.
Top-ranked Oklahoma is at Oklahoma State, and No. 3 Miami hosts Boston College in games that could impact the BCS standings.
The Hurricanes trail No. 2 Florida State in the BCS rankings, which match the two top teams in the Orange Bowl for the national title, and likely would need Oklahoma to lose one of its final two games to move up, even with a lopsided win over Boston College.
"We have no control over games that are being played around the country," Miami coach Butch Davis said. "We're just going to play the best we can."
Other Top-25 Games
Virginia Tech, No. 6 in the BCS rankings, also has hopes of playing in one of the other BCS bowl games, most likely the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
The 9-1 Hokies, who lost to Florida State in last year's championship game, host Virginia on Saturday to complete their regular-season schedule.
"I would think we're in a pretty good position," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "Of course we have to win this weekend. That's going to be our challenge right now."
Elsewhere on Saturday, No. 18 Georgia Tech visits No. 19 Georgia and No. 25 Tennessee plays at Vanderbilt.
Five ranked teams were in action Friday. No. 9 Nebraska survived against Colorado 34-32 on Josh Brown's 29-yard field goal as time expired, No. 12 Texas routed No. 22 Texas A&M 43-17 and No. 24 LSU was upset by Arkansas 14-3. No. 13 Texas Christian takes on Southern Methodist later tonight.
Mississippi beat 23rd-ranked Mississippi State 45-30 on Thursday.
The rest of the schools in the top 25, including No. 2 Florida State, No. 4 Washington and No. 5 Oregon State, completed their regular seasons last week.
Two months ago, Notre Dame fell to 2-2 after a loss to Michigan State and an appearance in a major bowl game seemed like a long shot.
The Fighting Irish have won six straight games to climb in the rankings. Although they trail teams such as Oregon State, Kansas State and Oregon in the BCS standings, the Irish would most likely get a berth to the Fiesta Bowl with a win over USC.
After the automatic bids and conference tie-ins are satisfied for the four BCS games — the Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta — any team can be selected for an at-large berth provided it has nine wins and finishes among the top 12 in the final BCS rankings.
Notre Dame would be an attractive team for the Fiesta Bowl with its rich football history and large fan base.
"If we win and we are 9-2, I think we would go to a BCS game," Davie said.
Notre Dame came up short under former coach Lou Holtz in 1996, when the 10th-ranked Irish were 8-2 and visited a 6-5 USC team they hadn't lost to since 1982. The Irish lost 27-20, missing a chance to go to one of the major bowls, and opted not to play in a postseason game at all.
In 1998, Notre Dame was 9-1 under Davie heading into the season-ending showdown at USC. Playing without quarterback Jarious Jackson, who sprained his ankle the week before, the Irish lost 10-0 and settled for the Gator Bowl instead of the Orange or Sugar bowls.
The situation is similar this season, as the 8-2 Irish face a 5-6 Southern California team in Los Angeles that has disappointed after being picked among the Pac-10 Conference favorites before the season.
Another loss would be a costly one, while a win would mean Notre Dame's longest winning streak since the 1988 team won the national title and a likely return to an upper-tier bowl game with a $13 million payout.
"I'm jacked about this one," Davie said. "These are the kind of games you want to coach in."