Bodog Week 13 College Football Preview

RIVALRY WEEKEND

Despite a lackluster season, USC coach Pete Carroll has the Trojans sitting outside the gates of the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. In fact, the No. 3 Trojans are so close to crashing through that a win versus Notre Dame Saturday could push them into a showdown with No. 1 Ohio State.

"This game is the one that could put Pete Carroll over the hump," Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis said in his Tuesday news conference. "He's really close to Michigan in the ratings. If he goes and does a number on us, that might be enough to put him up to No. 2."

Although nothing is guaranteed (or simple) when it comes to the BCS, with Michigan losing its Big Ten battle with Ohio State and legendary rival Notre Dame sitting at No. 5 in the BCS (and No. 6 in the AP Poll), it only seems logical that a win over the Irish would vault USC to No. 2.

What seems illogical is that the Trojans, only .007 percentage points behind Michigan, actually have a shot at the championship despite their performances earlier in the season.

They didn’t look like anything close to a national title contender after they squeaked out wins against Arizona, Washington State, Washington and Arizona State, going 0-4 against the spread in that stretch. And hopes of securing their second title in four years were declared deceased when they lost 33-31 to 10½-point underdog Oregon State in Week 9. The embarrassing loss caused the Trojans to tumble all the way from No. 3 to No. 8 in the BCS polls.

"Sometimes the hardest lessons are the strongest," Carroll said of the upset. "We've played our best football since, it was obviously a changing point for us."

What USC did to resuscitate its season was something four other teams ranked ahead of them couldn't do - dominate in November.

Texas lost to unranked Kansas State on Nov. 11; Auburn took itself out of the running with conference losses to Arkansas and Georgia; West Virginia lost a Big East showdown versus Louisville on Nov. 2; and Louisville suffered a huge upset against Rutgers a week later. Meanwhile, USC has gone 3-0 straight up and ATS for the month, giving BCS and AP voters no choice but to put them back up to No. 3.

“The fourth quarter is crunch time, the season is won or lost in November," Trojans junior defensive end Lawrence Jackson said. "Something sparked the competitive nature of this team."

All that stands in the way of making it a perfect November, is Notre Dame. And after losing a controversial game at home against USC in 2005, not only would the Irish love to play spoiler, they want a blowout. There's been speculation a big win over the Trojans figures to give them a shot at Ohio State on Jan. 8 in Phoenix.

"USC/Notre Dame in late November, winner may have a chance, loser's got no chance, it all comes down to this game," Notre Dame senior defensive back Tom Zbikowski said.

"For us, it's the last game, they got one more. It's our last chance to get on the field, last opportunity to try to get a win against USC, last opportunity to maybe have a shot at the national championship. I don't think it gets much bigger than that."

QUICK HITS

USC and Notre Dame aren’t the only squads who can secure a spot in the national championship game, as Florida may have a shot at No. 2 if it pummels Florida State.

"I think USC and Florida are the two teams that, if they take care of business, deserve a shot [at Ohio State]," Gators coach Urban Meyer said earlier this week to the Associated Press.

A blowout is definitely not out of the question, the Seminoles are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games at home and have opened as +9.5 underdogs.

Regardless of Saturday's result, Arkansas will have a shot at the SEC title. But the prize that could still be gained, is the small chance to meet Ohio State in January.

"Obviously, we want to win the game," Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said. "There will be enough butterflies to go around in Little Rock. We know we are playing a good team."

Although they are at home and ranked four spots higher in the AP polls, the Razorbacks have only opened as a pick. You can chalk that up to LSU being 9-3 straight up in its last 12 on the road, and the fact it has beaten Arkansas three years in a row.

PHOTO: Coach Pete Carroll has a chance to get USC into yet another national championship. (AP Photo)

Note: All NCAA football lines subject to change.

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