Willingham focused on USC, not BCS

Tuesday November 26, 2002

By TOM COYNE
AP Sports Writer

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Forget the computers, strength of schedule and Bowl Championship Series standings. Tyrone Willingham wants Notre Dame thinking about one thing beating Southern California.

``We have to take care of what we can take care of,'' Willingham said Tuesday. ``We have one regular-season game remaining against a team that is clearly thought to be one of the best and hottest teams in the country.''

USC coach Pete Carroll is applying the same philosophy to the No. 6 Trojans (9-2), who host the Irish on Saturday.

``Our focus is on trying to get this win, then everything else will take care of itself,'' he said.

The USC-Notre Dame game is always a big rivalry game, but it is even bigger this season because an at-large berth in a BCS bowl might be at stake.

Even if the No. 7 Irish (10-1) lose, they could receive an Orange Bowl berth because they have a bigger national following than USC.

Keith Tribble, executive director of the Orange Bowl Committee, said no decisions have been made.

``There are no shoo-ins,'' he said.

He did concede, however, that the Irish still would have a chance at the at-large bid even if they lost to USC.

``If USC finished 10-2, they will have a higher ranking but not a better record,'' he said. ``Obviously, we'll take everything into consideration in terms of the schools the matchup, the fan support, the tickets. There's a lot of things that go into it, not just the record or the place they finished in the polls.''

Willingham declined comment when asked whether it would be fair for the Irish to get a BCS bid even if they lost to USC.

``Gosh, you're making me think about a lot of things I don't want to think about,'' he said. ``I'll kind of defer that comment.''

Carroll said he's not concerned about it.

``That's just the system as it is. I can't do anything about it, and I really don't care to try to do anything about it,'' he said.

There are two ways the Trojans can avoid being frozen out of the BCS. If UCLA beats Washington State on Dec. 7, the Trojans win the Pac-10 title and go to the Rose Bowl. And if the Trojans, now sixth in the BCS standings, can move up to No. 4, they are guaranteed an at-large berth.

If the Irish win, there is no argument. They would finish in the top six in the BCS standings, which guarantees them an at-large berth.

Willingham admitted Tuesday, though, the Irish are hoping for something better. They are still holding out slim hopes of getting to the Fiesta Bowl and playing Ohio State in the national championship game. Notre Dame is No. 7 in the latest BCS standings.

``You always hope. You always wish,'' Willingham said. ``At this stage of the season with so few games to go, that possibility starts to slip away.

``But you never know. There are still a lot of things that can happen you've got championship games that have to be played. I don't have any idea how those will impact the computers or which rankings or things will change with loses. You always hope and you always wish.''

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)