I don't like Notre Dame. "Rudy" didn't sell me; neither did Ty, but I need Notre Dame to win this weekend, because the only thing I love more than a two-day week is college football confusion when teams that shouldn't be winning are and ones that should are not.

USC comes into South Bend with a definite chip on its shoulder because 25 weeks atop of the polls warrants that. Last year I would have written off Notre Dame immediately, but this is a new team based entirely on attitude.

Charlie Weiss has developed the mind set in South Bend of "We are going to drive on you when we have the ball, and we are going to score. You can try stopping us, but don't bother."

That has translated into a team that takes Weiss-size bites out of the field. No one has been able to hold Notre Dame's offense in check this year, and it will be interesting to see whether USC's defense, which is always overshadowed by their score-heavy score-often offense, can keep them in check.

USC is clearly the better team but everything must come to an end. Seinfeld had to end, Simon and Garfunkel had to part ways, and the Yankees can't win the World Series every year. Going into South Bend is a tougher win than most think.

Of course the "waltz of the dead," which is the Notre Dame alumni at the game, detracts from the atmosphere, but it can be guaranteed students will be geared up for this game, making it USC's toughest road test this season.

This game also serves as the ultimate test for both teams. Can USC really beat anyone anywhere? Is Notre Dame's offense that high efficient that the ball will move up and down the field for them? Is the only way USC loses is if they beat themselves?

These questions all will be answered because this game is a tough non-conference road game for USC in the middle of the Pac 10 season. USC's defense will be the toughest defense Notre Dame will have faced this year, seeing that Purdue and Michigan are extremely overrated. Weiss' team will not make any mistakes, so it will be up to quarterback Matt Leinhart to not try to do too much at once.

This game is exciting, though, because Notre Dame is involved. Successful history breeds hatred from all corners, but it is certain more fans will be pulling for Notre Dame because the top team in the country is involved. If there is anything that creates more contempt than successful history it is being on top, making a Notre Dame fan out of me for one game.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 11, 2005.