USC'S TOUGH TRAIL TO JAN. 1 BEAT NOTRE DAME, GET HELP.

Byline: Scott Wolf Staff Writer

For all the talk the past two days about USC rooting for UCLA, the Trojans might be just as big fans of Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Syracuse and Virginia Tech the next two weeks, thanks to the peculiarities of the Bowl Championship Series standings released Monday.

USC (9-2, 7-1) moved up two spots to sixth place in the latest rankings, setting up a possible scenario to reach a New Year's Day bowl, if the Trojans can get some help.

USC can get a bid to a BCS bowl game - meaning the Sugar or Orange Bowl- under the following conditions:

1.) The Trojans defeat Notre Dame on Saturday.

2.) The Trojans leapfrog Iowa in the BCS rankings.

3.) Miami, Oklahoma or Georgia lose.

4.) USC must also finish in the top four of the BCS standings and be the highest-rated at-large team.

The short version of what this means is that USC must overtake Iowa, No. 5 in the BCS, in order to force a bowl to select the Trojans for an at-large berth.

That won't happen merely by USC defeating the Irish on Saturday.

``They have to find a way to get ahead of Iowa,'' said Jerry Palm, a computer expert who analyzes the BCS rankings. ``I don't think 'SC jumps Iowa on its own by beating Notre Dame. They need Georgia to lose and then they could gain ground on Iowa in the (top 25) polls.''

Of course, the Trojans go to the Rose Bowl if UCLA defeats Washington State on Dec. 7.

But if the Trojans don't go to the Rose Bowl, they need to pass Iowa, and the quickest way that probably happens is if Georgia Tech upsets Georgia or if Georgia loses in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

If Oklahoma State upset Oklahoma, or Miami lost to Syracuse or Virginia Tech, USC could also sneak into the BCS bowl picture.

But the easiest way is if Georgia loses. That would allow USC to close the gap in the top 25 polls with the Hawkeyes. Iowa is ranked No. 3 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and No. 4 in the Associated Press poll. USC is No. 6 in both polls.

Since USC has a better strength of schedule, it could surpass Iowa in the BCS formula if the Trojans were just a spot behind the Hawkeyes in the top 25 rankings.

``I don't know how USC jumps Iowa without a jump in the polls,'' Palm said. ``They are close enough that if Georgia lost, they could pass Iowa. It doesn't mean for sure they would jump Iowa, but they might.''

Palm said USC trails Iowa in the BCS by too large a margin to simply overtake the Hawkeyes with a victory over Notre Dame.

``You don't make that up without help in the polls,'' Palm said.

One thing that should also be taken into consideration is that USC would not automatically be guaranteed a BCS spot if the Trojans finished fourth overall. A team that finishes fourth is only guaranteed a berth if they are the highest-rated at-large team. If Iowa finished third and USC fourth, Iowa would get an at-large bid.

And if Notre Dame, currently seventh in the BCS, remains in the top 12, the Irish would probably gain a berth in the Orange Bowl ahead of USC.

``I don't see how USC gets in (to the Orange Bowl),'' Palm said.

USC players were aware of the BCS implications of Saturday's game against the Irish, which is the biggest meeting between the schools since 1988, when Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 and USC was No. 2.

``This is for the BCS, that makes this game even bigger than it already is,'' Nazel said.

Regardless, USC coach Pete Carroll spent part of Monday talking to the Trojans about being no worse than Pacific-10 co-champions.

``After 13 weeks, we finally made it to the top spot,'' Carroll said.

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