By Paul Newberry
The Associated Press

Call it the Notre Dame factor. The Fighting Irish are perhaps the only team in college football that could lose its final game by 31 points - and still get an invitation from the Bowl Championship Series.

They could even get in ahead of Southern California, the team that walloped the Irish 44-13 on Saturday night.

Sound outrageous? Not really.

If Washington State beats UCLA this weekend, the Cougars clinch the Pac-10 championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl, bumping out the Trojans.

Assuming top-ranked Miami (which still must beat Virginia Tech) and No. 2 Ohio State are matched in the Fiesta Bowl, the Orange Bowl would get first pick among the remaining teams.

The south Florida bowl, which has trouble drawing fans when a national title isn't on the line, would be hard-pressed to pass up the drawing power of the Irish. Certainly, Orange Bowl officials would have little interest in Southern Cal, whose fans would have to travel from one coast to the other.

If Notre Dame goes to the Orange, the Rose Bowl would almost certainly get Iowa as the other at-large team. That would leave this possible BCS lineup:

-Rose: Iowa vs. Washington State.

-Sugar: Florida State vs. Georgia or Arkansas (who meet in the Southeastern Conference championship game).

-Orange: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma or Colorado (who meet in the Big 12 championship game).

-Fiesta: Miami vs. Ohio State.

Left out under that scenario is Southern Cal (10-2), one of the hottest teams in the country. The Trojans have won seven in a row, finishing the regular season with their most dominating performance.

That would be a nightmare for the BCS, which was lambasted just a year ago for putting Nebraska in the national championship game when the Cornhuskers didn't even win their own conference.

"After the way we played, we don't deserve to play in the Orange Bowl," Notre Dame offensive tackle Jordan Black said. "I just want to go home and throw up."

Notre Dame's performance was certainly revolting. Carson Palmer threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns, and USC outgained Notre Dame by an astounding 610 yards to 109.

Then again, Notre Dame is probably the only school that could survive such a dismal performance. No one can match the television appeal, fan support and mere aura of the Irish, who were one of the feel-good stories of the season until the debacle at the Coliseum.

Notre Dame dropped to No. 11 in The Associated Press rankings and 13th in the coaches poll. In order to be eligible for a major bowl, they'll have to stay in the top 12 of the BCS standings. It's going to be close.

The other key spot in the BCS standings is No. 4. If a team finishes fourth or higher, it is assured of a major bowl.

Southern Cal was sixth last week and definitely will move up after Oklahoma's loss to Oklahoma State. The Trojans (10-2) were right on the heels of Iowa (11-1), benefiting from a schedule that was rated toughest in the country by the BCS. Working against USC: Iowa is No. 3 in both polls, two spots higher than the Trojans.

Even so, Southern Cal has certainly done enough on the field to warrant a BCS berth.

"I couldn't imagine why somebody wouldn't want us to play in their game, although I know that some people might not want to play us," coach Pete Carroll said.

Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham, who put the fight back in the Irish in his first season, isn't giving up just yet.

"I can make a case for us going to a BCS bowl," he said. "The case is that we've played 12 ballgames, we've won 10 of those ballgames and we've been a very good and very sound football team. This one game cannot be a true indicator of what this team can do."

Of course, UCLA can relieve a giant BCS headache by beating Washington State. That would send crosstown rival USC to the Rose Bowl, and probably give at-large berths to both Notre Dame and Iowa.

Here's how the bowls could look under that scenario:

-Rose: USC vs. Iowa

-Sugar: Florida State vs. Georgia or Arkansas.

-Orange: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma or Colorado.

-Fiesta: Miami vs. Ohio State.

If Washington State wins and USC edges out Iowa for No. 4 in the BCS standings, the Hawkeyes might get the short end of the stick. Here's another possible bowl lineup:

-Rose: Washington State vs. Oklahoma or Colorado.

-Sugar: Florida State vs. Georgia or Arkansas.

-Orange: Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal.

-Fiesta: Miami vs. Ohio State.

Of course, a Miami loss would throw everything up in the air. Georgia could wind up playing Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, assuming the Bulldogs beat Arkansas for the SEC championship.

And there's yet another scenario that would knock Notre Dame out of the BCS: Georgia loses to Arkansas, moving Iowa and USC into the third and fourth spots in the rankings. That would guarantee them both major bowls - and possibly both at-large positions.

For the Irish, it would be goodbye BCS (and an $11-13 million payday), hello Gator Bowl (which pays $1.6 million).

"We'll patiently wait until somebody makes a decision," Willingham said, "then we'll prepare ourselves to play another football game."