By Tom Coyne
The Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Asked whether there were a temptation to get into a shootout today with Brigham Young, Notre Dame offensive coordinator Bill Diedrick thought about it for a moment and smiled.

"Spread 'em out and let it fly? Sure there is," he said.

Tempted, maybe, but not likely. The last time the Notre Dame coaching staff won in a high-scoring game by both teams was two years ago while most of them were at Stanford. Neither the Irish nor the Cougars have shown much ability to score this season.

The Cougars (4-6) are averaging 18.2 points a game under third-year coach Gary Crowton - their lowest total since averaging 12.5 points in 1970. That was two years before LaVell Edwards, whose teams averaged twice as many points seven times, started his 29-year reign as BYU coach.

The Irish (3-6) have been even worse, averaging a meager 15.7 points a game, their lowest total in 43 years.

The key for Notre Dame is the running game. The Irish are 3-0 when they have rushed for at least 150 yards.

"I think our team is best when we are running the football," Irish coach Tyrone Willingham said. "Then we can kind of balance things with our passing game - our play-action passing game, our quick passing game - and then also stretch the ball down the field. But if we're not running it, that forces us to be a one-dimensional team."

Which is exactly what BYU plans to try to do - stop Notre Dame tailback Julius Jones, who has two 200-yard rushing games this season, and try to make freshman Brady Quinn pass the ball.

"Their quarterback has done some good things in the past, but they've made some mistakes also," Crowton said. "So stopping Julius Jones is a big part of our plan."

The Cougars have had problems of their own passing the ball. BYU quarterbacks have been sacked 31 times. The Cougars also have had 17 passes intercepted - the fourth most in the nation.

They also have lost 15 fumbles - sixth most in the nation. The only team with more turnovers than BYU is Army, with 38.

"Whenever you give the opposing team the ball more than they deserve it, you're putting yourself in a bad spot," center Scott Jackson said. "We've been working on trying to eliminate that and focus on keeping the ball in our hands."

The Cougars haven't played since losing 50-12 to Boise State on Oct. 30.

"We've sat on this loss for 16 days. It's a long time to think about it," Jackson said. "I've watched the film of that last game far too many times. We just want to get back out on the field again."

Both teams head into the game with the same goal: winning the rest of their games to avoid losing seasons.

Notre Dame, which is trying to win consecutive games for the first time this season, is trying to avoid posting three losing seasons in a five-year span for the first time in school history.

The Cougars are trying to avoid back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1970-71.

"We've made a lot of mistakes, but our goal is to finish well," BYU linebacker Mike Tanner said.