The Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Julius Jones began the season as Notre Dame's No. 2 tailback. He could finish it as the school's single-season rushing leader.

Jones, who has rushed for 1,214 yards, needs 224 today against Syracuse (5-6) to break the mark of 1,437 set by Vagas Ferguson in 1979.

"I'd much rather have a win than the record," Jones said.

Jones may be able to have both. The Irish (5-6) are 4-0 when the senior rushes for at least 100 yards this season and 1-6 when he's held to less.

If the Irish win, they will extend their winning streak to four, finish at 6-6 and, in the process, actually help archrival USC maintain its hold on second place in the BCS standings. Lose, and there's a chance LSU could move ahead of the Trojans.

"It's an interesting scenario, but one that doesn't really affect what we're about," coach Tyrone Willingham said.

ARMY-NAVY: Everywhere Army players go, there are questions, criticism and - worst of all - sympathy from Navy over a season that's a loss away from the first 0-13 record in major college football history.

Army currently owns the nation's longest losing streak at 14 games, has dropped 23 of its last 24, including last year's 58-12 loss to Navy, and has been outscored by 242 points this season.

Coach Todd Berry was fired at midseason and replaced by John Mumford on an interim basis. Berry was responsible for the season's first six losses; Mumford the last six.

Mumford knows a win today against Navy (7-4) won't salvage the season. Then again, maybe it will.

"We have never addressed 0-12. We have never addressed anything about the record," Mumford said. "We continued to press on. The kids are getting hit in the corps, they're getting hit with it in the media. We just try and keep our eye on the ball of our daily work habits."

• ESPN.com reported Friday that Frank Solich, the former coach at Nebraska who was fired last week, has decided not to accept the head-coaching job at Army.

Solich was offered the job and sounded as though he would take it, but decided ultimately Thursday night that it was too soon after leaving Nebraska and that he didn't know enough about recruiting at West Point.

DIVISION I-AA: Twenty years after guiding Miami to its first national title, Howard Schnellenberger is three wins away from another championship, with Division I-AA Florida Atlantic.

Schnellenberger, 69, started Florida Atlantic's football program from scratch three years ago.

The Owls (10-2) play at Northern Arizona (9-3) today, with the winner heading to the I-AA semifinals. Florida Atlantic, a team that won only six games in its first two seasons, has a nine-game winning streak.

"I've never been prouder of any other team I've coached than I am with this group of boys," Schnellenberger said.