College Football Report : Weekday Update : AROUND THE NATION : Notre Dame Is Wished Well

Although Colorado is second behind Notre Dame in the rankings, Buffalo Coach Bill McCartney wants the Irish to win their final two regular-season games.

If Notre Dame beats Penn State and USC and Colorado beats Kansas State Saturday, their Orange Bowl showdown will be a clear-cut clash for the national title.

“Hopefully, they’ll win their two games and we’ll win ours, and it will be for the championship,” McCartney said.

The Irish (8-1) were a near-unanimous pick as the top team in Monday’s Associated Press poll. They received 55 of 60 first-place votes and 1,495 of a possible 1,500 points from a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters.

Colorado (9-1-1) got the other five first-place votes. Miami (6-2) rose two spots to third and Georgia Tech (8-0-1), the only major team without a loss, jumped from seventh to fourth. Brigham Young (8-1) went from eighth to fifth.