Surging Bulldogs Have Irish Eyes Upon Them

Cheer cheer for old . . . Fresno State?

This may be the first-of-its-kind weekend wrap story in which the writer mentions Fresno State and Notre Dame football in the same sentence while wondering how the programs might be inexorably linked.

We know what you’re thinking:

Notre Dame is home to many Heismans.

Fresno is home to many Armenians.

Notre Dame’s “Golden Dome” graces a picturesque campus.

Fresno State’s “Golden Dome” coaches the basketball team.

Notre Dame is about national titles.

Fresno is about national rodeos.

Yet, here we are, two weeks into a disbelieving September, with Fresno State at 3-0 and shooting up the polls after a victory at Wisconsin--the Bulldogs are No. 11 with a bullet!--while fabled Notre Dame slinks to the back of the BCS bus after its utterly odorous opener at Nebraska.

The rich irony is Notre Dame now may need Fresno State’s help to attain its football goals.

Imagine that.

As we read the Bowl Championship Series handbook, the Irish should be rooting for the Bulldogs to keep winning, and winning, and winning.

Go you ‘Dogs, all the way to 13-0.

Because Notre Dame is a charter member of the BCS but not affiliated with a conference, it has legal protections.

Complex story in a nut: under pressure from Congress, the BCS bosses had to provide non-major conferences improved access to the national championship chase, so it stipulated any non-BCS school that finished in the top six of the final BCS rankings would automatically qualify for one of the four major bowls: Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange.

Fresno State, a member of the Western Athletic Conference, is threatening to become the first school from a second-tier conference to take the BCS up on its top six offer.

Get this: Should the Bulldogs get in, Notre Dame automatically gets the other at-large berth, provided the Irish have nine victories. It is not required that Notre Dame even be ranked in the top 10.

The legal thought here, we presume, is that any Notre Dame team with nine wins is at least the television ratings equal of a non-BCS qualifier.

Hey, maybe Notre Dame, which has produced seven Heisman Trophy winners, can co-sponsor a campaign for Fresno State quarterback David Carr.

For those of you thinking Notre Dame is cooked, we need only remind you that last year the Irish rallied from a 2-2 start to win seven consecutive games and qualify for the Fiesta Bowl.

It could happen again.

This time, though, Notre Dame may need Fresno State to throw the lead BCS block.

More on Fresno

The Bulldogs are simply the buzz of college football press boxes. The Fiesta Bowl is infatuated enough it may soon pay Fresno State a courtesy call . . . just in case.

Should Fresno State finish 13-0--and it’s still a big if--the Fiesta would be the best logistical fit for the Bulldogs. The Fiesta is set to host the champions of the Pacific 10 and Big 12 conferences; however, an at-large spot could become available in the not-so-far-fetched event the Big 12 champion (Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas?) plays in the Rose Bowl for the national title.

Back to Manhattan

Wasn’t it nice for Kansas State to stop by and beat USC, only to have Good Humor Man Coach Bill Snyder act afterward like his car had just been towed? We vowed to lay off Snyder after he finally took on a tough nonconference opponent in USC, coming off a last-place Pac-10 finish.

But since Snyder rubs us the wrong way, sort of like the Notre Dame playbook, we’re back on the offensive. To wit: USC was the first “quality” nonconference opponent Snyder has scheduled since his first game as the Wildcats’ coach in 1989, when Kansas State lost to Arizona State, 31-0.

And here’s a comeback stat for you USC fans getting drilled in Internet chat rooms.

Conference titles since 1934:

USC: 26

Kansas State 0.

Rose Bowl Tracking Poll

In This Week: Miami vs. Texas.

Upon hearing Miami squeezed past Rutgers, 61-0, we had to admit the nation’s best team dines on stone crabs, not salmon.

Out (for now): Oregon. It was a nice preseason story, loads of laughs and lumber, but less-than-stellar home wins against Wisconsin and Utah have given us pause. Keep on plucking, Ducks, and don’t forget to write.

Still have floats in the parade:

* Nebraska: Just returned from Lincoln and can report that, when called on and the situation dictates, quarterback Eric Crouch is capable of throwing a spiral.

* Oklahoma: Tough Sooner sledding ahead with games vs. Texas on Oct. 6 and a trip to Nebraska on Oct. 27.

* Florida: Saturday was business as usual. Florida stomped on Louisiana Monroe, 55-6, and Gator Coach Steve Spurrier yelled at quarterback Rex Grossman.

* Florida State: Ho-hummed its way to a 29-7 victory against Alabama Birmingham, but we’re guessing Bobby Bowden was holding the playbook for this week’s showdown against Georgia Tech.

Still Not Sold On: Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Kansas State, Washington and UCLA.

Watch Out For: Northwestern and Virginia Tech. The schedule gods have given both schools an inside track at the Rose Bowl. Nevada Las Vegas Coach John Robinson was right when he said Northwestern had a chance to win all its games, especially after the Wildcats beat his Rebels on Friday. Virginia Tech will apparently survive the loss of tailback Lee Suggs and win all its games until that Dec. 1 battle against Miami in Blacksburg.

Fresno State?

Realistically, the Bulldogs probably can’t get to the Rose Bowl, even at 13-0.

Out (for good): Notre Dame, Michigan . . . USC.