Irish Eyes On Key Matchup

You can bet the Notre Dame coaches are following tonight's key matchup between unbeaten West Virginia and unbeaten Louisville closely. The loser will drop, if only slightly, in the polls, and if that's not enough for the Irish to pass them, it should be enough to close the gap.

Notre Dame needs a bunch of teams to lose to move into range for a national title shot. That's unlikely to happen, but it's game such as West Virginia-Louisville that can help the Irish move up in the polls -- if they win decisively.

No matter what happens in that race, there's another race to consider -- the Heisman Trophy. A strong surge has propelled quarterbackBrady Quinn back into the hunt, although he still has a ways to go to catch and pass Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith. Still, it seems to be a two-man race, as this South Bend Tribune story suggests.