SOUTH BEND, Ind. – When the game clock ticked to zero at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, all thoughts turned to USC.

Avoid a clunker next weekend in Los Angeles against the scuffling Trojans, who have lost three of their last four games, and the Irish believed everything else – namely, a spot in the BCS Championship game – would work itself out.

Turns out they only needed to wait hours, not days, to be in position to win a national title. Notre Dame entered Saturday sitting at No. 3 in the BCS standings behind Kansas State and Oregon, and the Irish kept their title hopes alive by delivering a 38-0 beatdown against Wake Forest.