There’s more than a place in this year’s BCS Championship on the line at the LA Coliseum this weekend. This is rivalry weekend. There’s pride on the line.

Make no mistake about it, USC would love nothing more than to upset bitter rivals Notre Dame on Saturday night and knock the Fighting Irish out of the championship picture, a victory that would not just make up for a disappointing season, but also might save head coach Lane Kiffin’s job.

Kiffin and his players came into the season as the No. 1 team in the country with Heisman favorite Matt Barkley at quarterback, while the Irish were unranked. Ironically, it’s the Irish who are now No. 1 and feature one of the Heisman frontrunners in linebacker Manti T’eo, while the Trojans have slipped out of the top-25.

USC (7-4) will also have to do without Barkley for Saturday’s game after the senior injured his shoulder in last weekend’s loss to crosstown rivals UCLA.

The Irish, meanwhile, are 11-0 for the first time since 1989 and are back at the pinnacle of college football for the first time in 19 years. The big question for them, however, is how they will handle the pressure of being top dogs, something that hasn’t worked out well for the No. 1 team recently, with Alabama and Kansas State falling on two consecutive Saturdays.

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