Luck of the Irish Continues

Notre Dame moves to #1 as Kansas State and Oregon each lose:

Notre Dame got one first-place vote in the coaches' poll last Sunday -- head coach Brian Kelly's.
Against Wake Forest, the Fighting Irish reinforced Kelly's faith in his team, then third-ranked Notre Dame got some help later Saturday night.
Oregon and Kansas State, the two teams ahead of the Irish in the AP and BCS rankings, each lost. Now Notre Dame will control its own fate as it tries to capture its first national title in 24 years.
Earlier in the day, Everett Golson threw three touchdown passes and Cierre Wood scored on a 68-yard run as Notre Dame beat Wake Forest 38-0 Saturday to finish the season undefeated at home for the first time since 1998 and keep its national championship hopes alive.
"I told them tonight I'm proud of them," Kelly said. "I voted them No. 1 for a reason, because I think they're the best team in the country. I think they played like that tonight."
The Fighting Irish were in third place in last week's BCS standings, but likely will move up after Kansas State, which was No. 1, lost 52-24 to Baylor and Oregon, which was second, lost to Stanford 17-14 in overtime.
If Notre Dame manages to beat Southern California next week, it could wind up in a BCS title game against Alabama, now No. 4 in those rankings. The Irish would be a 10-point underdog in that game, oddsmaker Danny Sheridan told ESPN's Darren Rovell.

Three things to note.  First, the last time the Irish were number one was 1993, when I was there, and that only lasted one week before they were upset by Boston College.  We'll see how they do against USC.  Second, the Irish have only managed to win twice at USC since I graduated in 1996 (2000, 2010).  Finally, if the Irish were truly lucky, only one of the teams ahead of them would have lost, so they wouldn't get stuck playing Alabama.