Weis confident of BCS bowl bid

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Charlie Weis is not bothered by talk that Notre Dame is unworthy of a BCS berth.
Weis is confident the No. 7 Fighting Irish (9-2) will get a BCS invitation Sunday, no matter what happens Saturday.
"I don't want to be disrespectful to the other teams, but I think we are going to be a very good representative to one of the BCS games," he said Thursday. "Whether it's a smart pick, I think we'll be a good pick."
Expected to be No. 3
If No. 1 USC and second-ranked Texas both win Saturday, Notre Dame is expected to receive the first at-large invitation from the Fiesta Bowl. That would be ahead of No. 4 Penn State (10-1) and its inspiring turnaround season under coach Joe Paterno, ahead of No. 6 Ohio State, with losses to Texas and Penn State and ahead of No. 8 Oregon (10-1), which only lost to USC.
Some have questioned whether a two-loss Irish team is worthy, especially because the only teams with winning records the Irish beat were No. 20 Michigan (7-4), Navy (6-4) and BYU (6-5). According to the NCAA, the Irish had the 63rd toughest schedule this year, with opponents having a 50.9 percent winning percentage.
By comparison, Ohio State had the fourth toughest schedule (62.9 percent), Penn State was 13th (59.2) and Oregon was 49th (53.7).
Need to see whole picture
Weis said the critics need to look at the whole picture. He said they're looking at team's records at the end of the year, rather than when the Irish played them. Pittsburgh was ranked No. 23 when the teams met, Michigan No. 3, Purdue was No. 22 and Michigan State was No. 17 immediately after beating the Irish.
"Michigan State deserved to beat us. We did not play well that day. We did not coach well that day," he said. "But at the time Michigan State was one of the best teams in the country. So they end up 5-6 and everyone says, 'Well, they lost to a 5-6 Michigan State team.' Well that Michigan State team we played at that time was not a 5-6 team."
Weis didn't mention that Pittsburgh (5-6), Michigan State, Purdue (5-6), Tennessee (5-6) and Stanford (5-6) would have had winning records and been bowl eligible if they had beaten the Irish.
Attractive to bowls
Aside from a national following, the Irish do have some compelling story lines that make them attractive to bowl organizers.
In his first season, Weis has breathed new life into a Notre Dame program that hasn't finished a season ranked in the top 10 since being ranked No. 2 at the end of the 1993 season. The Irish have won their last five games and are averaging 38 points, which would break the school record of 37.6 points set in 1968.
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