Of course, USC is fantasizing Notre Dame will go into Norman next week and bend the Sooners into a Switzer pretzel.
The Trojans have been assured now Oregon will come to the Coliseum on Nov. 3 ranked in the top three.
If you think what USC did to Colorado on Saturday was ugly, wait until Oregon gets through with the Buffaloes next week in Eugene.
Or, maybe Chip Kelly will take his foot off Ralphie's throat the way he did Thursday against Arizona State after opening a 43-7, second-quarter lead.
USC still has to navigate next week's game at Arizona, but Oregon has done its job in making Nov. 3 an almost-epic matchup.
Think about how much more worked up USC will be Nov. 3 against Oregon if Notre Dame has defeated Oklahoma next Saturday.
The Irish are already No. 5 in the BCS, and close the post-Oklahoma stretch against Pittsburgh, Boston College and Wake Forest before heading to Los Angeles.
Rooting for your enemies, until you play them, is part of college football's storied tradition.
For a deep Trojans thinker, the only thing better than USC being 10-1 on Nov. 24 is Notre Dame being 11-0.
It makes your post-victory BCS argument on national television so much more convincing.
It would be just like those land-jumper Sooners, though, to get their hooks into Notre Dame first.
There is nothing in the hard drive to even suggest Notre Dame can survive one, let alone both, of these treacherous trips.
That's like thinking Kansas State could go to West Virginia and make (John) Heisman candidate Geno Smith look like a (Pop) Warner candidate.
What, Kansas State thrashed West Virginia, 55-14?
Well, never mind, that had to be an aberration and has nothing to do with our Sultans of South Bend.
Notre Dame is plucky, to be sure, but can't really get away with grinding out ugly, piecemeal wins, week after week.
Can it?
Notre Dame's Tommy Rees completed less than 50% of his passes, for 117 yards, against BYU.
He must have thought he got lost and was somewhere in the SEC.
Kelly, as he should, ran as quickly as he could to the spin room.
"There are lots of teams around the country that have made their programs on winning 7-6 and 13-7," Kelly said in a not-so-veiled shot at the SEC.
Notre Dame, unfortunately, lacks the public-bidding power of Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson.
Florida on Saturday had only 109 more total yards than penalty yards (183 to 79).
Yet, the Gators somehow beat South Carolina, 44-11.
Wasn't it gorgeous?
That is the height of the bar, Notre Dame.
Goodness gracious, though, the Irish couldn't possibly be there yet.
chris.dufresne@latimes.com