Tired Irish looking forward to week off

The tangible goals are off the table for Notre Dame, swept away by an uninspired performance against Southern California.

There will be no wins against ranked opponents, no postseason push, no trip to the "toiletbowl.com," as coach Charlie Weis mockingly put it.

So what's left for the Irish?

First, a much-needed bye week, which Weis called "the best thing for this team." Players agreed.

"It's been extremely tough emotionally and physically for me," senior defensive end Trevor Laws said. "I'm very excited to be able to just relax and not think about football for a little bit."

When the Irish reappear Nov. 3 against Navy, they might start featuring more freshmen and sophomores. Linebackers Kerry Neal, Brian Smith and Toryan Smith have seen increased time.

Other players who might play more include freshman nose tackle Ian Williams, freshman running back Armando Allen, freshman wide receiver Duval Kamara and sophomore fullback Luke Schmidt.

"It's a consideration," Weis said of using younger players. "But there's also some of those older guys, especially those fifth-year guys, who probably played pretty well. … Do you sit there and say, 'OK, thanks for your eight games and now you're done'?

"I don't think it's the right way of treating people."

Unlucky Irish: Munir Prince is arguably Notre Dame's fastest player, but he couldn't escape a short punt in the first quarter. Blocking for Tom Zbikowki, Prince had the ball carom off his arm.

USC recovered at the Irish 10-yard line and scored a touchdown on the next play.

"I was trying to yell, but it's hard," Zbikowski said. "You can't hear when something's going on. It was kind of a short punt, so I couldn't get over to it.

"It's one of those things where the bounce just doesn't go your way."

Breakup artist: It's hard to believe, but a nose tackle might challenge Notre Dame's single-season record for pass breakups. Pat Kuntz already has 9 PBUs, 3 ahead of last year's leader Chinedum Ndukwe and 5 behind Shane Walton's all-time record.

Kuntz is 1 breakup shy of tying David Martin for most breakups by a non-defensive back.

"I'm used to getting double-teamed a lot, especially when I'm pass rushing," Kuntz said. "When you're not moving, you might as well do something to distract the quarterback, so I try to get my hands up."

He said it: Charlie Weis, on the gap between Notre Dame and USC: "We're at different ends of the spectrum at this point. They are where we want to be."

Inches to go: Northwestern quarterback C.J. Bacher has eclipsed 200 passing yards in 12 of his 13 career starts. With 361 yards Friday against Eastern Michigan, Bacher surpassed Zak Kustok for sixth place on NU's all-time passing list with 2,598 yards. … Wildcats place-kicker Amado Villarreal made 2 field goals Friday after missing 3 straight. … NU is tied for second nationally in third-down attempts (132) and ranks 29th in conversion percentage (44.7). … Notre Dame has lost four straight home games for the first time since 1960.