Notre Dame has played the nation's 15th-toughest schedule, according to Jeff Sagarin's ratings, and is undefeated in those four games. While it's far too early to start thinking about what bowl game in which the Irish will play, there is a fairly clear path to the program's first BCS bid since the 2006 season.
That path involves winning one of three games against Stanford, Oklahoma and USC and not tripping up against the likes of Miami, BYU, Pittsburgh, Boston College and Wake Forest. Notre Dame already has a signature road win -- at Michigan State -- and with a national fanbase that travels well, it's highly likely a BCS Bowl would jump at the chance to select a 10-2 Notre Dame team.
With that in mind, here's how Notre Dame's remaining schedule breaks down. (the Irish are ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and 8th in Football Outisders' F rankings)
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Results are updated for Saturday's games; rankings are heading into this week:
Oct. 6 vs. Miami (4-1, APcoaches: NR, F: 45)
The 'Canes have had a problem keeping opponents off the scoreboard, allowing Boston College, Kansas State and Georgia Tech to rack up 120 points. Tech was a good win on the road, but if that blowout loss to K-State was more of an indication of where Miami is, Notre Dame will have no problem beating them in a week at Soldier Field.
Miami beat NC State 44-37 on Saturday, as QB Stephen Morris threw a 62-yard touchdown strike with 19 seconds left, upping his game totals to 556 yards and five touchdowns.
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Oct. 13 vs. Stanford (3-1, AP: No. 8, F: No. 11)
Those rankings, of course, are prior to Stanford's 17-13 loss to Washington in Seattle Thursday night. The Cardinal were the last undefeated team left on Notre Dame's schedule before yesterday, but Washington corralled running back Stepfan Taylor and forced Josh Nunes to throw 37 times. Stanford's defense accounted for its only touchdown against Washington, and chances are their Oct. 13 contest against Notre Dame will be a defensive struggle. Having the game in South Bend could prove to be the tipping point.
Oct. 20 vs. BYU (3-2, AP: NR, F: No. 22)
Notre Dame's matchup with BYU looks like a classic trap game, sandwiched between games against Stanford and Oklahoma. Both of BYU's losses have been close (by a combined four points) on the road to Utah and Boise State, and the Cougars have a fearsome defense (No. 4 in Football Outsiders' S&P rankings). While beating BYU -- which beat Hawaii 47-0 Friday night -- won't have the national impact of a win over Stanford, Oklahoma or USC, it may be about as difficult a challenge for the Irish.
Oct. 27: @ Oklahoma (2-1, AP: No. 16, F: No. 10)
While Bob Stoops still owns a 78-4 record at home during his tenure in Norman, half of those losses have come in the last two years. Last year, OU lost to unranked Texas Tech, and last week Kansas State defeated Oklahoma 24-19.
It's worth noting that, since OU-Texas is played in Dallas and a scheduling anomaly that meant the Sooners' last two games against Oklahoma State came in Stillwater, Oklahoma hasn't played many top-10 opponents at Owen Field in the last few years. The last time they did was 2008, when Sam Bradford led a 65-21 pasting of No. 2 Texas Tech.
A few costly turnovers victimized Oklahoma in its loss to Kansas State. Landry Jones will represent a stiff challenge for Notre Dame's secondary, but if the Irish front seven can put pressure on the Sooners' QB, perhaps those turnover issues will pop up once again.
Nov. 3: vs. Pittsburgh (2-2, AP: NF, F: No. 44)
Pittsburgh's had one of the weirdest starts to the season of anyone in college football, losing by two touchdowns at home to FCS-level Youngstown State and coming back two weeks later to beat then-No. 13 Virginia Tech 35-17. We'll learn a little more about Pitt in the coming month with games at Syracuse and against Louisville, but they appear to be playing a little better after a rocky start under first-year coach Paul Chryst.
Nov. 10: @ Boston College (1-2, AP: NR, F: No. 58)
BC has shown a decent passing game run by quarterback Chase Rettig, but they're one of the worst rushing teams in the country and their defense is pretty middle of the pack without Luke Kuechly. This could be a trap game, just given it's on the road late in the season, but as things stand right now BC shouldn't give the Irish much trouble.
Nov. 17: vs. Wake Forest (3-2, AP: NR, F: No. 86)
Wake currently is the weakest team on Notre Dame's schedule, and while things can change in the next two months this figures to be a softball heading into USC. The Deacons lost to Duke 34-27 on Saturday, but also lost star wide receiver Mike Campanaro to a broke hand in the second quarter.
Nov. 24: @ USC (3-1, AP: No. 13, F: No. 16)
Matt Barkley and the Trojans haven't looked invincible, as some predicted prior to the season, dropping a contest to Stanford in Palo Alto and skating by Syracuse in New Jersey. That being said, Barkley has thrown for 1,005 yards and 12 touchdowns through four games, and if USC can beat Oregon Nov. 3 in Los Angeles there's still a chance they're playing for a national championship berth against the Irish.