(AP) Notre Dame's biggest accomplishment this season is keeping a positive attitude despite its struggles, coach Charlie Weis said.

"I only can credit the players," Weis said. "I'd like to sit there and pat myself on the back, but it's really the character of our team because most teams when they're 0-5 don't act like a team that still thinks they can win. They don't practice that way, they don't act that way, and it says a lot for the character of our players."

Safety Tom Zbikowski said Weis deserves some credit for the team's never-say-die attitude, saying his personality has rubbed off on the Irish (1-5). But Zbikowski said one of the biggest reasons the Irish have continued to play hard is because they are playing for each other.

"I see guys that look into each other's eyes and know that we're playing for one another and we're going to play hard no matter what the outcome is until the fourth quarter is over," Zbikowski said.

Players say the start has been disappointing, but they have managed to remain upbeat. Tight end Will Yeatman said the team was having fun last week at practice despite being 0-5 for the first time in school history.

"That paid big dividends when game time rolled around," he said.

The Irish beat UCLA 20-6 to end their losing streak at seven games, a game shy of tying the school record set in 1960.

What encourages Weis the most, though, is the team continues to improve.

"I think our best ball is yet to come," Weis said.

———

STRONG START: Boston College (6-0) is off to its best start since 1942. That team won its first eight before losing its final two. The Eagles have three undefeated seasons: 1920 (8-0), 1928 (9-0) and 1940 (11-0). The 1940 team, coached by Frank Leahy, finished the season ranked No. 5. Leahy was hired by Notre Dame after the season and led the Irish to national championships in 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1949. ... BC is ranked No. 4, their highest ranking since Doug Flutie led the Eagles to No. 5 in the final poll in 1984. The Eagles have been ranked higher than No. 4 only three times in its history — all during the 1942 season. They were ranked No. 3 for two weeks and ranked No. 1 for one week before losing 55-12 to Holy Cross. The Eagles finished that season ranked No. 8. The Irish were No. 6.

———

RIVALRY: Notre Dame and Boston College, the only Catholic schools playing major college football, played every season between 1992 and 2004 and are scheduled to play again the next three seasons. The series will end after the 2010 season.

Notre Dame, a member of the Big East in most other sports, has committed to playing three Big East teams a year starting in 2011. That means there is no room in the schedule for BC, which joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2005, said John Heisler, Notre Dame's senior associate athletic director.

"We're making strategic decisions relative to what we're doing with our scheduling and obviously they've made strategic decisions relative to their whole program," Heisler said.

———

BY THE NUMBERS: Notre Dame is ranked 109th in the nation in pass offense at 153 yards a game. Boston College is ranked 110th in pass defense at 291 yards a game despite leading the nation in interceptions with 16. ... Boston College is third in the nation against the run at 50 yards a game. Notre Dame is last in the nation in rushing offense at 33 yards a game. ... The Eagles have won four straight against the Irish and three of the last four at Notre Dame Stadium. ... The Irish have lost four straight to teams ranked in the top five.

———

DEPTH CHART SHAKEUP: There are some changes in the Notre Dame depth chart. Freshman Kerry Neal is listed as a starter at outside linebacker and former starter Anthony Vernaglia could see time as a backup as both inside and outside linebacker. Thomas Bemenderfer who was a backup center is now listed as the backup at left guard and Dan Wenger, who was injured the past two weeks after starting at guard, is the backup center.

Punter Geoff Price, who was listed as the backup last week, punted well against UCLA and is listed as the starter again.

Receiver David Grimes, who missed last week with an ankle injury, is expected to play this week. Tackle Matt Romine is out with an elbow injury and Weis doesn't expect him to play any time soon.

———

WEIS SAYINGS: "I'm not going to deny the positive residual effect of playing a bunch of young guys as far as experience goes. But I think you've still got to play for today. You can't play for next year. And I think that right now playing a bunch of young guys is a great thing as long as it helps you beat Boston College."