SOUTH BEND (AP) — Although Notre Dame isn't even bowl eligible yet, the Fighting Irish are drawing interest from bowls.

Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett said the Fighting Irish (5-3) would be at the top of his list of desirable teams if they win eight games — at seven wins, there would be "discussion." Cotton Bowl president Rick Baker also is high on Notre Dame.

"From our perspective, Notre Dame is an attractive team for every bowl organization," Baker said. "Notre Dame certainly has an even more special place in our history and our hearts because of the great tradition that we've shared with Notre Dame over the last 40 years or so."

The Cotton has been Notre Dame's most frequent bowl destination with seven trips, including winning the 1977 national championship there by upsetting top-rated Texas 38-10. It also was the site of their most recent bowl victory, a 24-21 win over Texas A&M at the end of the 1993 season.

Baker said Notre Dame would be particularly attractive this year because this is the last year the bowl will be held in its namesake before moving to the new Dallas Cowboys stadium.

"So Notre Dame would add to the nostalgia," he said.

The question that arises is if the Irish finish 8-4 and both bowls want them, which bowl would they go to? Both Catlett and Baker believe their bowls have the right to first choice, but both they and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said they would sit down and hash it out.

One factor could be that the Cotton Bowl will pay a projected $3 million per school, while the Gator Bowl will pay a projected $2.5 million. The other potential place the Irish could land is the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 31. That will pay a projected $1.9 million.

For Notre Dame, which has lost an NCAA-record nine straight bowl games, the best scenario might be avoiding the Cotton Bowl, where the Irish would face the highest-finishing Big 12 team that doesn't earn a BCS berth. The Big 12 has four one-loss teams ranked in the top eight (No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Oklahoma State) and Missouri (7-2) at No. 13.

The Gator Bowl would pit the Irish against the second-place finisher in the Atlantic Coast Conference, which has no team ranked higher than No. 19 North Carolina, whom the Irish lost to 29-24. In the Sun Bowl, the Irish would face the third place Pac-10 team.

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KICKING DUEL: While Notre Dame and Pittsburgh accomplished the rare feat of failing to score a touchdown in four overtime periods in the Panthers' 36-33 win Saturday, it was not a first. North Texas beat Florida International 25-22 in seven overtimes in 2006 with neither team scoring a touchdown and each team missing four field goals.

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LONG TIME: The four OT loss to Pitt not only was the longest by periods for Notre Dame, it tied for the longest game in length of time in at least a decade. The game lasted four hours, one minute, the same length as Notre Dame's 44-41 overtime loss to Michigan State in 2005. ... That's one minute longer than Notre Dame's 34-31 loss to USC in regulation in 2005 and its overtime win against Washington State in 2003. ... Notre Dame's previous game against Washington lasted just two hours, 59 minutes, its fourth shortest game of the past decade. The three shorter games: Pittsburgh in 2001, 2:48; Navy in 2004, 2:57; and Air Force in 2006, 2:53.

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INJURY UPDATE: Right guard Chris Stewart is still waiting for results from an MRI, but coach Charlie Weis said he expects Stewart will likely miss the next four weeks. Trevor Robinson will start in his place. ... Weis, who tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee when he was hit on the sideline Sept. 13, plans to undergo an MRI soon to see how the knee is healing. He said it's hard to set a surgery date because when the season ends he needs to hit the road recruiting.

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QUICK HITS: Notre Dame got its first touchback since late in the 2006 season when Ryan Burkhart's kickoff rolled into the end zone late in the second quarter against Pitt. ... The ratings for Notre Dame's game against Pitt were a 2.7, up 4 percent over last year's triple overtime loss to Navy. For the season, Notre Dame is averaging a 2.7 rating and a 6 share, up 13 percent from a year ago.

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WEIS SAYINGS: "I have a lot of close friends there — and I've let them all know that I won't be seeing them. Because I'm not going there to go hang out with my boys. I'm going there to help our team beat Boston College."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.