Saturday may be Charlie Weis' best - and possibly last - opportunity for his "moment."

Southern Cal's in town. The Irish season is dangling on that fine line between four wins against a collection of bad to average teams; and a crash course in finding a way to win, no matter the adversity.

If Notre Dame is going to be considered a legitimate part of the nation's elite, beating Southern Cal is mandatory.

If Weis plans to avoid answering questions about his future from here on out, beating Southern Cal is mandatory.

No getting around it. A dominating Trojan performance - anything like the last two years (38-0, 38-3) - and the Irish program plunges into a tizzy.

"USC is one of the best teams in the country," Weis said. "They've beaten us seven times in a row, really, the bottom line. Some of them have been ugly. Winning this week would do wonders for my spirits. It wouldn't be just my spirits, it would be everyone affiliated with Notre Dame."

The significance of this game can't be understated.

Since Weis arrived in 2005, Notre Dame has played 14 games against ranked teams and has won four of them. The Irish won three in '05, and one in 2006. With the Irish ranked No. 4 at the time, their last win over a ranked team was at home Sept. 9, 2006, a 41-17 decision over No. 19 Penn State.

Eight losses have followed since that game.

Holtz was 34-20-2 in his 11 years against ranked teams. Willingham was 7-7, Faust 6-13 and Davie 6-14.

If there's one game in the 55 that Weis has coached that he can hang his hat on, it's actually a loss. Remember Oct. 15, 2005? The "Bush Push?"

Notre Dame had the top-ranked Trojans on the ropes. The Irish thought they won once, 31-28, then had seven seconds put back on the clock. It was enough time for quarterback Matt Leinart to have one more shot from the ND 1-yard line. He appeared to be stopped, but helped by a shove from running back Reggie Bush, Leinart crossed the goal line and USC won the game.

Weis still remembers the misery that game caused.

Back then, that game meant something to the Irish program. Despite the loss, it gave a sense of credibility. Had years of not regularly competing against the elite finally ended?
Eight straight losses against the elite have eroded the credibility.

This week, Weis tried hard to deflect the magnitude of the outcome from himself, instead focusing on the university as a whole.

"Our university could really, really use this win," Weis said. "Not me personally; our football team, our university. We don't just play for us. We play for them, too. It's been a long time coming.

"Everyone needs it. I don't think it's the head coach. I don't think it's the quarterback (Jimmy Clausen). Notre Dame needs (it)."

A win would apply a treatment of glue to the cracks that made four of the first five games this season more thrilling than Irish fans would have liked. A loss turns the trickle of doubt surrounding the program into a flood of frustration that could threaten swamp the current regime.

It all rests on the signature. All it takes is the right "moment."