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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Notre Dame Loss Would Be Costly

Rick Warner Associated Press

Notre Dame will answer an $8 million question Saturday at Air Force.

If the No. 8 Fighting Irish win, they will earn a spot in the Fiesta-Orange-Sugar bowl alliance that will be worth at least $8 million to the school.

If they lose, the Irish (8-2) may not go to any bowl because their only choices would be the Independence or Liberty, which pay a paltry $750,000 per team.

So a lot more will be at stake Saturday than Notre Dame’s bid for a three-game sweep of the military academies.

Like Notre Dame, Air Force (7-3) has victories over Army and Navy. Unlike the Irish, the Falcons (plus 6) aren’t playing for an $8 million jackpot.

Sounds like pretty good motivation to me … NOTRE DAME 31-28.

Indiana (plus 33) at No. 2 Ohio St.: Hoosiers 0-6 in Big Ten … OHIO ST. 48-7.

Vanderbilt (plus 41) at No. 3 Florida: Gators warm up for showdown with November since 1984 … TENNESSEE 48-14.

No. 5 Northwestern (minus 5) at Purdue: Wildcats go for school-record 10th win … NORTHWESTERN 24-21.

Maryland (plus 33) at No. 6 Florida St.: Victory gives Seminoles tie for ACC championship … FLORIDA ST. 44-21.

No. 9 Colorado (plus 3) at No. 7 Kansas St.: Winner goes to Cotton Bowl … KANSAS ST. 27-17.

TCU (plus 17) at No. 10 Texas: Longhorns have won 26 of last 27 against Horned Frogs … TEXAS 35-17.

UCLA (plus 7) at No. 11 Southern Cal: Bruins have won four straight over Trojans … SOUTHERN CAL 31-21.

No. 12 Michigan (plus 4-1/2) at No. 19 Penn St.: Nittany Lions 3-2 at home this season … PENN ST. 24-21.

No. 20 Virginia Tech (plus 3-1/2) at No. 13 Virginia: Hokies unbeaten on the road … VIRGINIA TECH 21-20.

No. 14 Arkansas (no line) at LSU: Tigers need victory to qualify for bowl … LSU 23-18.

No. 15 Kansas (minus 10) at Oklahoma St.: Jayhawks have won last five meetings … KANSAS 41-14.

Oregon St. (plus 17) at No. 16 Oregon: Beavers winless against I-A opposition … OREGON 32-10.

No. 17 Alabama (plus 6) at No. 21 Auburn: Tide’s stingy defense vs. Tigers’ explosive offense … AUBURN 24-17.

Middle Tennessee St. (no line) at No. 18 Texas A&M: Breather for the Aggies … TEXAS A&M 34-14.

Washington St. (plus 13) at No. 22 Washington: Huskies win the Apple Cup … WASHINGTON 28-14.

Boston College (plus 7) at No. 23 Syracuse: Orangemen avenge last year’s 31-0 loss … SYRACUSE 28-17.

No. 24 Clemson (minus 3-1/2) at South Carolina: Tigers have won six of last seven in Columbia … CLEMSON 27-24.

West Virginia (plus 12-1/2) at No. 25 Miami: Mountaineers must win to keep bowl hopes alive … MIAMI 27-10.

Last week: 17-4 (straight); 13-6 (spread).

Season: 152-45 (straight); 100-90 (spread).