Today I’ll be at the Los Angeles Colisseum watching the annual battle between the USC Trojans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. I wish I could be more optimistic about Irish chances in this game, but they’ll need the luck of the Irish to prevail over a Trojans team that has lost a little of its dominance … but not nearly enough:

With Southern California perennially among the nation’s top teams and Notre Dame struggling to return to its winning tradition, there’s no question one of college football’s most storied rivalries has lost some of its luster.

But with the fifth-ranked Trojans again competing for a spot in a BCS bowl and the Fighting Irish coming off one of the most embarrassing losses in program history, rarely has one of their meetings seemed so one-sided.

USC will be a heavy favorite at home against Notre Dame on Saturday night, as the Trojans look to win their seventh straight game against the Irish and eighth straight game overall.

The big drama here is whether Charlie Weis will return next year, or whether Notre Dame will be forced to eat the last seven years of his 10-year contract. The poor play of the Irish in the last few weeks has people talking about a change in South Bend, but a surprise win over the Trojans would probably give Weis another year to turn things around. A win would propel the Irish to a bowl game, which would also help.

But can the Irish overcome the Trojans today? It seems like they’d need an Army of Rudys to do so. I’ll be there to see it, courtesy of my Uncle Ted and his Trojans season tickets — and I’ll live-twitter the game right here at Hot Air. The game kicks off at 8 pm ET, but I’ll probably start earlier to let you know what kind of reception I get at USC, wearing my Notre Dame jersey and cap. In 2006, I got a lot of good-natured razzing but overall friendly treatment … especially as I left the stadium after the Irish got thumped by the Trojans.