SPORTS ON WEEKEND TV : Notre Dame, 49ers Streaks on Line

Long streaks are on the line in both of the weekend’s premier sporting events--today’s USC-Notre Dame game and Sunday’s Rams-San Francisco 49ers contest.

The No. 7 Fighting Irish seek an unprecedented eighth consecutive victory over the No. 18 Trojans (5 p.m. today on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42). USC’s last win over Notre Dame came in John Robinson’s final game as coach, Nov. 27, 1982.

A Rose Bowl berth still could be on the line when No. 19 Ohio State plays host to Michigan (9 a.m. today, Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42). A Buckeye win combined with an Iowa loss at Minnesota would send Ohio State to Pasadena to play Washington New Year’s Day.

In other telecasts today involving teams ranked in the Top 25 by the Associated Press, No. 14 Tennessee seeks to remain in the Sugar Bowl picture with a win over Kentucky (9:30 a.m., TBS); No. 11 Penn State, coming off its upset of Notre Dame last week, takes on Pittsburgh (11 a.m., Channels 2 and 8); No. 17 Virginia visits Virginia Tech (1 p.m., ESPN) and No. 2 Miami is home against Syracuse (4:30 p.m., ESPN).

John Robinson could become part of another streak when his Rams face the 49ers Sunday (1 p.m., Channels 2 and 8). The 49ers, the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, are seeking an NFL record 19th consecutive victory.

Sunday’s other NFL games match the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns (10 a.m., Channels 4, 36 and 39); Kansas City Chiefs and Raiders (1 p.m. Channels 36 and 39) and Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers (5 p.m., ESPN).

In what may well be Sunday’s most exciting professional football telecast, the Edmonton Eskimos face the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the Canadian Football League’s Grey Cup. The scores of the last three Grey Cups have been 43-40, 22-21 and 38-36. By comparison, the last three Super Bowls have been 55-10, 20-16 and 42-10. SportsChannel’s coverage begins with a 2:30 p.m. pre-game show, with the game from Vancouver’s Place Stadium starting at 3 p.m.

The Skins Game began as a made-for-television gimmick in 1983, but has found its niche to become golf’s second-most watched event. Defending champion Curtis Strange, Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman compete for $450,000 at the PGA West course at La Quinta. Coverage airs at 12:30 p.m. today on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42. Sunday’s final nine holes can be seen at 3:30 p.m. on Channels 7 and 3, 12:30 p.m. on KESQ Channel 42 in Palm Springs and 2 p.m. on KGTV Channel 10 in San Diego.

The first official weekend of college basketball includes telecasts involving three ranked teams. No. 14 LSU faces Villanova in today’s Tip-Off Classic (10:30 a.m., ESPN), while eighth-ranked Indiana, No. 13 Syracuse and Loyola Marymount lead the field in the Maui Classic. ESPN will airing semifinal games at 9 and 11 tonight and Sunday’s championship game at 10 p.m.

Prime Ticket will be televising what figures to be easy wins for the Lakers, Clippers and Kings this weekend. The Orlando Magic, 0-6 on the road, visit Southern California for 7:30 p.m. games against the Lakers tonight and the Clippers Sunday. The Quebec Nordiques, currently mired in a 0-14-1 stretch, provide the opposition for the Kings at 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Here are other events:

TODAY

College Football: Texas Christian at Texas A&M;, 10 a.m. Prime Ticket; Arizona State at Arizona, 2 p.m. Prime Ticket; Colorado State at Hawaii, 10:30 p.m. Prime Ticket.

Hockey: Rangers at Islanders, 11 a.m. SportsChannel; Blackhawks at Flames, 5 p.m. SportsChannel.

Golf: 1990 World Cup, final round, noon (4)(36)(39).

SportsWorld: Sudafed Symphony of Sports, 2 p.m. (4)(36)(39).

Bowling: American Bowling Congress Fall Classic, 4 p.m. (4) (36).

Pro Basketball: 76ers at Hawks, 5 p.m. TBS.

U.S. Olympic Gold: Skate Canada International, 7:20 p.m. TBS.

College Basketball: Penn at Kentucky, 8:30 p.m. SportsChannel; Hartford at DePaul, 10:30 p.m. SportsChannel.