Trojans Are Tired of Hearing About 8 Losses in a Row : USC: A victory over Notre Dame not only would end frustrating streak, but also could salvage the season.

How long has it been since USC beat Notre Dame?

Too long for the Trojans, who have lost eight consecutive games to the Irish.

Senior linebacker Matt Gee is tired of hearing about it. “I hear it walking through campus,” Gee said. “Somebody you know will say, ‘What about Notre Dame? It’s been eight years.’ It’s a joke, but it’s not. It’s like there’s a hidden hate (behind it).”

Senior fullback Raoul Spears is tired of the ribbing.

“I have relatives who get on me about it,” Spears said. “They tell jokes about how we haven’t beaten them (since 1982).”

Senior linebacker Kurt Barber is simply tired of losing.

“For the past few years, we’ve had better talent and better teams, but they’ve come out with the wins,” Barber said. “It’s been really disappointing.”

The Trojans can end the streak today at sold-out Notre Dame Stadium, where a USC victory would go a long way toward salvaging a disappointing season while derailing Notre Dame’s hopes of a national championship.

“There’s not one guy on this team who doesn’t have a passion to beat Notre Dame,” Spears said. “This could really make our season, regardless of how we finish or how we’ve done to date.”

It will be a difficult task for the Trojans, who are 3-3 and out of the Rose Bowl race after losing to Stanford, 24-21, last week.

Notre Dame has rebounded since losing to Michigan last month at Ann Arbor, Mich., having won its last five games for a 6-1 record. The fifth-ranked Irish are positioned for another run at the national title.

If they can win their last five games, they probably will get a shot at Florida State or Miami, now ranked 1-2, in a bowl game.

“We’re right where we want to be,” said Rick Mirer, Notre Dame’s junior quarterback.

The Irish have one of the country’s most potent offenses. They are averaging 465.1 yards and 38.4 points to rank among the nation’s top 10 in both categories.

If they maintain the pace, they will become the highest-scoring team at Notre Dame since 1912, when an Irish team that included an end named Knute Rockne averaged 55.6 points.

Mirer has accounted for 20 of Notre Dame’s 38 touchdowns as a passer and runner and is one of the country’s most efficient quarterbacks, but Coach Lou Holtz has relied more on a punishing running game that has averaged almost 300 yards.

Sophomore Jerome Bettis, one of the most talented fullbacks in college football, has scored nine touchdowns and averaged 6.5 yards a carry. He is Notre Dame’s leading rusher with 616 yards and is on a pace to become only the fourth Irish runner to gain 1,000 yards in a season.

Tailbacks Tony Brooks and Rodney Culver have combined for 833 yards. Brooks, a 6-foot-2, 223-pound senior who has rushed for 552 yards, combines with the 5-11, 247-pound Bettis to give the Irish one of the nation’s most physical running tandems.

Mirer has completed 57.4% of his 115 passes for 1,089 yards and 13 touchdowns, with six interceptions, and ranks third nationally in passing efficiency. He also has rushed for 201 yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 5.4 yards a carry.

Derek Brown, a 6-6, 252-pound senior, is among the best blocking tight ends in the country, and split end Tony Smith, who has caught 18 passes for 430 yards, is the leader of a receiving corps that averages 16.5 yards a reception.

“You’ll see one of the best offenses in college football,” said Bill Walsh, former San Francisco 49er coach who is working NBC’s telecasts of Irish home games.

Defensively, though, the Irish may be vulnerable. Last week, they lost two starters in the defensive line. Tackles Eric Jones and Bryant Young suffered ankle injuries as Air Force ran for 354 yards in a 28-15 loss at Colorado Springs, Colo. Jones is out for the season, Young for at least a month.

“Prior to that, I thought they’d win the remainder of their games,” Walsh said. “But now that they’ve lost Jones and Young, that really hurts because that was the weakest part of their team. They just didn’t have depth and experience there. I don’t know how they’ll compensate for that.”

Junior Bryant, a junior, is expected to replace Young at nose tackle, and Germaine Holden, a freshman, will take over Jones’ spot. Another freshman, Justin Goheen, is expected to start at linebacker in place of Pete Bercich, who is listed as doubtful after a death in his family.

Trojan Notes

USC Coach Larry Smith said Friday that Deon Strother will start at tailback, Wes Bender at fullback. . . . For the record: Notre Dame wore green jerseys against USC in 1977, ’83 and ’85. They were also used as the team’s home uniform in 1979. . . . Notre Dame’s best defensive player is junior linebacker Demetrius DuBose, who leads the Irish with 85 tackles.