COLUMBUS, Ohio - In NFL locker rooms, middle-school study halls and taverns across the country, everybody is talking about Saturday’s showdown between No. 2 Michigan and No. 1 Ohio State.

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis, for instance, favors a team not even playing in the game.

“Whatever is the best for Notre Dame, that’s what I’m rooting for. Tell me what that is and that’s what I’m rooting for,” he said Tuesday.

Notre Dame, of course, needs help to make it to the BCS national championship game against whomever wins the Michigan-Ohio State game. The worst scenario for the Fighting Irish, who are ranked fifth in this week’s BCS rankings, is if the game is a tight struggle decided in the final seconds. That would allow the loser to retain a shot at a rematch in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8.

So Weis is selling on margin, so to speak.

“Win by a hundred, sign me up,” he said.

Others also are hoping for a rout when Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith puts his Heisman Trophy candidacy on the line against the Wolverines’ strong defense.

“Ain’t no ifs, ands or buts about it. It’s a blowout,” said Cincinnati Bengals running back Chris Perry, a Michigan grad. “(Defensive tackle Alan) Branch is going to knock the stuffing out of — what’s his name? — Troy Smith. He shouldn’t even win the Heisman. He’s not going to win his league or the national championship.”

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has won four of the last five meetings with Michigan’s Lloyd Carr. Perry even has an explanation for that trend.

“We all know what’s going to happen. We’re going to win it. It’s been long overdue. Tressel’s been cheating,” he said, laughing in the Bengals locker room. “Hey, we’re going to keep it real. There ain’t nothing else to say.”

There was plenty to say in the Green Bay Packers’ locker room.

Defensive back Charles Woodson is an Ohio native who went to Michigan, won the 1997 Heisman Trophy and led the Wolverines to the national championship that year. Linebacker A.J. Hawk played on Ohio State’s 2002 national championship team, won the Lombardi Award last year and was taken in the first round of the draft by the Packers.

Woodson planned to place a wager on the game with the rookie.

“We’ll figure something out,” he said. “A nice little round figure.”

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Hawk, noted for watching his dollars during his college days, wasn’t so sure he wanted to put anything on the line with his veteran teammate.

“Charles has been in this league for a while, so I don’t know if I want to bet with him,” he said. “Maybe about wearing (college) jerseys or something like that, but I don’t know about the money.”

Even though every other Big Ten team is in action on Saturday, most of the other coaches said they were planning to record the game and watch it later.

“I heard there’s a game over there,” cracked Kirk Ferentz, whose Iowa team lost to Michigan 20-6 and to Ohio State 38-17.

“I really expect that game to be one that’s remembered for a long time,” said Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, whose team didn’t play Ohio State and lost its only game, 27-13, at The Big House in Ann Arbor.

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Terry Hoeppner, whose Indiana Hoosiers lost 44-3 to Ohio State and 34-3 to Michigan, refused to be lured into predicting a winner. After all, he’ll have to face both teams in the future.

“You think I’m going to pick one or the other, you’re crazy,” he said.

Not everyone was sitting on the fence, however.

Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, a longtime Ohio State fan, picked the Buckeyes in a close one.

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“Ohio State, 24-21, hopefully,” said James, who would have attended the game if the Cavaliers weren’t in Washington to face the Wizards that night. “I am very excited. Probably the only time in my NBA career I won’t be taking a nap before the game Saturday because I’ll be up all day.”

Interested observers elsewhere weighed in as well.

“It’s a magnificent matchup and its got great flavor to it and it’s got history and all the wonderful buildup,” Southern California coach Pete Carroll said. “I will watch it, and it’s obviously going to be fun to see what happens anyway. It’s interesting that they’re playing this game so much seemingly before the end of our season. That’s always marks the end of the season there, and we’re still rolling with big games coming up.”

The Bengals’ Perry said no matter who loses in Columbus on Saturday there should be a do-over in the desert.

“Undefeated, and lost to the No. 1 or No. 2 team? Then why shouldn’t they be back in the national championship?” he said. “It makes sense to me, but that’s why we have computers doing this instead of humans.”