updated 9:49 p.m. ET Oct. 16, 2007

The latest edition of the storied rivalry between Southern California and Notre Dame doesn’t have the usual excitement given the struggles of the Irish this season.

The fact that the No. 13 Trojans visit South Bend on Saturday having fallen to their lowest ranking in five years has clearly hurt the build-up as well.

USC (5-1) found itself out of the top 10 this week for the first time since Oct. 27, 2002 when it was ranked 11th. The Trojans slipped to No. 10 last week following a stunning 24-23 home loss to Stanford, and dropped three more spots after needing 10 fourth-quarter points to beat lowly Arizona 20-13 last Saturday.

Notre Dame (1-6) leads this all-time series 42-31-5, including 23-11-1 in South Bend, despite losing the last five meetings. Unlike in previous years when the game often impacted the national championship picture, this year’s contest in South Bend does not appear to have any such implications.

While the Trojans — ranked No. 1 throughout September — have suddenly fallen out of the BCS title race, the Irish are suffering through one of the worst seasons in school history. Notre Dame has the worst-ranked offense in the country, averaging 190.9 yards per game, and is second-to-last in scoring at 11.4 points per game.

“The most positive thing I can say is that it shouldn’t take too much to get the players up with USC on the horizon, it shouldn’t take too much,” Irish coach Charlie Weis said. “As bad as you feel, you know, it is USC coming into town, so that will help.”

Both teams were ranked among the top 10 in each of the last two matchups.

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This is USC’s first visit to South Bend since a memorable finish in 2005, when Reggie Bush helped shove Matt Leinart into the end zone with 3 seconds left to hand the Irish a 34-31 defeat. The Trojans won 44-24 at home last season behind John David Booty’s 265 yards passing and three touchdowns.

USC hopes to have Booty back under center after he missed last Saturday’s win with a broken middle finger. Mark Sanchez filled in and went 19-of-31 for 130 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

Booty said he didn’t want to sit out this weekend.

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“It feels good,” Booty said of the finger after practice Monday. “I probably will wear a glove on my throwing hand. I’m not trying to do anything amazing. If I can throw effectively, I want to play.

“It’s the coach’s decision, not mine.”

Coach Pete Carroll wouldn’t commit to starting Booty. Sanchez was practicing with the first team earlier in the week.

“We’ll see what happens with John,” Carroll said. “We’ll just wait, watch, see what he feels like afterward.”

Carroll also hopes to see the return of linebacker Bruce Cushing, who has played very little this season because of a sprained ankle, and leading rusher Stafon Johnson, who missed the last two games with a sprained foot.

Offensive tackle Sam Baker, who left the Arizona game in the first half with an injured hamstring, also hopes to play Saturday. Linebacker Rey Maualuga, who left with an injured hip, likely won’t be ready to play.

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