SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Even though Virginia Tech in the midst of a conference championship race, Notre Dame with its losing record has more at stake when they face the Hokies for the first time.The Fighting Irish (4-6) need to win their final two games to become bowl eligible and avoid becoming just the 14th team in 128 years of Notre Dame football to post a losing record. For Virginia Tech (7-3), the game has no bearing on its bid to win the Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division.Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer said avoiding the stigma of a losing season is a motivating factor in the final two games against the Hokies and USC.Six and six is a big feat to get to rather than being 5-7. We want to be a team who continues on a winning tradition at Notre Dame, he said.Coach Brian Kelly believes Notre Dames 44-6 victory over Army last week was its most complete game this season. He wants to see the Irish build on that.I want to make sure that how we play is going to be reflective of where we finish and how we build that for next year, he said.The Hokies are coming off a disappointing 30-20 loss to Georgia Tech, so now must beat rival Virginia to clinch the division title. Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said the focus this week is on continuing to improve.This is an ongoing process and its not always a straight ascension. This is a great opportunity and comes at a good time for us to go on the road and play a very talented team in what Im sure will be a hostile environment, he said.Other things to know about the Virginia Tech-Notre Dame game:NOT AN OPTIONThe defenses for both teams are happy to be returning to playing against more traditional offenses after facing triple option opponents. The Hokies played Georgia Tech, while the Irish faced Navy and Army in consecutive weeks. Its like a monkey off your back, Notre Dame linebacker Nyles Morgan said. Its back to basics.BALL SECURITYIt has been an issue in all of the Hokies losses. Jerod Evans threw two interceptions in last weeks loss to Georgia Tech, doubling his total for the season, and also fumbled. He still ranks fifth among all Power Five conference quarterbacks in efficiency, and the Hokies are tough to beat when they take care of the ball. Notre Dames loss to Navy two weeks ago marked just the second time under Kelly that the Irish lost when not committing a turnover.NO STREAKSIf Notre Dame fails to win Saturday it would mark the first season without consecutive victories since 1960. The Hokies are trying to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since losing to Miami and to Duke in four overtimes in October 2015.DEFENSIVE SETBACKVirginia Tech allowed the Yellow Jackets to rush for 309 yards last week, but they have been stronger against the run in other games, allowing 144 yards on average. Thats 40th nationally. They rank 14th against the pass, allowing 185 passing yards per game.POOR RATINGSThe Army-Notre Dame game last week was the lowest-rated game in 26 seasons of NBC broadcasting Fighting Irish football games. The game averaged 1.52 million viewers. The previous low was against Air Force on Oct. 8, 2011, in a broadcast that averaged 1.59 million viewers. Notre Dame is averaging 2.89 million viewers this season, down 9 percent from last year.---AP Sports Writer Hank Kurz in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. Cheap Swell . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Swell Bottle Sale . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. http://www.swellbottleuk.com/ . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Cheap Swell Bottles . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Liberty London sWell Bottle . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. ORANGE, Calif. -- The father of former NASCAR driver Robby Gordon strangled his wife then shot himself in their Southern California home, police said Thursday.The deaths of Robert Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57, were an apparent murder-suicide, Orange police Lt. Fred Lopez said a day after the bodies were found. No further details on the motive or circumstances were released.The couple were the father and stepmother of ex-NASCAR star Robby Gordon, who fought back tears and expressed disbelief Thursday outside the home on a Southern California hillside where he grew up and developed his love of racing.Im so sad, and I cant believe it, the racing star said outside the house. I grew up on this property my whole life.Robby Gordon recalled how his father, a racer known as Baja Bob in the motorsports community, instilled in him a love for competition and motorsports in the Orange County neighborhood, where many residents own horses and dirt riding trails line the suburban streets.Gordon said he had given his father the home 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles where police discovered the bodies Wednesday after receiving a 911 call from a neighbor making a welfare check at the request of relatives.Robby Gordon told the Orange County Register that family members had become concerned when his father missed a doctors appointment.The younger Gordon currently races in an off-road series he created in 2013 called Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, following the path of his father.The elder Gordon started out in horse racing at the local track in Los Alamitos, California, before getting into auto racing.He taught me at a young age that one horsepower wasnt going to be enough -- go do something different, Gordon recalled his father saying. And I was fortunate enough to do something different.Residents in the upscale neighborhood shared stories about the couples friendly ways -- swapping jokes with neighbors, gifting tickets to raccing events and delivering feed personally to local equestrians.ddddddddddddI can still see them walking hand in hand, walking their dogs down the street, said John Reina, who lives across the street. To kind of wrap your head around this tragedy is very hard to do.Robby Gordon said he would speak about the deaths in more detail once authorities conclude their investigation.The truth will come out, what went down there, he said.Racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted that he was praying for the Gordon family. Hope they find strength and support, he said.Heartbreaking news this morning. Thinking of the Gordon family and friends, NASCAR star Jimmie Johnson said on Twitter.Gordon, 47, has raced on numerous racing circuits, from NASCAR to IndyCar to Champ Car and IROC.Known for his aggressive style, he earned three wins in parts of 19 seasons in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He was a full-time driver early last decade and finished a career-high 16th in the points standings in 2003 driving for Richard Childress Racing. Gordon last raced in the Sprint Cup in 2012.Gordon is one of only four drivers, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He nearly won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps.Gordon said an event featuring his off-road racing team scheduled for this weekend in Orange County will go on as planned.Gordons sister, Beccy, is married to 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. The driver tweeted Wednesday that his wife had given birth to a boy. Hunter-Reay would appear as scheduled in a weekend race in Sonoma County, Gordon said.---Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and Andrew Dalton in Los Angeles and AP freelance writer Mike Cranston in Chicago contributed to this report. ' ' '