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LINCOLN, Nebraska (Ticker) -- Before the start of fall practice, Bob Davie claimed he had his most talented team at Notre Dame in his five years as coach. That declaration will be put to a stern test on Saturday when the 17th-ranked Fighting Irish make their first trip to Nebraska since 1948 to face the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers. It will be the first game of the season for the Fighting Irish, who have won all five of their openers under Davie. But Nebraska will be playing for the third time after wins over Texas Christian and Troy State. Notre Dame was 9-3 last season, but some of the luster was lost with a 41-9 defeat to Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl. Another elite opponent awaits this weekend. "I'd like to think we're better and more experienced, but you kind of wipe the slate clean going into the first game," Davie said this week. In one of the best games of the 2000 season, Nebraska escaped with a 27-24 overtime win at South Bend. Eric Crouch ran for three scores, including a seven-yarder in the extra session. Notre Dame was able to stay in the game behind a superior effort on special teams. After building a 14-point lead, the Cornuskers allowed a 100-yard kickoff return for a score by Julius Jones and an 83-yard punt return for a TD by the departed Joey Getherall. With Nebraska coach Frank Solich paying closer attention to special teams, Notre Dame will need a better effort from its offense. The pressure will be on quarterback Matt LoVecchio, who won his first seven games as a starter last season. Arnaz Battle, who started at quarterback against the Cornhuskers before suffering a season-ending wrist injury, will make his debut at flanker this weekend. LoVecchio will hand the ball off to a deep trio of tailbacks that include Jones, Tony Fisher and Terrance Howard. The Fighting Irish played most of last season's Nebraska game without star defensive end Grant Irons, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the first quarter. Irons is back at 100 percent and he will try to contain a Nebraska offense that again relies primarily on the run. Dahrran Diedrick, who was suspended from the season opener, rushed for a career-high 177 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Troy State. Crouch, who missed a chunk of practice last week due to the flu, had 15 carries for 48 yards. Nebraska (2-0) has won 51 of its last 52 home games, including the last 15. The Cornhuskers will play eight home games this season. The overall series is tied, 7-7-1. Thirteen of the games were played before 1948. Solich is expected to be on the sidelines one day before a memorial service is held in Pennsylvania for his father, who passed away last week. Among the invited guests on Saturday will be Lt. Shane Osborn, a Nebraska native who landed the damaged spy plane on a China island earlier this year.
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