What is it going to take?

Irish wonder when nation will start taking them seriously

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- They’re 7-0, ranked seventh in the country. They’re on national TV every week, dating to the Clinton administration.

And yet, they’re underdogs.

They were underdogs when they played three straight Big Ten opponents in September. Won all of them.

They were the underdogs Saturday on the road against a Mountain West team.

Won again: 21-14.

After rushing for a season-high 335 yards, after holding the nation’s No. 1 rushing offense to 104, after surviving the day to become one of eight teams in the country remaining undefeated, they will travel to play a 5-2 Florida State team.

And they’ll again be the underdog.

“People around the country don’t want to believe Notre Dame has good football players,” linebacker Courtney Watson said shortly after helping the Irish defense suffocate the vaunted Air Force option. “I don’t think we’ll prove [ourselves] until we win the national championship.”

Notre Dame win the national championship? Now that’s a riot.

Surely a team that entered Saturday ranked 113th out of 117 in total offense, that everyone knows feasts off flukish interceptions, that for crying out loud went 5-6 last season should be setting more practical goals than the Fiesta Bowl.

Besides, if you’ve watched ESPN any time recently, you know they’ve already narrowed it down to Miami, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma.

“If you look at our defense, then look at Virginia Tech’s defense, they should be pretty much the same,” said Watson. “But they say Virginia Tech creates turnovers; they say we’re ‘opportunistic.’”

"Opportunistic" is not the word that came to mind watching the Irish play defense here Saturday. Try swarming. Impenetrable. Simply dominating.

The Falcons came into the game averaging 339.2 yards rushing and 5.3 per carry. They finished with 104 and 2.7, their longest play going for 15 yards.

But Notre Dame has been doing it with defense all season. To see it one more time was no surprise.

What was staggering, however, was watching tailback Ryan Grant run for 190 yards and the Irish gain a season-high 250 before halftime. Or quarterback Carlyle Holiday rebound from a 2-for-8, 23-yard first half to hook up with wide receiver Arnaz Battle six times for 89 yards on several big plays in the second.

Throw in the customary Shane Walton interception -- and discount two uncharacteristic lost fumbles and two Nicholas Setta missed field goals that kept the score interesting -- and you get a performance worthy of a team talking about the national championship.

“Why not?” Watson responded when asked whether the Irish deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as teams like Miami. “We’re undefeated; we’ve beaten a lot of ranked teams. Why not? Nobody’s asking Miami that question.”

No one’s asking the 'Canes that question because, quite frankly, we expected them to be here. We’re familiar with their formula for success, the Ken Dorsey, Willis McGahee, dominant-pass-rush equation.

Seven games in, only five left to play, and many still wonder how Tyrone Willingham’s team is doing it.

The answer is, they’re doing it by providing each opponent they play a taste of its own medicine.

Think your star receiver is all that, Michigan State? Watch our guy, Battle, win the game on a 60-yard touchdown catch.

Think you’ve got the all-world defense, Michigan? Watch us stuff your run game and force four turnovers.

Think you’ve got the nation’s best running offense, Air Force?

Well, you saw what happened.

Never mind that they hadn’t had a big offensive game all season. Or that Willingham hadn't faced an option team practically since pee-wee. Or that the Colorado altitude is supposed to tire out opponents, that several thousand cadets in fatigues make the atmosphere intimidating.

If things always went the way they look on paper, they wouldn’t bother to play the games.

If things always went as predicted, Notre Dame wouldn’t be 7-0.

“Our will is just stronger than [that of] most people we play,” said Holiday. “Our determination is so much better than last year. For some reason, we’re playing better as a team.”

Fair enough. Seems like a legitimate explanation.

Of course, that won’t keep the entire country from picking the Irish’s bubble to burst next week in Tallahassee. Obviously, the Seminoles are too explosive. Running back Greg Jones is too good.

Watson knows it. He just shrugs and rolls his eyes.

“It’s another chance to prove to the nation we’re a legitimate football team.”

Don’t sweat it, Courtney. You already have.

Stewart Mandel covers college football for CNNSI.com.

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