After Texas visited Notre Dame Stadium last season for the first time in 40 years and lost, the Longhorns admitted being overwhelmed by the Irish tradition.
This year, Ohio State makes a return trip after a 60-year absence."You never know, that little mystique might come out and do a little bit of intimidation for Ohio State," said Irish defensive end Melvin Dansby.
It's going to take a lot more than that Saturday. The Buckeyes come to Notre Dame undefeated, ranked fourth and averaging 71 points and 600-plus total offensive yards.
The fifth-ranked Irish are undefeated, too, but they struggled against Vanderbilt and needed a last-second field goal to beat Texas last week.
"They've been tested and we haven't been tested," said Ohio State coach John Cooper. "Maybe that gives them an edge, I don't know. I'm anxious to find out how we'll respond when we are tested."
The game is big for both Ohio State and Notre Dame, and it could help determine who's going to be doing what at the holidays. No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Florida State must play each other, and No. 3 Penn State - a Big Ten member - has to face the Buckeyes.
If Notre Dame gets by Ohio State, it has No. 15 Southern Cal and No. 21 Washington. But it also has Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Navy.
"It's been frustrating not being in contention for the national championship this year," said Irish linebacker Bert Berry. "We've gotten off to a pretty good start, and hopefully we can build on it."
The key for both teams is the running game. Despite losing Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, Ohio State has showed no signs of slowing down. Speedy Pepe Pearson has replaced George at tailback, and he's already rushed for six touchdowns.
Much of the Buckeyes' success at running the ball comes from Orlando Pace, their huge offensive tackle who won the Lombardi Award as a sophomore.
"Is he a great football player? Yes. Is he a dominating tackle? Yes. Can he take that team and put them on his back? Yes," said Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz.
Ohio State won last year's game 45-26 after outscoring Notre Dame 31-9 in the second half. Though the Buckeyes got some help with two fumbles and an interception, they also ran right through the Irish defense.
That won't be as easy this year. Notre Dame's defense is off to its best start since coordinator Bob Davie joined the team three years ago. The line is bigger and stronger, mostly due to the return of Alton Maiden, the 6-2, 281-pound nose guard, and the 6-foot-4 280-pound Dansby. Both missed last season - Dansby because of injury, Maiden for academic reasons.
The defense had some problems at Texas, but Dansby said it was partly because of the noise.
"We couldn't hear the left-right calls . . . and we just had a hard time getting lined up," he said. "But we learn from our mistakes, and we made a lot of them last week, so we'll make the corrections this week."
The Irish offense had plenty of problems in the opener, but has improved since then. Tailback Autry Denson is playing like he did at the end of last season, rushing for a career-high 158 yards against Texas. His backup, Randy Kinder, has recovered from a pulled right quadriceps giving Notre Dame a solid 1-2 combination.