UW has obviously done nothing to inspire any faith from anybody.

Still, I've been a little surprised this week to see virtually everyone pick Notre Dame to win this game pretty comfortably (I say virtually only because I might have missed something somewhere, but I haven't seen anyone pick the Huskies).

Heck, even Dick Baird is picking Notre Dame to win this one (and I realize he's doing it for the reverse psychology of it, or some such nonsense, but I figured I'd see Lindsay Lohan win an Oscar before I saw that).

Ultimately, I'm going to join the crowd in result, submitting a prediction of 35-27 Notre Dame.

But it wouldn't surprise me at all if this isn't a closer game than a lot of people think.

You have to figure that if UW has any pride left it will sell-out to win this one, not so much just for Tyrone Willingham (hard to tell how much that angle will play a role in this game) but moreso just because it's Notre Dame and national TV and a lot of attention. For all that's gone wrong for these players the last few years, beating Notre Dame would give them something of a legacy to leave behind --- UW is 0-6 all-time against the Irish.

And Notre Dame has some flaws --- the Irish are 108th nationally in rushing offense, 75th in total defense, and 87th in passing defense.

The latter stat seems especially hopeful for UW fans as the Huskies showed an ability to throw the ball against a pretty good defense last week against Oregon State, so they should be able to move it through the air a little this week.

The big problem, obviously, is on the other side of the ball. Notre Dame ranks 17th in passing offense at 271.8 per game, but has been really tossing it around of late, throwing for 730 yards in the last two games.

Given UW's pass defense issues --- the Huskies are last in the nation in pass defense efficiency, which maybe makes it more than just an issue, maybe a year-long subscription --- that's a real problem for the Huskies.

The only way you figure UW can win is by forcing some turnovers --- Notre Dame had five last week --- or prevailing in a shootout.

Notre Dame, however, scored 24 points against North Carolina despite all those turnovers, and doesn't seem likely to be as sloppy with the ball again.

So it's hard to imagine UW holding Notre Dame's offense down much at all, which will be the ultimate difference in the game.

In my breakdown by position for the paper, I had it like this:

QB --- Notre Dame. Clausen has been on fire of late.

RB --- Split. On paper, ND looks a lot better than UW in this category. But it hasn't really translated on the field as the Irish are averaging even less rushing yards per game than the Huskies at 101.1 (I realize some of that is the shift in offensive emphasis). Still, ND's longest run of the year is 24 yards and only one back is averaging more than 4 yards per carry.

WR --- ND. Huskies group is improving but Notre Dame's is better right now.

OL --- Split. Not that UW's line has done much this year, but while ND's group is getting better, they had a lot of improving to do and the rushing totals indicate there is still work to do.

DL --- Notre Dame. ND plays a 3-4 and two are returning starters and seasoned players.

LB --- Notre Dame. UW's revamped linebacking corps looks promising but this may be the best area of UND's defense.

DB --- Notre Dame. Another area where the recent personnel shifts (Victor Aiyewa in at safety) should make it better. But impossible to give them a check right now.

Special teams--- Split. Notre Dame's a little better in most of the coverage stats, but actually worse than the Huskies in field goals at 2-8 and might be switching to a walk-on who just joined the team recently.

Add it up, and hard to see anything but another UW loss, even if I'm thinking it will be a fairly competitive one. And then the real intrigue could begin, though we'll save all of that discussion for later.