SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham is well aware of how tough it is to play at Neyland Stadium.

He's making sure that his players are aware of it as well this week by trying to simulate, as much as possible, the noise the 104,000-plus fans will be making when Notre Dame plays No. 9 Tennessee on Saturday.

The Irish were treated to a couple hours of the Vols' fight song, "Rocky Top" being piped into the Loftus Center during Wednesday's practice.

"It kind of takes you there," Willingham said of the song. "It brings the game a little bit closer so our guys, when they are in that stadium and they play that song, that they kind of feel right at home."

Willingham said they will go with hand signals and mouthing calls during Saturday's game, so he feels it's essential to get his players used to the distraction as early as possible.

"There are so many things you want to focus on when you do something of that nature," Willingham said. "But number one, it brings the game a little bit closer, it adds a little more meaning.

"You get another distraction that you have to avoid and stay away from and focus and concentrate on what you have to do. When you do those things, it allows you to prepare yourself a little better."

Many of the players said they are aware of how boisterous and intimidating Neyland can be for opposing teams.

"From what I hear, sounds like it might be, a 104,000-seat stadium that goes straight up into the air," said Notre Dame defensive end Kyle Budinscak. "It's just a crazy atmosphere from what I've heard."

But the real test for the Irish will come on offense where the noise will make it difficult to audible or call plays and blocking assignments at the line of scrimmage.

"We anticipate that with 104,000 to 109,000 people, it's going to be loud," Willingham said. "And we've got to prepare our guys to be poised for that situation and not create some of the little mistakes that can take you out of drives or create inconsistency in your offense.

"All of a sudden you're looking up at first and 10 and now you're looking at first and 15. We will take some precautions in our practice to see if we can guard against that."

Parish Time: Willingham singled out sophomore strong safety Freddie Parish as a reserve player who has been impressive during practice.

That may lead to more playing opportunities for Parish, who has seen limited play behind starter Tom Zbikowski this season.

"He's right in the middle of our strong safety situation," Willingham said of Parish. "He and Tommy will probably, I won't say trade time, but there are some things that may happen that give (Freddie) a lit bit more time on the field."

Parish, a Long Beach (Calif.) Poly product, came out of spring as the starting strong safety and seemed to hold onto his spot throughout fall camp. But two days before the season opener against BYU, Zbikowski was moved from free safety to strong safety and has been the starter since.

Strong After The Bye: Willingham has a good explanation of why the Irish have fared well in games after bye weeks.

Notre Dame is 25-2 following its last 27 bye weeks.

"The extra time gives your guys a little bit more time to focus on that one opponent," Willingham said. "Whereas you may have only three or four days of preparation for most teams, and now you have a chance to gain two additional days.

"Depending on how you structure your plan, that helps. That's beneficial."