Tennessee fans look at Notre Dame and see a former dynasty showing a little tarnish on the golden dome.

Tennessee's coaches look at Notre Dame and see a difficult afternoon of pounding the rock.

The Fighting Irish (5-3) still have plenty of fight in their run defense and it will be interesting to see how the 11th-ranked Vols (7-1) fare against it Saturday afternoon (3:30, WVLT) at Neyland Stadium.

"They work really hard to stop the run and they're good at it,'' said UT offensive coordinator Randy Sanders.

Notre Dame ranks 12th in the nation against the rush, allowing 99.9 yards a game. Five of eight opponents would testify under oath that running the ball against the Irish is almost a waste of time:

• BYU: 35 attempts for 22 yards.

• Michigan: 30 attempts for 56 yards.

• Purdue: 28 attempts for 99 yards.

• Stanford: 25 attempts for 67 yards.

• Boston College: 28 attempts for 62 yards.

"It's not going to be easy,'' said Sanders. "I think we'll be able to throw the ball, but you can't turn the thing over to (quarterback Erik Ainge) and say you expect to win the game.

"So the run game is going to be as important this week as always.''

Notre Dame knows what to expect from the Vols, who are coming off a 43-29 win over South Carolina in which Cedric Houston rushed for a career-high 190 yards.

Overall UT gained 246 yards on the ground against the Gamecocks to rebound from a anemic 53-yard effort against Alabama. Houston padded the total last week by breaking runs of 37, 54 and 65 yards.

"I watched their game last week, the South Carolina game,'' said Notre Dame linebacker Derek Curry. "I saw a lot of opportunities for us to do some really good things.

"Eliminating big plays is something that South Carolina didn't do and it's something that we're going to have to capitalize on.

"They let some big runs get to them, and if they would have stopped that it would have been a different ball game.''

Curry is the leader of a linebacker crew that draws raves from UT coach Phillip Fulmer.

"I read an article about their linebackers where it said this was the best threesome they've had in Notre Dame history,'' said Fulmer, "and that's covering a lot of good players.''

Curry, Brandon Hoyte, and Mike Goolsby, who returned from an injury that forced him to miss the 2003 season, are seniors.

In fact, six members of the starting front seven are seniors. Noseguard Derek Landri, a former teammate of UT's Kevin Simon at De La Salle High School in California, is a junior.

Other than Landri, every member of the front seven has at least 13 career starts. Curry has 32, defensive end Kyle Budinscak 30 and Goolsby 21.

The good news for the Vols is the offensive line might be healthier than it has been in several weeks, even though center Jason Respert (ankle) is questionable.

"It looks like Michael (Munoz) is going to be OK and that's a big plus,'' said Fulmer. "Cody Douglas is as good as he's been and Arron Sears is moving around as good as he's moved around.

"Richie Gandy has given us a big lift, and now (reserve center) Chuck Prugh is going to get his opportunity to give us a big lift.''

On the other hand, the injury to quarterback Brent Schaeffer robs the Vols of the change-of-pace factor and simplifies Notre Dame's defensive game plan.

"What you lose if he's not in there,'' said Irish coach Tyrone Willingham, "is a guy that instantly puts pressure on every aspect of your defense.''

The Vols will have to resort to other ways to put pressure on Notre Dame's defense.

"We're going to have to find a way to run the football,'' said Fulmer, "because we're not going to be one-dimensional.''

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276 or strange2@knews.com.