If you ask Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavis about Notre Dame’s offensive turnaround this year, he quickly points to one player.

Junior quarterback Brady Quinn is the biggest difference between the Fighting Irish’s offense last year and this year, Chavis says.

"Quarterback, just playing great, doing a tremendous job," Chavis said. "He feels comfortable enough and it’s obvious they’ve made him feel comfortable. They’re doing a lot of things with him. They’re giving him a lot of responsibility and he’s handling it well for them."

While first-year coach Charlie Weis gets much of the credit for the Irish revival, Chavis gives plenty of kudos to Quinn.

Notre Dame, which went 6-6 last season, boasts a 5-2 record this year, a near-upset of USC, and a No. 8 national ranking.

Chavis says he can’t recall a program that’s made a bigger turnaround with basically the same personnel.

"There were times that they played well last year," Chavis said. "A bunch of it is maturity, but the biggest thing is absolutely execution of the quarterback."

Quinn, a junior, is in his third full season as the starter.

His 20 touchdowns this year is a single-season school record — breaking the record of 19 set by Ron Powlus in 1994 — and his 2,352 passing yards is just 401 off the record set by Jarious Jackson in 1999.

Quinn has completed 175-of-266 passes (65.8 percent) with only four interceptions this year. He is ranked No. 8 nationally in passing efficiency.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, is No. 9 in total offense (492.7 yards), No. 5 in passing offense (344 yards), No. 55 in rushing offense (152.7 yards) and No. 11 in scoring (37.9 points).

Chavis says the offense’s effectiveness starts with Quinn.

"I think the first thing is execution at quarterback," Chavis says. "It’s tremendous. From playing them last year and where he was last year and what he’s doing this year, and it’s obvious they’re using talent around him. ? they’re utilizing the personnel really well, but the biggest is the quarterback and his execution."