Half the battle is believing you can do something.

Various news reports have the Notre Dame campus registering intense levels of belief that its football team is going to defeat the football team from the University of Southern California on Saturday.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the No. 25 Irish believe they can dispatch sixth-ranked USC, other than a feeling. And they don’t have to apologize for that. If college football isn’t proof that feeling and belief and adrenaline matter, then nothing is.
This week, fans have written chalk messages all over the Notre Dame campus seeming to imply that if Irish players were to perform unspeakable acts of football violence on USC, everybody would look the other way. If it sounds like booster-club stuff straight out of high school, well, in some ways Notre Dame is the biggest high school in the country. And I mean that in the best way. It’s what makes Saturdays in South Bend unique.
“That’s definitely not insulting at all because what you’re really saying is that there’s something much more pure about the lower levels of the game and playing for the love of the game and the fun and the true spirit of the game,” said Ryan Roberts, who had three sacks the last time Notre Dame beat USC, in 2001. “People talk too much about television contracts and who’s going in what round in the (NFL) draft.
“But sometimes it’s really about people who work hard as students during the week. We’re athletes who work hard during the winter and during the summer. And on Saturday, we get to show off all of our efforts on the biggest stage in this nation.”
Most of the statistical evidence favors USC on Saturday. So does the recent historical evidence. Only twice in the past seven meetings have the Irish gotten closer than 30 points. Last year’s debacle ended in a 38-3 loss.
It goes without saying that this is a huge game, long-term employment-wise, for coach Charlie Weis, whose 4-1 record this season won’t mean a whole lot if USC puts another nasty thumping on the Irish.
Since November of 2006, Notre Dame is 1-18 against teams that finished with a winning record. That might have something to do with the Irish being 10-point underdogs Saturday.
You want tangibles as to why Notre Dame might beat USC? The Trojans start a freshman quarterback, meaning there’s a better chance of an off day at the most important position than there was under Mark Sanchez. They don’t appear to be the crazy-dominant team some of its predecessors were.
And Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen is a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.
The intangibles are that Notre Dame and its followers seem to have this feeling that this is the year the string ends for the Trojans. Again, nothing much more than a vibe. Among the true believers, there is always a vibe. Among the people who look at the Irish with at least some levelheadedness, this time the vibe feels real.
“I feel it every year,” said Mirko Jurkovic, an Irish lineman from 1988-91. “Even last year, I felt that way. I woke up and said, ’Maybe today’s the day.’ No doubt we’re a better football team than we put on the field the last couple of years against USC. I think the level of competition will be much better. I expect us to have a first down before the fourth quarter.”
Kidding. He was kidding.
Notre Dame players absolutely build off the feeling of USC week, always have. The week is different and has been since the first time the teams played in 1926.
“More people get to campus earlier,” Roberts said. “Instead of flying in Friday night, people come in for some big events Wednesday, Thursday, Friday leading up to the game. A lot more high school friends come to town. The campus just starts to build with this massive energy.”
Although Notre Dame seems to be closing the talent gap between the two schools, there is a gap nonetheless. USC produces pro prospects with assembly line regularity and uniformity. Notre Dame is trying to awaken the switch on the assembly line that used to supply the NFL with tons of talent.
Starting in 1983, Notre Dame beat USC 11 straight times.
“It has been a while since we beat USC, and I think it’s about time they got theirs,” Roberts said. “... Notre Dame wants this, needs this and right now we have the talent to take this opportunity and run with it.”
Can you feel it?