KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Seven Heisman Trophy winners, 11 consensus national championships, the Golden Dome, Touchdown Jesus ...

"The name, the tradition, the heritage of Notre Dame certainly has a ring to it around the country," UT coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We do play a lot of big games, but this one's as big as any of them."

The Vols (6-1) play host to the Fighting Irish (5-3) Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

"Certainly, we have a tradition that we're proud of," Notre Dame coach Bob Davie said. "There's an obligation to put a team out there that's worthy of being Notre Dame."

Having won six of their last seven games against top 10 teams, the Vols don't scare easy. Fulmer didn't see any of the four horsemen riding headless on Halloween weekend as he began preparation for the Fighting Irish.

"I don't think anybody will be awed," Fulmer said, asked if the Irish's mystique might psyche out his players. "I think there will be a healthy respect. We try to approach them the same."

Davie said his team is excited about the opportunity.

"You want to play a team that, if you beat them, there are rewards out there," Davie said. "This is a good measuring stick, just athletically, to see where we are for those young offensive linemen to see, are they better, are we better right now."

UT defensive tackle Darwin Walker said he knows about the Irish's reputation as a power football team.

"I know about their tradition; they recruited me," Walker said. "But we have some heavyweights, too."

The presence of ESPN's Gameday will add to the hype. It's the first time the national college football show has set up in Knoxville since Sept. 21, 1996, when UT played Florida.

Tennessee and Notre Dame have split their four meetings. The Vols won the most recent game 35-34 in South Bend in 1991. The Irish were the last opponent to score a November victory over UT in Neyland Stadium, posting a 34-29 win in 1990.

But that's ancient history to current Tennessee players.

"I don't know much about Notre Dame," said Vols tailback Jamal Lewis, who grew up in Atlanta. "I just know they were on TV every week. I'd pretty much just look at the score and turn the channel. I never really watched them."

All-American safety Deon Grant is among the handful of UT players the Irish recruited.

"I had absolutely no interest and no thoughts of going there at all," said Grant, who is from Augusta, Ga. "I was never interested in Notre Dame. This is just another game to me."

(Mike Griffith writes for The News-Sentinel in Knoxville, Tenn.)