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✦ top storylines: notre dame vs. arizona state Arizona State head coach Todd Graham will be leading his third different school against Notre Dame in four years (Tulsa in 2010 and Pitt in 2011). photo courtesy pittsburgh ous weeks, including a home game versus a big-name opponent prior to their Oct. 5 showdown. The Sun Devils hosted Wisconsin (Sept. 14), traveled to No. 5 Stanford (Sept. 21) and then welcomed USC to Tempe, Ariz. (Sept. 28), one of the more challenging three-game gauntlets this September by a member of a BCS conference in the Football Bowl Subdivision. However, Arizona State head coach Todd Graham indicated that a nationally televised game against Notre Dame is motivation unto itself, and he let his players know they could make history by becoming the first college football team ever to defeat USC and Notre Dame in back-to-back weeks. "Our guys will be very motivated to play in this game," Graham said. "It is a national game. … Is it more important than the Pac-12 games? No, it is not. That is how we emphasize it to our players. But it is very important to our fan base, very important to our football program. "For me personally, going back to where my home is, where I'm from — it is a big deal for me." Meanwhile, Notre Dame had to deal with its own treacherous stretch in Sep- tember by first traveling to Michigan and Purdue before hosting Michigan State and then traditional power Oklahoma. No team is going to be up 12 straight games during the regular season (or even in a bowl game sometimes). And for every "up," a letdown usually ensues, i.e. Michigan nearly losing to Akron at home the week after defeating Notre Dame. It's one of the foibles of human nature. That's why concentrating on only he task at hand is essential. "They're not walking around campus flashing their 12-0 rings — they don't have a 12-0 ring," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said of last year's regular season by the Irish. "They're not wearing a conference championship ring. They have an immense amount of pride in what they accomplished by playing so well and winning games that what drives them is winning, and they want to win." Which team will have the better mental reservoir with the middle of the season approaching? Notre Dame does have the bye week to look forward to Oct. 12, which is generally mid-term exam week. Familiar Face, Different Team Although this would take exhaustive research to confirm, Arizona State head coach Todd Graham probably will make NCAA history when he faces Notre Dame on Saturday. This will be the third time in four years he faces the Fighting Irish — but is doing so with three different schools. Seldom will you find a head coach with his third college team in four years, never mind facing the same opponent at each of those schools during that time. At Tulsa in 2010, Graham's Golden Hurricanes pulled a stunning 28‑27 upset at Notre Dame under first-year head coach ✦ Page 8 Brian Kelly. Irish freshman quarterback Tommy Rees, in his first extensive stint, completed 33 of 54 passes for 334 yards with four touchdowns, but also had three intercepted — the last with 42 seconds left in the game and the Irish at the Tulsa 19. Although Notre Dame was in range to kick the winning field goal, it went for broke by trying to connect with receiver Michael Floyd in the end zone. Tulsa cornerback John Flanders intercepted the errant toss. A year later at Pitt, Graham's Panthers had the Irish on the ropes with a 12‑7 lead in the fourth quarter before Rees directed an 85-yard drive in which tight end Tyler Eifert caught four passes, highlighted by the six-yard touchdown (and not including the two-point conversion) for a 15‑12 victory. Both times a Graham-coached team with lesser talent or fanfare gave Notre Dame everything it could handle. This time Graham might have a little more at his disposal. "Better personnel," Kelly said of the difference at Arizona State from Tulsa and Pitt. Speaking of history, Graham will attempt to become the fourth coach ever (that we know of) to defeat Notre Dame at two different schools. • Howard Jones' 1921 Iowa team gave Notre Dame its lone loss that season, and then his USC teams also defeated the Fighting Irish six times from 1928-39. • Johnny Majors led Pitt to victories against Notre Dame in 1975 and 1976, and did the same for his alma mater Tennessee in 1979 and 1991. • Nick Saban's 1997-99 Michigan State teams won three straight against Notre Dame, and his Alabama Crimson Tide trounced the Irish in last year's BCS National Championship Game. ✦