Arnaz Battle says folks are still "looking for that moment when Notre Dame fails."

He's right. Many are of the belief it will arrive beginning Saturday at high noon in Tallahassee. But belief is what makes it so tough to doubt the Fighting Irish these days, even though the oddsmakers have all season.

After watching Notre Dame physically dominate a good Air Force team and survive enough uncharacteristic errors to keep the game close, I can tell you the Irish are more impressive up close than from afar. Sure, the Falcons are a service academy team (although an excellent one), but physically Notre Dame is anything but a top ten imposter.

Especially on defense. Their soundness and maturity are evident every snap. Starting 15 seniors and six juniors is ultra-rare in college football these days, but that sort of rare experience makes this team very tough mentally. It's obvious watching from their sideline.

	Arnaz Battle is Notre Dame's playmaker on offense.

It reminds me of a basketball team that might not feature four future pros, but starts four seniors who have been through the wars. Their toughness and maturity make them a very tough out in the NCAA tournament, even against teams with far more raw potential.

Bobby Bowden fears Notre Dame's self-belief as much as anything else. He's telling his team that their opponents Saturday do not think they can lose. That's why facing an unbeaten (any unbeaten, regardless of ranking or conference) always worries Bowden.

Battle is clearly the go-to playmaker on the Irish offense, and his individual story is perhaps Notre Dame's most interesting one. From receiving the hallowed No. 3 jersey worn by Daryle Lamonica, Joe Montana, Rick Mirer and others, Battle's journey from stud quarterback recruit to emergency replacement in a debacle at USC to role-playing receiver to star is pretty compelling.

He's come through public failure, various serious injuries, a position change, ego blows, and two losing seasons to survive and thrive in a well-earned successful senior year.

Battle was slowed by a leg injury and had just five catches for 40 yards a year ago. Now he can get that in a half and Florida State is well aware of him. It might want to keep an eye out for that "bubble screen" that killed Air Force twice.

The Seminoles have done a good job of not dwelling on the "what-ifs" following the Miami heartbreaker. They've used the bye week well. Notre Dame gives them an unbeaten, hyped opponent to battle on national TV. This is the kind of game that has brought out their best. Having this thing at home is huge edge, too.

If the Fighting Irish stuff Greg Jones, cover Anquan Boldin, frustrate Chris Rix, control the ball, create a big, broken play for Carlyle Holiday and Battle, get Nick Setta back on target and get out of Tally 8-0, it will be the signature win so far. You won't be able to doubt them as a serious contender for the title game.

Stealth seasons
Teams that are quietly putting together strong seasons and showing great resilience after stumbling once or twice: Virginia, TCU, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Arizona State.

First, the Sun Devils, because they pulled off one of this year's most impressive wins. The odds of ASU digging out of a 21-zip hole at Autzen Stadium last Saturday against an Oregon team that had the nation's second longest win streak: 500-to-1, if you ask me.

Well, the Sun Devils didn't ask me. Only the guys on their sideline believed anything like that was possible. Sure, Oregon can give up big plays by the bushel with their pressing man coverage. Sure, Dirk Koetter knew how to attack Oregon as an ex-assistant there.

And sure, Andrew Walter and Shaun McDonald are now a lethal pitch-and-catch tandem. But three touchdowns behind at Autzen? Come on. This wasn't San Diego State (an earlier ASU comeback victim).

Koetter's focus on unity and leadership (sadly lacking from recent ASU teams) is paying dividends. The team wears t-shirts with CPC on them: "Compete with Passion and Character." What's more, they've actually paid attention to the motto.

ASU was written off in August after a 48-10 thumping at Nebraska, when they were brought in as an additional tune up for the Huskers. Hey, Frank Solich, do you want a rematch with ASU, now? Didn't think so.

That was also before Walter took over as the starting QB. He has had three 400-yard games in his four starts, more than any other ASU player has had in his career. Walter has been crashing ASU's Camp Tontozona training camp with his dad, a pilot, since he was a kid. Coaches had to shoo him off the field to start practices. He's steadily progressed and clearly has "it." When he's in there, he gives a spark.

McDonald is a smurf-like 5-foot-8, but has great speed and the body control to make plays in the air. He's got a pair of 200-yard receiving games in the last month.

The Sun Devils were given another chance to fold after allowing North Carolina to rally and win in Tempe a few weeks ago, a loss that featured four missed field goals by normally reliable Mike Barth. Instead, they outslugged Oregon State, 13-9, to prove they can win a low-scoring game, then pulled the shocker at Oregon. ASU had gone a season and a half without beating a team with a winning record. Now they've done it back-to-back games.

Washington ought to be plenty worried about Saturday, when Rick Neuheisel returns to his home town for Arizona State's homecoming. The Huskies look defenseless against the pass. USC's brilliant freshman Mike Williams was the latest wideout to enjoy a field day against the Huskies, and now they face McDonald and the hottest passing QB around.

If UW doesn't don't borrow a little from ASU's passion/character motto, the season will be slipping away. The Huskies have still not proven they can win away from home and continue to prove they cannot run the ball. At all.

And before I move on you've gotta give it to the Pac-10 quarterbacks. Carson Palmer enters Saturday with a 60 percent completion rate and just seven picks through seven games, but that's still only good enough to earn him the ninth-best QB rating in the league.

I can't recall any conference at any time having a better collection of passing offenses, No. 1-10. There are dozens of teams in college football who would love to have any one of them.

Kentucky showed resilience in winning at Arkansas, which really surprised me. The win, not the resilience. Now the 'Cats are setting an upset trap for banged-up Georgia. As 'Dawgs observers know, it's never easy in Lexington, even when the talent is tilted in their favor.

This must be Georgia's chance to show resilience and guts, minus its best runner (Musa Smith, thumb), best offensive lineman (Jon Stinchcomb, knee) and a talented playmaking threat (Fred Gibson, thumb). All three had surgeries this week.

Can they rehab at warp speed and attend the cocktail party next weekend against Florida in proper attire (pads and uniform)? To me, that would seem a stretch. It'll be Georgia's most important game with Florida in years (with the Gators as the national title spoilers for a change) only if UGA can beat Kentucky.

The Cats' defense has been strong when it counts (in their end of the field). But they also have not faced a gauntlet of good, balanced offensive teams. A healthy Georgia offense wins this game. This banged up unit will need every break to win.

TCU's 6-1 season is a tribute to Gary Patterson and his staff. The Frogs collapsed at Cincinnati in an opening overtime loss and have reeled off six straight wins since. The best by far was last weekend at Louisville. The Horned Frogs can cement their status as the best in Conference USA by beating Southern Mississippi next Wednesday night.

Minnesota has had to shift two games to Thursday nights because of Twins playoff games, but is very quietly one of the few seven-win teams around (7-1). After a bye week, the Gophers may be exposed in the upcoming four-game stretch: at Ohio State, home against Michigan and Iowa, at Wisconsin.

But a split of those four would equal a big season for Glen Mason's crew and a nice bowl game for a program that's enjoyed just one winning season in the last decade.

Virginia's six game winning streak is impressive for two reasons: it shows the Cavaliers were not willing to pack it in after a tough-to-swallow loss to Colorado State and a walloping at FSU. And it is showcasing the bright future of Al Groh's talented young recruits. It looks like the Cavs will be a real force in the ACC in the coming years.

Good kickers gone bad
It's amazing to me that quite a few kickers with proven reps for consistency have suddenly lost their way. Damon Duval could have left Auburn early for the draft last year as a kicker and punter. Now he's struggling big time (4-of-10 FGs), and the blocked chippy that cost Auburn a win at Florida was the low point. This from a phenomenal clutch kicker most of last year.

Once-reliable Luke Manget of Georgia Tech has lost his touch, converting just 1-of-5 beyond 40 yards, and Miami's Todd Sievers is only 4-of-8. Texas' Dusty Mangum is only three of eight beyond 30 yards. Otherwise-solid programs like Michigan, Tennessee, and Colorado continue to suffer kicking woes this season.

That's one of the reasons extra-point percentage has declined from .945 last year to .936 this year.

Still good
On the flipside, it's a duel in the Big Ten between Iowa's Nate Kaeding and Ohio State's Mike Nugent to see who will miss first. Maybe neither will. Nugent is 16-for-16 while Kaeding is 15-for-15, including eight beyond 40 yards, three of those beyond 50 yards with along of 55! Throw in Georgia's Billy Bennett (12-for-13 with a game-winner at Alabama) and Oregon sophomore Jared Siegel (12-of-13 with a 59-yarder) and the battle for the Lou Groza Award is much more spirited than the Heisman race.

GameDay follows the Irish
We're on the road with Notre Dame a second straight week, inside Doak Campbell Stadium as we count down the final ninety minutes to kickoff and feature Arnaz Battle's story. Next week's possibilities: Georgia-Florida (if the Bulldogs beat UK) and Colorado-Oklahoma (if CU can stop Kliff Kingsbury and Texas Tech).

Chris Fowler is host of ESPN College GameDay