SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Underdogs and altitude. That's the two-headed question subheading the Notre Dame-Air Force game, right? Forget about both teams being undefeated. Air Force is a three-point favorite and the game will be played 7,000 feet above sea level.
I gotta confess I'm not sure how much I buy into the underdog thing. See, that thing is the product of backroom interactions between bookies, oddsmakers, and gamblers. I never rolled with any of those groups, so whenever someone told me my team was the underdog, I shrugged it off and prepared to go to work as usual. Now it would be something altogether different if the other team set the odds. Then that whole "disrespect" thing might be a little more palpable and I'd be more inclined to throw some hands after the whistle. But I'm pretty sure that isn't the case.
On the other hand, the altitude thing makes this week a little different. The last time I experienced it was while playing for the 49ers in a preseason game in Denver. During warmups, I remember a brief period of lung-burning labored breathing and a vague feeling of taking a mule kick in the chest. But much like the effects of a pregame speech, it subsided after the first series and my breathing returned to normal. Go up another half a mile ...Colorado Springs is a different story.
One of the cadets told me that there's no easy adjustment to 7,000 feet. He said that when he leaves for two weeks and comes back, he gets winded just walking up the stairs. In '94, Army came a week early to get acclimated to the conditions, and they still lost.
Irish TE Gary Godsey seemed nonplussed when I asked him about being an underdog this week. "I'm not sure how they do the odds, or anything like that, he says. "It's too big to not hear it, but as a player, I don't pay attention to it because it can take over your game."
The altitude question stopped him for a moment. He searched the ground for an answer. "It'll be something new for us," he finally said. "But I'm sure once it gets started, it will be no big deal." When I asked if the team would have an extra supply of O2 on the sidelines, he perked up. "I think we should," he laughed.
It'll be there. Tyrone Willingham is always prepared. And he's always ready with a quip. Willingham answered the altitude question this week by speculating that his players might run faster on Saturday because they train at sea level.
Willingham has dealt with the underdog thing many times before. "Lou Holtz was a master at making his team seem like they always had everything stacked against them," he says. "But that's not necessarily my style."
Willingham's style is consistency, in the face of all differences and distractions. That's why he doesn't alter his plan. Ever. "I want them to play well. Every. Single. Week," he says. "Be amazingly consistent."
Talk all you want about point spreads and altitude. The consistency thing? I think he's got that covered.
Alan Grant, a senior reporter for ESPN The Magazine, is spending the season in South Bend. Look for his regular reports on ESPN.com. E-mail him at alan.grant@espn3.com
