This is a new Notre Dame team,

Obviously, after playing at USC where we won almost every game we played in, then going to a team that may struggle, it (will be tough). But it's all (about) preparation and work. I work hard no matter what, and I will bring my accountability and my work ethic to an organization and help that team win.

It started building up the year Carson (Palmer) won the Heisman (in 2002),

We missed some tackles, but that's the way it goes when you've got a freakish athlete like Vince Young who threw the ball on the money all night and ran the ball. He's so big and strong, and yet he's as fast as a running back. It's tough to prepare for that and tough to stop that.

His message was that every game is tough and, yeah, we finished undefeated and, yeah, we won the national championship, but it wasn't easy. There were a lot of games where we battled back and had to show our mettle as a team. We still have to fight to beat people.

It's nice to see the one versus two all year finish the season one and two. Two undefeated teams, no controversy this year, and it's going to be a great atmosphere.