Notre Dame meets Georgia Tech on Saturday

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish is one of the top-ranked NCAA College Football teams even before the season began.

On Saturday, they will be facing a Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets team accustomed to beating and upsetting highly-ranked NCAA College Football teams for a living.

Last season, Georgia Tech beat No. 16 Auburn and No. 3 Miami, both on the road. In 2003, the Yellow Jackets defeated No. 17 Auburn, which featured two future first-round draft choices, running backs Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown.

''The thing that is a huge advantage that Chan Gailey brings into this game is that his players have done the upset, they have done it three times,'' said Bill Curry, an ESPN analyst and a former NCAA College Football coach of Alabama and Georgia Tech.

''When he goes in that locker room before the game, he won’t see eyes that are hoping 'Jeez, dear God, maybe we have a chance.' He will see eyes that say, 'I can't wait. We just did this recently.'''

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and favored by 7 points. A loss would send them tumbling in the rankings and, given the long line of contenders behind them and the heft of Notre Dame's schedule, it would be a tough climb back to contender status.

There are also implications for the Heisman Trophy hopes of quarterback Brady Quinn. If Quinn leads Notre Dame to victory, he would likely enhance his status as the Heisman front-runner. If the Irish lose, the Heisman door would open for Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson, or perhaps even Georgia Tech's 6-foot-4-inch wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who is regarded by many as the best in the nation at his position.

And the NCAA College Football season is just getting started.

Can Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech or will the Yellow Jackets upset the Fighting Irish? Sports Interaction has the outright odds.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish -7.0

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets +7.0