South Bend, Ind. - Sunday mornings at the Edsall house were not unlike other sports-minded families back in the 1960s.

Here's the routine: Wake up, have breakfast, go to church, return home, gather around the television and watch Notre Dame football replay, hosted by Lindsey Nelson.

"There was a point in time when Notre Dame was the only school on," UConn football coach Randy Edsall said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

He even recited Nelson's trademark phrase … "as we move to further action."

That's when an end zone camera zoomed in on the old Longines scoreboard high above Notre Dame Stadium and provided viewers with the score, quarter and time.

Back then, Notre Dame's history and tradition was unmatched in college football.

The Fighting Irish still have few rivals, but don't expect Edsall's Huskies to get caught up in the mystique that is Notre Dame football. Remember, more than half of his players weren't even born when the Irish won their last national championship in 1988.

But Edsall isn't naïve. He realizes the historic step UConn takes as a major college football program today when it plays the Irish for the first time before a sellout crowd of nearly 81,00 at Notre Dame Stadium (2:30 p.m., Chs. 10, 30).

"A lot of it has to do with where our program was and where we're at today," he said. "And where Notre Dame's program has been. I think it will be a great moment for UConn football … not for Randy Edsall … but for UConn football."

Especially if the Huskies (4-5) can end their three-game losing streak by upsetting the Irish (6-4), who most likely must beat UConn today and No. 14 Stanford the following Saturday in order to save coach Charlie Weis' job.

Linebacker Scott Lutrus said UConn relishes the opportunity to silence a hostile crowd, the largest the Huskies will have ever played in front of.

Sure, Lutrus is aware of Notre Dame's history. His brother, he said, turned his bedroom into a shrine of Irish memorabilia back at home in Brookfield - jerseys, posters … even a Notre Dame bean bag chair.

"Of course everyone grew up and wanted to go to Notre Dame," Lutrus said.

Then came the "but."

"But once you get into college and start playing football," he said, "they play football just like you. We learned that, especially last year when we saw Big East teams, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, teams we have played well against, and they played well against (Notre Dame)."

Actually, Pittsburgh and Syracuse beat Notre Dame at the very stadium UConn plays in today.

"That's when you realize they're just another team," Lutrus added, "Yeah, it's great for the school, the fans and everything, but we're going out there for only one reason … to get a win."

To do that, the Huskies must solve the defensive problems that have plagued them in recent weeks. If not, look for Notre Dame's prolific passing offense led by quarterback Jimmy Clausen (3,053 passing yards, 21 TDs, 4 interceptions) and receivers Golden Tate (74 receptions, 1,172 yards, 11 TDs) and Michael Floyd (30, 606, 6 in only six games) to make life miserable for UConn.

"Our kids understand whether it's Notre Dame, Oklahoma, USC, West Virginia or any of those people … this is the team we're going to play," Edsall said. "We watch the film, see what they do, then here's the game plan and let's go out and execute it. That's how we approach every game."

c.banning@theday.com