SOUTH BEND, IND. ? In 1993, Notre Dame won its showdown with Florida State, breathed a sigh of relief, then went out and lost to Boston College blowing a shot at the national title.

The Seminoles won the championship that year, which irks the Irish to this day. That disappointment turned out to be the beginning of a steady slide for Notre Dame.

The Irish have turned things around under first-year coach Tyrone Willingham, though, and they take a No. 6 ranking and 7-0 record into Saturday’s game at Florida State.

Even though Florida State is 5-2 and ranked 11th, it’s a 10-point favorite for the game in Tallahassee, Fla.

“We’re undefeated, we’re the higher ranked team and we’re underdogs once again,” Irish linebacker Courtney Watson said. “You take it as a bit of disrespect.”

Since 1993, the Seminoles won another national championship and put together a string of top-five finishes. The Irish, meanwhile, have not finished in the top 10 during that span an eight-year drought that is the longest in the school’s history.

During that time the Irish have had four coaches if you count the one-week tenure of George O’Leary and some hard times. Everything is golden this season under Willingham.

Still, it’s never easy to beat the Seminoles at their Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State is 84-4-1 there since 1989.

Two of the losses came last season, which gives hope to Irish center Jeff Faine.

“In recent years it’s been kind of proven that you can go there and win,” Faine said.

Notre Dame hasn’t exactly been a dominant road team in recent years. It went 1-4 on the road last season, and last week’s 21-14 win over Air Force was Notre Dame’s first at a ranked opponent since a 24-6 win over No. 11 LSU on Nov. 15, 1997.

But Notre Dame’s confidence keeps growing under Willingham. A significant statistic: The Irish are 5-0 in games decided by eight points or fewer.

“When you have played in close ball games and been successful it’s a tremendous confidence-builder to your team,” the coach said. “They feel like they can go in those situations because they have done it and been successful.”

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said he knows the Irish are for real.

“They’re good enough to beat us and we’re good enough to beat them,” he said.

While some question whether Florida State has started a slide of its own, going 13-6 since the start of the 2001 season, Willingham does not. With an overtime loss to Louisville and a 28-27 loss to No. 1 Miami two weeks ago on a missed field goal, the Seminoles are two points away from being undefeated.