SOUTH BEND, IND. ? Everyone at Notre Dame thinks Tom Zbikowski is a little crazy, even Zbikowski himself.

“Yeah, there’s no way around it,” he said.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound strong safety and amateur boxer with the buzz-cut hair and intense stare is both the brains of 10th-ranked Notre Dame’s secondary, its emotional leader and the player who everyone else on defense loves to talk about – and poke fun of.

“Just look at the way he looks. He looks like a kamikaze pilot on a death mission,” defensive coordinator Rick Minter said.

Zbikowski looked like a man on a mission last week against Michigan. He intercepted a pass on the 1-yard line to end one scoring chance by the Wolverines and returned a punt 19 yards to the Michigan 33, setting up Notre Dame’s final field goal in its 17-10 victory.

This week’s opponent knows about Zbikowski, too. He played a major role in beating Michigan State 31-24 last season.

He intercepted a pass at the Michigan State 35 and returned it 22 yards to set up Notre Dame’s first touchdown, then on the next possession he stripped the ball from running back

“That’s just the way Tommy is,” cornerback Chinedum Ndukwe said “He goes out and tries to make things happen.”