With just two games remaining and a 9-2 season a looming possibility, Bob Davie and the Irish have a lot on their minds. Like a Bowl Champio-nship Series bid, that would provide redemption after a less than mediocre 5-7 season and quiet calls for a new coaching staff once and for all, right?

Not if you ask Davie.

"With all the different things swirling around and all the implications of if you win, if you lose, what happens two weeks from now if you win two games, if you just go one and one, honestly, none of that matters," Davie said. "What matters to me and this team is what the [game] tape is. And when we look at ourselves, it's about the effort and it is about the accountablity to each other."

Davie contends the Irish are focused on constant improvement.

Poring over game tape, reinforcing outstanding plays with awards and keeping the game and practice plan simple are the focus of the No. 11 team in the nation, not a post-season appearance to quiet critics.

A quick glance at Notre Dame's schedule makes it easy to overlook the remaining games. Riding a five-game winning streak after an overtime loss to then-No. 1 Nebraska and a heartbreaker at Michigan State, the Irish have combined a steady defense with a big-play offense to rise from unranked status to a position just short of a top-10 spot.

While Notre Dame has found success from a number of unlikely heroes, Rutgers and the University of Southern California have not fared as well. Unranked and unproven, the next two teams on Notre Dame's schedule don't have much to compare with the Irish on paper. But that is not stopping Davie from preparing diligently and making sure the Irish are ready when they step on the field in New Jersey Saturday.

"You find out quickly it is not what you say, it's what they hear and it is not even what they hear but what they have invested in it and how important it is to them," he said. "I think they do more on what they see you do than what you say you do."

And Davie is not saying or doing much publicly about postseason possibilities or the pressure that is weighing in heavily on the Irish to win out for the remainder of the season. All Davie wants to do is talk about the game at hand and the factors the Irish are focusing on.

"This week, just like every week, the scenario changes," Davie said. "We are playing at Rutgers — the first time we have ever played there in that stadium, the first time I have ever been on that campus. It is [head coach] Terry Shea's last home football game that he is coaching in. We have players from New Jersey. So as always, those are the issues."

Davie knows that if the Irish stay focused on the task at hand, they have the talent to finish with a 9-2 record. Then Notre Dame's head coach can get to the real task at hand — a BCS bowl appearance.

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• Davie focuses team effort and constant improvement