Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

San Diego State enters Saturday's game against Notre Dame -- arguably one of the biggest games in recent history -- with several questions marks on the defensive line, which isn't ideal against a Notre Dame offense that's looking to make a statement.

Seven defensive linemen on the San Diego State two-deep are either nursing injuries or out for the season. Defensive end Tony DeMartinis was added to that list this past weekend after tearing his ACL and MCL against Cal Poly. He and defensive tackle Neil Spencer are lost for the season.

Aztecs defensive tackle Siaosi Fifita, who was a starter but now isn't listed on the two-deep, practiced Monday after spending the bulk of camp nursing a knee injury. True freshman defensive tackle Jerome Long and sophomore end Eric Ikonne have been nursing ankle injuries and tackle Ernie Williams is still feeling the effects of a foot injury he suffered during camp. Defensive end Ryan Lawson suffered a concussion last weekend, but is supposed to be back this week.

"It's been tough. Those guys (defensive line) have had some hard times going through training camp and then obviously a couple more injuries during last week's game, but they are tough," linebacker Russell Allen said during the team's media day. "They are going to work hard to get back out on the field and we know they will. We know we can count on them."

Although several players will push through their injuries this weekend, it has made the depth of an already young defensive line even younger. Out of the eight members on the two-deep, only tackle Jonathan Soto and end B.J. Williams started more than one game last season (nine each). Lawson started against Cal Poly and the rest of the depth has seven games of playing experience combined and no starts.

This couldn't be better news for a Notre Dame offensive line that needs a good effort to erase the debacle of a year ago. Notre Dame led the nation in allowed sacks, had the worst total offense in the country and one of the worst running games.

The offensive line has heaped much of last season's 3-9 embarrassment on its shoulders and has worked hard in the offseason to correct its mistakes. San Diego State could be a good way to give the line confidence, though the Aztecs did have five tackles for loss and three sacks against Cal Poly.

"One thing about the linemen, I think they know exactly what they're doing," Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen said during his press conference Wednesday. "They know the game plan. They're ready to go. In practice they're extremely physical. They're getting after it. That's a tight-knit group, the offensive linemen, not just the starting five, but the whole entire group. I think they're going to be ready to go Saturday."

Clausen said the Irish weren't going to hesitate to pound the ball, up the middle to open up the passing game. Not a bad plan considering Cal Poly rushed for 253 yards against the Aztecs front (5.3 yards per carry) and scored two of their touchdowns on rushes. Notre Dame will once again use a trio of running backs to open the season led by sophomore Armando Allen.

"I think it's good for our team when we can be physical up front, pound the ball," Clausen said. "I think it's going to open up a lot of play-action pass, a lot of drop-back pass. A lot of guys are going to be filling the box, like David said. There's going to be a lot of one-on-one matchups with the receivers. All they've got to do is get open, I'll get them the ball."