Ever since he first came to Clemson as a freshman in high school, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has felt the program has received very little respect from the national media and pundits.

“From what I have been seeing we have kind of never had that respect, and for some reason we can’t get over that hump,” he said.

It’s unimaginable to think that’s the case considering the 11th-ranked Tigers have taken down college football powers in Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma the three previous years, but here it is again, another football season and the Tigers’ are talking about the lack of respect they are getting heading into another big game.

“We played Ohio State, beat them. We played Oklahoma, beat them. We played LSU, beat them. I’m not saying we’re going to beat the crap out of Notre Dame, but we’ve played big-name opponents and it hasn’t really affected us at all,” linebacker Ben Boulware said.

But it isn’t helping either. In each of the last two weeks Clemson has fallen in the polls despite the fact it has not lost a game. After beating Louisville, the Tigers dropped from No. 9 in the coaches’ poll to No. 10. After having the week off, they again dropped in the coaches’ poll to No. 11.

They also slipped from No. 11 to No. 12 in the Associated Press poll.

“They have said we played two bad teams and then we struggled with Louisville,” defensive end Shaq Lawson said. “We pretty much try not to pay attention to that because at the end of the day, if we do our job and execute on the field and win, we are going to move up eventually.”

Lawson is right. Clemson (3-0) should move up in the polls if it is able to knock off No. 6 Notre Dame (4-0) on Saturday (8 p.m.) in Death Valley. With ESPN’s GameDay in the house as well as SportsCenter broadcasting live from Death Valley following the game, this is the Tigers’ chance to shine when all of America is watching.

“We are going to do what we have to do,” Watson said. “Those rankings don’t mean anything. That is just like a couple of years ago when Auburn was not ranked and ended up in the national championship. I really don’t pay attention to that.

“If they think we struggled against Louisville, and beat a team like Louisville that is very competitive, especially on a Thursday night. It is what it is. We will do what we have to do to get the ‘W’ and move forward.”

The biggest thing for Clemson is not to get caught up in all the hoopla that comes with playing a nationally ranked Notre Dame team.

“It doesn’t matter, especially at this point. It is too early in the season,” Watson said. “If we focus on that then we can get distracted with other things and can lose our focus.”

And if the Tigers do that then they will lose that opportunity to earn some respect.