SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame center Eric Olsen has gotten good at knocking opponents down.

Line coach Frank Verducci said that's one way he measures the progress of the 6-foot-5, 305-pound senior from Staten Island, N.Y., who moved last winter from guard to center in an effort to stabilize the Irish's offensive front.

Olsen had been solid all season, but in the past four games he has elevated his game, Verducci said, making the most improvement of any of the Irish linemen. Olsen knocked down 14 Pittsburgh defenders last week.

“Most of those helping out in pass protection,” Verducci said.

Olsen can't put a finger on why he's playing better. He believes it's been a gradual process of feeling more comfortable. Verducci believes it's a matter of experience.

“I just think there's little nuances and timing and angles that you would expect to get better at,” Verducci said.

Olsen is the only starting Irish lineman who hasn't allowed a sack. That's quite a turnaround from two years ago, when Olsen was part of a line that gave up an NCAA-record 58 sacks. That team rushed for school record-low 75 yards a game.

Olsen called that season a low point, when the Irish went from the Sugar Bowl the season before to a 3-9 finish.

“We were kind of thrown into the fire a little bit,” Olsen said Wednesday. “From that point until now, obviously we don't have a perfect season going right now, but there was so much growth as football players and human beings. Guys have matured so much and learned how to handle so many different situations.”

Olsen said the biggest difference was that the starters his freshmen year looked like men. A year later, he and the players on the line next to him looked like teens.

“We're kind of back to those men it seemed like we had when I was a freshman,” he said.

The Irish line hasn't been dominant, but they have shown progress. A year ago the Irish averaged 110 yards a game rushing and 3.3 yards a carry. This year they are averaging 131 yards a game and 3.8 yards a rush.

Still, it's well below the 5.5 yards per carry that coach Charlie Weis set as a goal this year.

That's one of the reasons Weis is under fire, with some speculating he could be fired after the season. That bothers Olsen, who said Weis has been like a father figure.

“When people attack him or say things about him, it personally offends me,” he said. “It comes with the job. He knows that more than anybody else, just to calm me down a little bit, because I kind of get worked up. You have to take the good with the bad when you're in the spotlight like he is, like the team is. It's just part of the job.”

With much of the focus from outside the team on him, Weis is having the captains and other team leaders speak this week to try to set the tone when the Irish (6-4) face Connecticut (4-5) on Saturday, the last home game for seniors.

Olsen's message to his teammates is to enjoy every chance they get to play at Notre Dame.

“Whether you're a freshman or a senior, whether this is your last home game or the last home game of your first season, you got to cherish every game because you're never going to have them back, have this experience again,” he said. “For me personally I know I'm trying to do that as much as I can.”

That, and hopefully knock down some Huskies along the way.