As the national championship game approaches, things have gotten pretty hairy for Notre Dame.

"We call ourselves the Beard Gang," safety Matthias Farley said of his shaggy Irish brethren. "We haven't shaved since camp. It started right before camp. We said, 'We're not shaving till we lose.' So some of us have a pretty nice beard."

Farley's is probably the most impressive of the bunch, a thick thatch of black facial hair that extends a few inches below his chin, and out the sides, as well.

"Mike Golic has the thickest beard," said scraggly safety Zeke Motta. "But as far as shape and color, I have to go with my boy Matthias."

And what if the Irish pull out a victory on Monday? Will the Irish finally shave, even though they wouldn't have lost yet?

"I don't know," Farley said. "That'll be a fame-time decision."

Well, burly Kapron Lewis-Moore sounded as if he already had made his.

"I don't know," he said, stroking his bushy beard. "I've gotta look good for the ladies."