Thought of the Day

Notre Dame announces Head Coach Charlie Weis will return for the 2009 season.

While I am not surprised by this move, I certainly disagree with it. The Fighting Irish may (barely) be bowl-eligible at 6-6, but, of the six teams they have beaten only one has a winning record (The Navy Midshipmen, who went 7-4 on the season). Overall, the combined record of the opponents that Notre Dame has beaten this season is 21-49. Included in this list of opponents is the likes of the Michigan Wolverines, who went a historic-low 3-9 on the season, the Washington Huskies who went defeated at 0-11, and the San Diego State Aztecs who went 2-10 on the season. The two other Notre Dame victories were over the Purdue Boilermakers (4-8), and the Stanford Cardinal (5-7). With the exception of the senile Lou Holtz, no one could argue that any of these wins were resume builders. More bothersome than the wins, though, were Notre Dame's losses. Besides the losses to the University of North Carolina (ranked no. 22 at the time), Pittsburgh, and Michigan State, the fashion by which Notre Dame lost was anything but inspiring. In their game against rival Catholic school, Boston College, Notre Dame was pitched a shutout, losing 17-0. Against USC, Notre Dame's offense, under the offensive mastermind of Charlie Weis, did not get a first down until late in the 3rd quarter. They later went on to lose that game 38-3. Of all the losses though, the most disappointing was Notre Dame's shocking loss to the Syracuse Orange (3-12). The Orange, who were 19.5 point underdogs, not only won the game, but won the game on a touchdown pass by Cameron Dantley to Donte Davis with a mere 0:42 seconds left on the clock. All of this at Notre Dame Stadium. Forget the years during which Weis had Brady Quinn (previous coach Tyrone Willingham's recruit) at the helm, and concentrate on the present. Charlie Weis has been the Notre Dame coach for three seasons, during each of which Weis brought in a "top-10" recruiting class. Since the loss of Brady Quinn, Notre Dame has gone a paltry 9-15. Defend that.