Posted by ESPN.com's Brian Bennett
Many viewed this season as BCS or bust for Notre Dame and Charlie Weis.
Well, Navy just torpedoed the Irish's hopes for a BCS bowl with a stunning 23-21 win in South Bend. The Midshipmen had not beaten Notre Dame in 43 years before pulling off a victory in 2007. Now they've won two of three. This is the same Navy team that lost to Temple last week.
There are some things you can't do as Notre Dame coach, and one of them is to lose to Navy. Especially twice. Weis is piling up dubious accomplishments on his résumé, and his future once again comes into question after this disaster.
I talked to Jack Swarbrick two weeks ago, and while the Irish athletic director is cautious to always point out that he will evaluate Weis at the end of the season, he had no problem saying he was happy with the progress the team had made this season. And this conversation took place after a loss, just a few days after Notre Dame had fallen to USC by one score.
That progress doesn't look so evident now, with the Irish sitting at a pedestrian 6-3 with no quality wins. The other two teams that beat Notre Dame -- Michigan and USC -- have since fallen on hard times of their own.
The best-case scenario now for Notre Dame is the Gator Bowl, but even that is no sure thing. Next week's game at Pitt looks extremely difficult as the No. 13 Panthers are on a serious roll. The season-ender at Stanford could bring another defeat as well, as the Cardinal are beating Oregon as I write this.
If Notre Dame loses to Pitt and Stanford to finish 7-5, there's almost no way Swarbrick can justify bringing Weis back for another year. An 8-4 finish would make things interesting, to say the least. Weis most likely has to win out to feel safe.
What's really surprising about this loss is that the Irish seemed to have things going in the right direction. They followed their strong comeback against USC with a blowout win over Washington State. Star receiver Michael Floyd returned this week from a broken collarbone, and everyone assumed the offense would leap from explosive to off the charts. Instead, it turned in maybe its worst showing of the season, needing a late onside kick after a safety to set up a third touchdown against Navy, a program that can't come close to matching the caliber of recruits Notre Dame brings in.
This loss ended the Heisman Trophy campaigns of Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, who couldn't pull off one more miracle comeback. It ended the BCS goal, and perhaps any shot at being ranked again in the regular season.
The next couple of weeks will tell if this was the iceberg that sank Weis's Notre Dame career.
Many viewed this season as BCS or bust for Notre Dame and Charlie Weis.
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| AP Photo/Darron Cummings | |
| Notre Dame's loss to Navy likely dashed any chance Jimmy Clausen had at the Heisman. |
Well, Navy just torpedoed the Irish's hopes for a BCS bowl with a stunning 23-21 win in South Bend. The Midshipmen had not beaten Notre Dame in 43 years before pulling off a victory in 2007. Now they've won two of three. This is the same Navy team that lost to Temple last week.
There are some things you can't do as Notre Dame coach, and one of them is to lose to Navy. Especially twice. Weis is piling up dubious accomplishments on his résumé, and his future once again comes into question after this disaster.
I talked to Jack Swarbrick two weeks ago, and while the Irish athletic director is cautious to always point out that he will evaluate Weis at the end of the season, he had no problem saying he was happy with the progress the team had made this season. And this conversation took place after a loss, just a few days after Notre Dame had fallen to USC by one score.
That progress doesn't look so evident now, with the Irish sitting at a pedestrian 6-3 with no quality wins. The other two teams that beat Notre Dame -- Michigan and USC -- have since fallen on hard times of their own.
The best-case scenario now for Notre Dame is the Gator Bowl, but even that is no sure thing. Next week's game at Pitt looks extremely difficult as the No. 13 Panthers are on a serious roll. The season-ender at Stanford could bring another defeat as well, as the Cardinal are beating Oregon as I write this.
If Notre Dame loses to Pitt and Stanford to finish 7-5, there's almost no way Swarbrick can justify bringing Weis back for another year. An 8-4 finish would make things interesting, to say the least. Weis most likely has to win out to feel safe.
What's really surprising about this loss is that the Irish seemed to have things going in the right direction. They followed their strong comeback against USC with a blowout win over Washington State. Star receiver Michael Floyd returned this week from a broken collarbone, and everyone assumed the offense would leap from explosive to off the charts. Instead, it turned in maybe its worst showing of the season, needing a late onside kick after a safety to set up a third touchdown against Navy, a program that can't come close to matching the caliber of recruits Notre Dame brings in.
This loss ended the Heisman Trophy campaigns of Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, who couldn't pull off one more miracle comeback. It ended the BCS goal, and perhaps any shot at being ranked again in the regular season.
The next couple of weeks will tell if this was the iceberg that sank Weis's Notre Dame career.
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