The South Bend Tribune Weighs In
Not sure if this has been posted anywhere (yes, I searched). So in case it hasn't, here ya go. Wow, the heat is on...
Where's ND's progress?
COMMENTARY
JEFF CARROLL
SOUTH BEND -- Charlie Weis must know something the rest of us don't.
He must see something the rest of us can't
That's the only possible explanation for why the Notre Dame head coach would choose bluster over unqualified humility, given the circumstances he found himself in on Saturday.
"People better enjoy it now," he said, shortly after his team's latest new low, a 38-0 home loss to previously staggering USC. "Have their fun now."
Curious time for bravado, isn't it?
Weis was just minutes removed from the second-worst home loss in the history of the Notre Dame football program. Then again, it's only been in existence for 12 decades now.
And this one came against Notre Dame's most storied rival, in a series that has become nothing short of a disgrace this decade. During Tyrone Willingham's short era on the Irish sideline, people were practically throwing themselves off the Golden Dome after three consecutive 31-point defeats to the Trojans.
So how, then, does 38 do you?
Notre Dame was officially eliminated from bowl contention on Saturday, as if there was much doubt. The Irish have lost nine of the last 10 games they've played, by an average of more than 24 points a shot. And let's call the one victory, at UCLA two weeks ago, what it was in light of what we've seen since -- a fluke.
The offense is the worst in the country in nearly every statistical category. And if you've watched enough, you know statistics don't even do the ineptitude justice. Isn't offense supposed to be Weis' specialty? Weren't we all, according to Weis himself, going to see how USC coach Pete Carroll managed once it was "Xs and O's time"?
Make no mistake about it, eight games in, with any discernible progress now relegated to the status of mirage, there is one person to shoulder the majority of the blame. And it's not any of the Weis apologists' favorite dartboard targets, either.
Not athletic director Kevin White. Not university president the Rev. John Jenkins.
And certainly, especially, not Tyrone Willingham.
Weis still has ardent supporters. And many of them are recruit-heads who would blame Willingham for global warming if they could just get their hands on his heating bill.
But it is well past time, 33 games into Weis' tenure, to terminate any blame still placed on Willingham for this mess. That seems like it should go without saying, but let's address the recruiting argument anyway. Just for, you know, "fun."
In 2004, Willingham brought in a class, the current seniors, that was ranked No. 32 by Rivals.com. Not acceptable by Notre Dame's standards, that's true.
But among the schools ranked behind the Irish that year: Texas Tech. South Carolina. Wisconsin. Virginia Tech. South Florida. Kentucky. West Virginia. Illinois.
Recognize any of those programs? They all seem to have recovered nicely.
Willingham gets a lot of the blame for the '05 class, as well, the current ND juniors. He was fired late in that recruiting cycle, and part of the reason was because of the haul he was assembling, a class that Weis would salvage and that Rivals would rank 40th. Again, not acceptable in South Bend.
But how about a look at a small sampling of the programs ranked behind the Irish that year by the recruiting prognosticators? Kansas. Boston College. South Florida -- again. Rutgers. Illinois -- again.
This isn't to say that Notre Dame should be putting a national championship-caliber team on the field this season. The upper classes certainly do leave much to be desired. But there is no excuse -- none, nada -- for 1-7. For 48 yards on 30 carries, eight games in. For 39 sacks allowed in eight contests, already a school record and counting.
For the fact that players won't be surging toward tangible goals in the nearly meaningless last month of the season, but instead have to access their inner-drill instructor for motivation.
"It's just all about pride," nose tackle Pat Kuntz said. "You've got to finish the season remembering what jersey you're wearing and what school you go to."
"It's kind of what we play for at Notre Dame, these bowl games because we're not in a conference," said defensive end Trevor Laws. "We have a lot of things to play for, like teammates and family."
Family?
What makes Weis such a frustrating enigma is how level-headed he can seem one minute, how arrogant and cutting the next. It, unfortunately, makes you question his sincerity. He opened Saturday's postgame session with the media on a light note, joking about nearly being run over during a special teams play. Shortly after he said the following:
"I'm the person responsible for all this stuff."
Yet moments later, he was back to being Bad Charlie, telling everyone to yuck it up now, the implication being that the Irish will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.
Even ignoring the dearth of evidence to support that mindset, nothing that happens in 2008 or beyond changes the fact that 2007 has been a complete undressing.
Losses have mounted and three players have transferred out of Notre Dame. A fourth, offensive lineman Chris Stewart, gave the idea serious consideration.
And how did Weis respond to the ongoing exodus last week? By saying publicly that, essentially, backups aren't important to him anyway.
At least he's honest. With Weis fielding a veteran team the last two seasons, he made no real effort to get his youngsters ready. He doesn't see beyond the next game. He's said it himself.
Well now the next game is Navy. And if Weis thinks people have been having fun at his expense now ...
But back to the Trojans.
"They are where we want to be," Weis said about them after Saturday's loss, "and that's what we're going to shoot for and that's what we're going to drive for until we get to that point. And I will work till the ends of the earth until that ends up happening."
As if anyone needed another one, Saturday was an indication of how much work needs to be done before that can ever occur.
Staff Writer Jeff Carroll
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