Tuesday, November 13, 2007

I'm done for the year.

Oh, I'll post evey now and then, and I'll take my lumps from the schadenfreude obsessed ND haters, but as far as this season goes, I'm checking out.

This display of football on the field has been quite simply pathetic, and despite there being some talent on its way up the ranks in the underclassmen and incoming recruits, there is little from this season that shows that the Weis regime is more than a 1-trick pony, great recruiters who can't develop talent.

I hope the offseason shows that that isn't the case, and that Weis and Co. are able to develop this young talent into something that resembles a competitive football team.

However, I hope that the powers that be at this University start examining that short list of potential coaching replacements, because as much as I like Coach Weis as a person and as a representative of Notre Dame, next year is quite simply make-or-break for him. And I have no idea whether he can turn this team around over such a short span.

The delusional Notre Dame fan in myself believes he can, but that nagging realist has some real concerns over being able to compete against the USCs and Michigans of the world anytime in the near future.

Let's review the damage so far:

9 losses for the first time in history

Started 0-5 for the first time in history, having never started worse than 0-3 before.

Lost 6th straight home game to an opponent (MSU) for first time in history.

Worst home opening loss in history (33-3 to Georgia Tech)

Worst home loss in history (38-0 to USC)

I could go on and on, but this list of historical lows is positively Willingham-esque. The only positive I can take from this season is that we have talent coming in. It could be worse - if Willingham were still coaching, this season would probably have gone completely winless, with no positives in recruiting in sight. But I digress.

Now, keep in mind, I'm not calling for Weis' head. And I love the Weis family, and hope it never comes to that. I'm just saying that at 1-9, with what is undisputedly the worst season in Notre Dame history starting to wrap up, maybe we should start thinking about that conversation.

As for this week, I'm going to limit my posting, but I think we squeak out a win against 1-9 Duke. And, yes, I sad squeak out. This Duke team is a team that based on talent alone we should be able to beat by 30 with our second string.

But this year's team is like Humpty Dumpty.

All the king's horses and all the kings men...