Will Losing Michael Floyd Cost Charlie Weis His Job at Notre Dame?

Charlie Weis must feel as if the walls are closing in on him.

Sure, his team is 2-1 and lost in the last 11 seconds to an undefeated and ranked opponent. Still, it somehow seems like the breaks are going against the Notre Dame coach.

The opening game was a breeze, and maybe falsely reinforced that the Notre Dame defense would be equal to its offensive counterpart in a 35-0 beating of Nevada.

Against Michigan, not only was the defense a sieve, but Weis' questionable coaching decisions down the stretch clearly factored into the Irish loss.

In Week Three, it took a lucky interception to prevent another Notre Dame fourth quarter collapse. Again, there were questionable decisions made along the way.

Notre Dame opened by tearing through the Michigan State defense like a bullet through tissue paper, scoring twice before breaking a sweat.

On Notre Dame's third possession, however, Weis decided to run two plays from the wildcat formation, breaking from everything that worked on the previous possessions leading to the first surrendered sack of the year on 3rd-and-25.

Quickly Michigan State gained momentum, and for the rest of the first half gained control of the game.

Luckily for Weis, quarterback Jimmy Clausen had another gargantuan game, and Michigan State made the big mistake and the big moment and allowed the Irish off the hook.

Just prior to Kirk Cousins finding Kyle McCarthy to seal the game, Weis' life must have flashed before his eyes. Cousins overthrew a wide open State running back in the end zone that more than likely would have sent the Irish to defeat.

That balls flight must have felt like an eternity for Weis. His very legacy could be hanging in the balance. He must have flashed back to everything odd that has happened in the last two games to bring him here:

Several phantom holding penalties, personal foul calls that both extended opponents drives and killed Irish drives, a dropped interception that miraculously landed in the arms of a receiver...

Mostly he had to be thinking of the play that ended stand-out receiver Michael Floyd's season.

Late in the second quarter, Floyd caught what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown in the right corner of the end zone before falling out of bounds and landing hard, snapping his left clavicle.

Puzzlingly the referee near the play signaled "incomplete," and despite every video replay showing Floyd with possession of the ball and two feet in bounds—needing only one—before falling to the ground the call was upheld by video replay.

As the pass from Cousins floated to Spartan running back Larry Caper with no Irish defenders within 20 yards, Weis had to be haunted by the non-touchdown. Notre Dame settled for a field goal to pull within one at the half, and was holding on by only a three-point margin late in the fourth.

It seemed that at worst Michigan State would kick a game-tying field goal on its final possession. With the ghosts of a week ago still lingering, there wasn't a soul in Notre Dame Stadium that didn't believe that Larry Caper was going to haul the pass in for a touchdown.

Had Floyd's catch been correctly called a touchdown, the Spartans would have needed a touchdown to tie the game. Had Floyd not been injured, Notre Dame would stand a much better chance in a potential overtime period.

The pass was long and tipped harmlessly off of Caper's outstretched hands.

The Irish would prevail.

The relief for Weis must have been short-lived.

By the time the Notre Dame post-game press conferences were over, the landscape surrounding them had changed.

Michael Floyd was lost for the season.

USC lost to Notre Dame's next home opponent Washington.

Notre Dame's once easy schedule now looked anything but.

Last season a knee injury cost Michael Floyd the last four games. The Irish went 1-3 in those games, losing to Boston College, Syracuse, and USC. In those games, the Notre Dame offense went from potent to pathetic, and Jimmy Clausen's break-out season began to turn tragic.

Defenses found it easy to cover Golden Tate and Kyle Rudolph, and pressure Clausen while eliminating any hope of an Irish ground game.

Michael Floyd is the player that demands a double team, pulls a safety for containment, and essentially makes playing offense feel like 11 on 10.

Without Floyd, Washington, USC, Pittsburgh, and Stanford all become scary.

For Weis, this could be the end.

A 9-3 season could be tolerated if the team continues to improve and compete, but losing five games would almost certainly cost Weis his job.

He has shown that he is a legitimately brilliant offensive mind, but has shown equally that he doesn't understand college football.

In a game where momentum and emotion can overcome game plans, he often falls short by going for a fourth down that he shouldn't, throwing in a Wildcat series rather than making his opponent stop what is working, and he has developed an annoying habit of placing his players in do-or-die situations to cover for his bad decisions.

He has yet to learn that you can't win coaching like you have a reset button. If he can't learn to control himself, his fate may be out of his hands.

In fact, without Floyd, Charlie Weis' survival at Notre Dame rests in the hands of one man: Jimmy Clausen.

If Clausen can find Duval Kumara and Shaq Evans in place of Floyd, the Irish may be able to continue outscoring opponents. The Irish defense has shown little hope of holding a quality opponent under 27 points, so the offense is walking a tight rope.

Clausen has to continue his amazing season to keep the Irish headed in the right direction. He has to play mistake free football to keep the Notre Dame defense off the field. He has to get his team in the end zone five times a game to win.

And Weis has to let him.