Notre Dame's Been on One Long Road Back, Winning Next Three Means It's Arrived

Holding the position of head coach at the University of Notre Dame is a stressful endeavor. Many wilt before the scrutiny and expectations of one of sport's more storied jobs. It takes a special blend of football acumen and ego to withstand the spotlight that seems to beam down from heaven itself.

Following the talent scrubbing that Ty Willingham gave the program in his last two years in South Bend, and the building pressure of restoring a once dominant program from a decade of mediocrity the job has become even more of a quagmire.

If ever there were a man with ego enough to fill the position, it is Charlie Weis.

The only thing that Weis has proven in his five years in South Bend is that he is not lacking in self confidence. His persona oozes empowerment, and his boastful style had drawn considerable scorn from fan and press alike.

To say that Weis's tenure at Notre Dame has been up and down would be a stark understatement.

Following two dismal campaigns and shallow recruiting classes at the end of the Willingham era, Weis immediately seemed to light a fire beneath the golden dome. Quickly Notre Dame re-emerged into the national spotlight and into the BCS picture, winning 19 of 25 games.

Despite record performances on offense, there were still plenty for the critics to question. Notre Dame beat most of their lesser opponents, but struggled against schools with a winning record and was embarrassed twice on the BCS stage.

The knock became that Notre Dame couldn't win the big game, as over 2006 and 2007 the Irish went 2-5 against teams with more than eight wins. The 2006 season then ended badly as Notre Dame lost consecutive games to USC and LSU in blow-out fashion.

Then 2007 happened.

The nightmare that was the 2007 Notre Dame football season was a perfect storm of negatives that led to the worst season in school history.

Poor recruiting in 2003 and 2004 had left the team without upper-class talent, and the team found itself starting 16 players sophomore or younger.

To add to the depth chart woes, nine of Notre Dame's 12 opponents that year ended in a bowl game. Penn State, Michigan, Boston College, USC, and Air Force all finished with nine wins or better. There were only three teams on Notre Dame's schedule that finished less than .500.

And the Irish beat them all.

Still, no Irish team had lost nine games in one year. It took Lou Holtz half a decade to reach nine losses. The embarrassment and anger was palpable. It seemed inconceivable that Notre Dame...NOTRE DAME...could sink so low.

The Davie era was bad...Ty Willingham had some clunkers...but nine losses?

Cries for Weis's head grew into a chant.

But really, apart from an overtime loss to an 8-4 Navy team that won a bowl game, Notre Dame was clearly outmatched athletically in every game. Winning three games, beating a decent UCLA team and a rising Stanford team, should actually be commended. The 2007 schedule was one of the more difficult that any team has fielded in the last 10 years, and Notre Dame faced it with their weakest squad ever.

Still, the Weis death march had begun.

The 2008 season saw more ups and downs for the program, before stumbling at Michigan State. Then again to North Carolina.

The team meandered to a 7-6 finish, losing an overtime heartbreaker to Pittsburgh and being dumped at home by a 2-8 Syracuse team. Despite improvements everywhere on the field, and still averaging Sophomore in age, Weis's job security remained in doubt with daily updates on ESPN hoping to break the story that never came.

If nothing else, Weis's recruiting efforts kept him in South Bend. Three consecutive top-10 classes have filled the program with young talent. And that talent is beginning to emerge.

Quarterback Jimmy Clausen had a solid year in 2008, but mental errors and untimely interceptions hurt his reputation and the Irish in several games. Beginning in the bowl game versus Hawaii, Clausen emerged not only as the quarterback he was hoped to be and a potential Heisman candidate, but as the team's unquestioned leader.

To help Clausen are a deep and talented group of receivers and tight ends, a solid group of running backs, and an offensive line that continues to improve. Weis has built an offensive group that is poised to pull this team out of respectability and back to prominence.

The defense remains Notre Dame's Achilles' heel, and again with an influx of young talent—and blitz happy schemes of John Tenuta—Notre Dame's hope that the defense is on the rise.

This year, despite the team beginning 3-1 and only having lost to a still undefeated Michigan squad on a last-second score, the critics are many and loud.

Notre Dame gets little credit for a win, with talking heads (you know who you are, Mark May) spouting that "Notre Dame SHOULD win that game." Following a loss, or in the case of the last two weeks a near miss, the pundits offer that Notre Dame is faltering, and not really as good as their record indicates.

Weis's tendency to play games wide open, and annoying habit to buck logic and statistics alike and go for fourth downs early and often, and try to PASS out the clock continues to puzzle his critics and keep a fairly sizable group expecting his demise at the end of the year.

They say that you can't win a championship with Weis. He can't beat good teams.

Unfortunately, the record book backs them up.

In his five years, Weis has amassed a 32-22 record. In games against teams at .500 or better, Weis is 9-20. Many of those losses were of the blow-out variety.

If you toss 2007 and blame that year totally on Ty Willingham, the ratio looks much better at 9-11, but the critics would point to losses to Air Force and Navy and say that no Irish squad should ever lose to Air Force AND Navy.

What his critics won't say is that since Weis's arrival, Notre Dame rarely loses to teams that they should beat. Against teams finishing with a sub .500 mark, Notre Dame is 23-2. They also will not mention that of the six losses in 2008, only USC and Boston College beat Notre Dame from gun to gun. The other losses were close games that didn't break Notre Dame's way.

It would be easy to hang those four losses on coaching. Believe me, I've tried. There exists the truth that the team was young. Sure bad decisions were made, but in the end it was lack of depth on defense and the offensive line that did the Irish in.

Entering the 2009 season, Weis said that the time for talk was over, "now it's time to put up."

If ever there were a time to fulfill those words, the time is now.

Over the next four weeks, Notre Dame will play three home games that could silence many of the critics hounding the Irish and their coach. To win all three games would mean that Notre Dame would beat three teams at or better than .500. It would also mean knocking off a perennial national power.

It all starts Saturday against the Washington Huskies. The defense will have its hands full with Jake Locker and Co., but the game should serve as a prelude to the game that Weis absolutely needs to win.

USC.

Having lost to Washington, USC has already had their annual hiccup. They are still a top-15 team. They are still owners of a long winning streak versus the Irish. They are still the one team on Notre Dame's schedule that no one thinks the Irish can beat.

Then comes Boston College. Down perhaps this year, but still sitting at 3-1 and remaining the constant foil for Notre Dame. No matter what the record, the Eagles always bring their best to South Bend.

Should the Irish win out this home stand, they would head to San Antonio a different team: 6-1, absolutely in the top 20, and in control of their BCS bowl chances.

It would also likely mean that Jimmy Clausen has continued playing like a champion, and would be moving further into the Heisman race, as well as moving higher on Mel Kieper's draft board (should he enter the draft).

Three wins would also legitimize Notre Dame's return, and give a boost to Weis's reputation. The critics would have to recognize that Weis would not lose his job, and the focus could return to the team rather than the coach.

Three wins would leave little doubt that the program is on the right path, and is headed back to where Notre Dame should be:

The top.