Navy-Notre Dame: Navy Sinks Charlie Weis and Notre Dame

Charlie Weis has long held admiration and respect for the U.S. Naval Academy and its Midshepmen football team.

Unfortunately, he forgot to pass that respect on to his team.

At Notre Dame Stadium Saturday, Navy executed a perfect attack and Notre Dame repeatedly shot itself in the foot allowing the Middies to a second straight win at the House that Rockne Built and Lou Holtz Expanded.

The loss dealt a serious blow to the Fighting Irish program, as it casts a deep dark shadow of doubt over their bowl hopes and the future of the coach.

The Irish team has been walking a tight rope of sorts all year, playing close and sweating out wins in the last seconds of games that should have been safely put away earlier.

They have been relying on the offense to outscore the opponent, as the defense has stopped almost no one all year. Finally, the offense had a bad game and the Irish came up just short.

For Weis, the loss brings him several large steps closer to the abyss. With 8-1 Pittsburgh, a tough Connecticut team, and Stanford who put of 51 points on No. 8 Oregon remaining on the schedule, a nine-win campaign is all but lost.

Another 6-6 season is looking more and more probable. Under Weis, Notre Dame continues to struggle against teams with winning records.

Frustrating for Weis is the fact that he did not necessarily lose the game, rather his players did.

Everything simply went wrong.

Usually, if your team is in the red zone on its first eight possessions, racks 512 yards in offense, and never punts, you're going to win.

But the Irish failed to score on all but one of those red zone trips, missing two field goals, failing to score on a 4th-and-goal from the one, having a fumble at the goal line, and a weird interception off of the back of Michael Floyd.

The defense was a bad, but it has been all year. With the Irish team that had been there all season, this was still a game that Notre Dame should have won. With the offensive production that the Irish achieved, they should have easily outscored the Midshipmen.

But they don't give points for should have, so Notre Dame fell.

The loss is devastating in several respects.

Despite turning in Heisman-like numbers, putting up career highs in completions, attempts, and yardage (37/51, 452 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), the teams loss and his inability to lead the Irish back once again will almost certainly also eliminate Jimmy Clausen from the Heisman race.

It may also push him closer to turning pro, as it becomes more and more apparent that he will have to learn a new offensive system next year.

Falling to 6-3 on the year and having only one "quality" win over Boston College, the loss makes meeting season goals in wins and prestige all but impossible.

Notre Dame's schedule is beginning to look as weak as it appeared in preseason. Michigan has descended back into hot mess territory, Purdue and Michigan State are very average, Washington is improved but languishing at 3-6, USC is in fact down, Washington State is gawd awful, and Notre Dame lost to the Naval Academy who lost to Temple the week before.

A 6-3 record versus that schedule should put any Irish coach in jeopardy.

With the finish to the schedule looking to be some of the hardest games of the season, only a 3-0 rally by the Irish could bring the program to where expectations had placed it.

Wins at Pittsburgh and at Stanford will make a 9-3 finish very unlikely.

BCS bowl talk is over.

New Year's bowl talk should quiet.

With a 7-5 or 6-6 record very possible, the calls for Charlie Weis's job are accelerating to screams.

The loss to Navy may not have been coaching, but it was a brutal reminder for many that this very talented Notre Dame team is nowhere near playing at its potential.

Notre Dame has a size and speed advantage at every position over the Midshipmen, as they did against Purdue, Washington, and Michigan. All games should have been decided in the third quarter, yet two were lost, one went to overtime, and the last was in doubt well into the final minute.

The talent is not developing. The team is not gelling.

The same can be said for last year. The team is falling apart down the stretch and is incapable of pulling away from opponents. The opposing coaches make better and faster adjustments than Notre Dame's coaches do, and the inexperience and youth on defense is usually playing out of position.

Recruiting has been good at bringing in talent, but was it the right talent? The Irish are loaded at RB, WR, and QB, but what about the O-line and the defense?

Looking to next year, the talent in place may not be. Standout LB Manti Te'o may be off on his Mormon Mission, Clausen and Tate may be playing on Sundays, and Dayne Crist may not be available until the season has already begun.

The dark ships on the horizon now seem to be closing in, cannons blazing, sinking the Charlie Weis era at Notre Dame.

The Midshipmen didn't start the onslaught, but they may have fired the fatal salvo.

No longer can the Irish ineptitude be blamed on Ty Willingham, or developing players, or lack of leadership.

Weis himself said it at the seasons outset. "No more excuses. It's time to put up."

Weis is out of excuses. And time has run out.

Short of a miracle, Notre Dame's coaching search begins anew in three weeks.