Irish Eyes Are Not Smiling: Notre Dame Football Mired In Mediocrity

The 2008 season has been one bitter pill to swallow for fans and alumni of the Fighting Irish.

In some ways, this year has been even more alarming than last season’s 3-9 debacle: There was the shellacking by USC in the Coliseum, the humiliation of losing at home to Syracuse, and the persistent rumors of Charlie Weis no longer finding himself welcomed in South Bend.

In Wednesday’s win over Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl, Notre Dame was able to salvage what was left of a miserable season—but barely.

Some would have you believe the poise, precision, and moxy you saw from Jimmy Clausen in the bowl game is just a taste of what you can expect in his third season in the saddle. These optimists will also try to convince you the “outstanding” defense that will have many of its starters returning in 2009 will be as imposing and problematic for offenses as it was against the Warriors.

They may even persuade you to think Weis finally put it all together and next season will silence all the critics, pundits, and boosters who have called for his head over the last two seasons. My take?

Don’t believe the hype!

Sure, Christmas came a day early for Weis and the Irish, as they finally ended their NCAA record nine-game bowl losing streak.

Yes, Notre Dame set a school-record for points scored in a bowl game and earned its first bowl victory since 1994. And I can’t deny Jimmy C. looked like the real McCoy, the offense finally clicked on all cylinders, and the defense seemed to have an extra bounce in its step.

But with all due respect…who cares?

They beat Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl. Not a BCS team in a January Bowl, but rather they defeated a WAC team in a WACK bowl (does anyone say “wack” anymore?).

Former Hawaii Bowl winners include Tulane, Nevada, and East Carolina. Not exactly what comes to mind when you discuss the powerhouses of collegiate football.

“I told the team that’s the only thing I wanted (for Christmas). I just wanted to win a bowl game,” said Weis after the game.

With such contentment and satisfaction coming from the coach after a superficial win like this, one must ask how bad Notre Dame Football has become? How low have the expectations fallen at South Bend, that an insignificant bowl win over a fourth place WAC team is seen as a step in the right direction?

This is Notre Dame, arguably the most storied college football program in America. Since 1936, it is the school with the most national titles (eight), the most Heisman winners (seven), and its own television contract with a major network. The home of Touchdown Jesus, Rudy, The Four Horsemen, Knute Rockne, and the slogan "Play Like a Champion."

This year marks the 20th season since the Fighting Irish's last national title, won under coach Lou Holtz. That makes this the longest drought for the Irish program since winning its first championship in 1924.

A 7-6 season and a win in a Christmas Eve bowl is acceptable for Air Force, Navy, and Pitt (all teams who have defeated Notre Dame in the last few seasons), not the Irish.

Now, it is true that Notre Dame has a lot more competition these days when it comes to enticing the top players across the country and convincing them to meet their academic standards. There is validity in the argument that the television deal with NBC doesn’t mean as much with an increasing amount of schools being exposed to a national audience.

However, each year under Weis the Irish have amassed some of the top recruiting classes and, despite their recent failures, have preserved the mystique which surrounds this program like no other.

The New York Yankees, which is the only other organization in sports that possesses the same aura, despite not having won a World Series in eight years, have and never will settle for mediocrity—a point further proven by this season’s spending spree in a terrible economy.

The Irish, on the other hand, seem to have done exactly that.

When Charlie Weis was brought in four years ago from the New England Patriots, it was to instill a winning attitude, restore the program to its former glory, and above all, bring home a National Championship. On all accounts, the coach has failed and has brought the school no closer to a title than they were with Ty Willingham at the helm.

Next season is gut-check time for Charlie and the Irish (no pun intended). They must find the capacity within themselves to restore the dignity that has been visibly lacking from a once storied program.

Because if together they fail, Notre Dame Football will not bring to mind trophies or legends, but rather simply how the mighty have fallen.