CFI: IRISH HOPING TO AVOID LOSS NO. 9

BY SHANNON O’KEEFE
NOTRE DAME INSIDER

Charlie Weis may have been the butt of biggest loser jokes before, what with the popularity of the TV show by the same name and his infamous malpractice suit and near-death experience following gastric bypass surgery. Now, however, Weis is in danger of having the name stick. Potentially for the next 119 years.

The Irish are currently 1-8 and one loss away from being the biggest losers in Notre Dame football history. In a season where one can only discuss the ineptitudes of the team for so long without feeling faintly ill and turning to those same antidepressants whose advertisements glitter more brightly than the games they interrupt, many are putting the team to one side and picking on the coach.

Pre-game discussion has turned away from starters (Jimmy Clausen will once again replace Evan Sharpley at quarterback); injury reports (nose tackle Pat Kuntz’s status is uncertain, while free safety David Bruton will return to the field); intangibles (Trevor Laws is on track to set a school single season record for most tackles by a defensive lineman), matchups (Air Force’s Chad Hall is coming off a school-record 275 yard rushing game against Army); and even projections (the Irish are underdogs at home).

Instead, attention has turned to Irish head coach, Charlie Weis, who is in his third season in South Bend. Bloggers blog on about the merit of his contract extension, fans boo and jeer, and suddenly everyone is talking about race – about whether the University’s decision to keep Weis on when Ty Willingham was fired after three less-than-stellar seasons means the decision makers are racially biased.

In the eyes of this columnist, who has great respect for Willingham and donned a I (heart) Ty t-shirt through both wins and losses, Weis is a good coach and a great recruiter. The team is going to slowly make its way back to the national forefront under his watch, and he’s not going anywhere. Still, at the end of a season this bad, I understand wanting something – anything – to talk about.

Let’s get it back to the game. The Irish desperately need a win – for the record and for the morale of their team, coaches, and fans. Will they get one? Yes, but just barely.