What now?

Notre Dame football is in a very poor position right now, obviously. A few streaming thoughts about the state of our program following a beat down by the Air Force Academy this past Saturday:

1. "Things are never as good or as bad as they seem." Lou Holtz

We have young talent, and more coming in with this recruiting class. A lot of young players need an offseason or two before things "click". I certainly hope that is the case with our talented freshman and sophomore classes. I expect them to get better this offseason, significantly better.

2. Firing Charlie Weis is not an option. Think about it, then move on. Nothing to see here folks. Firing Weis would set back our program 10 years, and dissolve quite possibly the greatest recruiting class in the history of Notre Dame. We inked him to 10 years, and whether we like it or not, we are tied to him as a football program. As he goes, so will we.

3. Jimmy Clausen is improving. Hard to point that out with the state of our offense. Against a subpar Air Force defense, Clausen completed 55% of his passes, which didnt include 5 drops that were WR miscues. He had 260 yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions or fumbles. At the end of this year, he is starting to look like what we expected. I think he is more poised and accurate than Brady Quinn was at the same age. Above I said that our program is tied to Weis. We are also tied to Jimmy - if he's not playing or not playing well, so will be the state of our program.

4. Weis has messed this season up considerably, and gets the largest slice of the "blame pie". He has been teaching calculus to kids that need addition and subtraction learning. He did not transition his coaching to a style thats better for younger, more inexperienced players.

5. This is only Weis's 4th year as a head coach at any level, and his first with a "young" team. Weis has been served a boat load of the Patriots famed "Humble Pie" this season; lets hope that he has learned and will adapt with all the lessons he hopefully has learned this season. For example, I hope that he realizes that in college football, its more about talent and execution than it is at the pro level, where talent and experience are relatively even. In the pro game, X's and O's are much more important with the playing field more even. Not so in college.

With an easier schedule in 2008 (remove Georgia Tech, Penn St, UCLA, & Air Force, add San Diego St, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, & Syracuse), and young talent that should improve, there is no way Weis shouldnt win 7 games next year. If he doesn't win 7 next year, fire him. That wont happen though, as I think you can take 8-4 or better to the bank next year. Mark it down.