Read Sports Geek and Loyal Homer’s argument about which game will be the best to watch during this weekend of the season.
I thought we all agreed that we were not going to pay attention to Notre Dame any more until Charlie Weis either left town or PROVED he could field a team WORTH the Fighting Irish name.
Nevertheless, here we sit going into the first weekend of the college football season, and Notre Dame has been getting just as much press as any other team in the nation.
So, why am I now arguing that this is the game to watch this weekend? I will be watching it for two reasons.
Reason Number 1 – Is this the last season that Charlie Weis coaches in South Bend?
There is no coach in the nation that that NEEDS to win this week more than Charlie Weis! After a successful start to his career as head coach at Notre Dame (thanks in large part to many of Tyrone Willingham’s recruits), Charlie Weis has turned into a disappointment (which has drawn a lot of ire from many Notre Dame fans). Following two of the worst seasons in Notre Dame’s history, Weis MUST turn in a winner this year if he intends to stay employed as head coach of the Fighting Irish beyond this season.
Fortunately for Weis, he has the media on his side – at least for now.
While people have been critical of Weis’ past performance, expectations are very high for the Fighting Irish in 2009. The team is ranked 23rd in the AP preseason top-25 poll, and former coach cum talking head Lou Holtz even went so far as to put Notre Dame in the BCS Championship (although I think he is a LITTLE biased). Personally, I think it is a bit premature to call Notre Dame one of the best 25 teams in the nation, and demand proof from Notre Dame before I buy into the hype.
That is why the game against Nevada is so important. This Saturday is the time when all that talk becomes irrelevant, and all the responsibility falls on Weis to live up to those expectations. That is when we will find out if the “buzz” has just been hype, or if Notre Dame is really worthy of being in the top-25.
Reason Number 2 – Nevada could win this game!
Despite what “Doctor Lou” says Notre Dame will NOT be playing in the National Championship game this year. In fact, the only reason they have cracked the preseason top 25 is because of MODERATE success against a WEAK schedule last year, followed up with another WEAK schedule in 2009. When you look at the combined 2008 records for the teams on Notre Dame’s schedule in 2009, they come to 76-77 (with 12 of those wins coming from USC alone). It is easy to win seven games when those seven matchups are against teams like Purdue (4-8), Michigan (3-9), San Diego State (2-10), Stanford (5-7), and Washington (0-12). People seem to forget that Notre Dame also LOST last year to Syracuse (3-9), and only scored a COMBINED 10 points against USC (12-1), Michigan State (9-4), and Boston College (9-5).
Notre Dame expectations right now are little more than the overrated product of the hype-machine that is the national media.
That is not to say that they WILL lose to Nevada, but they COULD. Nevada returns several VERY talented players on offense, including the 2008 WAC Offensive Player of the Year, junior quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who passed for more than 2,800 yards, and threw 22 touchdowns against only seven interceptions. Also returning this year is junior running back Vai Taua, who last year rushed for over 1,500 yards and scored 15 touchdowns for the Wolfpack. The explosiveness of Kaepernick and Taua may be too much for Notre Dame’s defense to handle, which may be improved from last year but still is unproven.
Saturday’s game in South Bend could go a long way toward determining the future for Charlie Weis and the Fighting Irish. We will find out if the last two years were just a bump in the road, or if Charlie Weis will join the ranks of Tyrone Willingham and Gerry Faust. It is do-or-die time Charlie… what’s it gonna be?!
