Note: mostly written during 2008, the entry below only increased in relevance after Charlie went 6-6 with his “best” team in 2009. See you, Tuna. Maybe in some town (sorry KC) you’ll learn to wipe your nose.

After starting 2008 4-1, Charlie Weis’s team proceeded to stink up several football fields with uninspired performances and losses to the likes of Syracuse. Students were reduced to lobbing snowballs at the team in hopes of seeing something like an accurate throw in Notre Dame Stadium.

The team got steadily worse as the season went on and the final drubbing at USC was a foregone conclusion. Calls for Charlie’s arrogant head were loud through November but in the end, ND decided to keep him around so he can lend his kryptonite presence to the much-vaunted recruiting classes. Sites such as the pull-no-punches chuckweis.com pull no punches as they count up his accomplishments, which include these highlights:

1. • Charlie Weis Bowl Wins - 0
   

2. • Charlie Weis marquee wins - 0
   

3. • First loss to Navy since 1964 - (2007)
   

4. • Finished 2007 season last in D-I in offense.
   

5. • Highest  2 season loss total ever (2007-2008)
   

6. • First lost ever to an 8 loss team (Syracuse 2008)
   

7. • Lost Senior Day game at home to a lame duck coach (Syracuse 2008)
   

8. • Now 0-4 against annual rival USC, losing by a combined 154-58
   

Now it’s off to the C-class Hawaii Bowl, a “classic” that manages to miss New Years Day and the real bowl dates by more than a week (Dec 24).

Some background:

By October 2007 when Notre Dame had gone 1-6 (modest compared to disasters to follow) Charlie Weis was apparently too annoyed at reading about his own record and cancelled

his subscription to the South Bend Tribune. This classic bit of Bushian avoidance of bad news is yet another sign of the New Jersey boy-wonder’s disconnect with reality. Of course the reality is pretty bleak: his 2007 team has broken every school record for futility and ineptitude.  In order to preserve its historic string of sellouts, the university has taken a Chicago approach – although it’s fans and not voters it’s counting twice. And the TV ratings? Toilet bowl. The sign of a good coach is whether he inspires his team to play above themselves. Nobody said the 2007 Fighting Irish were anything more than mediocre, but Weis has taken a group that might rank in the sixties and coached them right into the cellar at number 119 – virtual last place among major football programs. Saddest are the desperate lengths fans are willing to go to avoid the sad truth. On some message boards, posters are warning others not to say anything bad about ND, lest a possible recruit read the post. Sadly, recruits don’t need to read negative posts, they just need watch ND on TV.

More Background: The 2008 season began with ND tied for number 41 in the AP poll. Right down there with that powerhouse Tulsa. Upwards movement will be delayed - beating a supposedly lame San Diego St team by 8 when the spread had you a 21-point fave is not impressive.