In a move that will shock next to nobody, Notre Dame fired head coach Charlie Weis on Monday according to NBC Sports.com.

In the end, Weis went 35-27 in his five years as Irish head coach, a .565 winning percentage that was worse than the .583 posted by his two predecessors, Tyrone Willingham and Bob Davie. They were both fired, too. He leaves with one of the worst winning percentages of any Fighting Irish coach: Only four of Notre Dame’s previous 27 coaches won at a lower percentage.

Among the people considered likely candidates are Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly, TCU coach Gary Patterson and Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. The task for athletic director Jack Swarbrick, who is in his second year on the job, is to find a coach who can end the longest title drought in Notre Dame history.

It’s amazing to think that when it’s all said and done, Weis was one of the worst to ever coach at Notre Dame. He got off to such a promising start, but his crop of recruits never panned out (save for quarterback Jimmy Clausen and receiver Golden Tate), especially on the defensive side of the ball.

It’ll be interesting to see where Weis will wind up after this. My guess would be in the NFL as an offensive coordinator, but I’m sure smaller programs would love to have him as their head coach. If he does stay in the collegiate ranks, it would be interesting to see if he would have any success or if his future is in the NFL as a coordinator.

I would like to see what Brian Kelly could do at Notre Dame. The man turned little known Grand Valley State into a D-3 powerhouse, Central Michigan in a MAC champion and Cincinnati into a national title contender. That’s not to say that he’ll have success at Notre Dame too, but give him three years and I’m willing to bet that he’ll make a winner out of the Irish yet again.

That said, it would also be nice if a coach like Kelly showed a little loyalty to his program. He left CMU in the lurch right before the Motor City Bowl a couple years ago and to coach at Notre Dame, he would have to do the same to Cincinnati. I realize the opportunity to coach at Notre Dame doesn’t come around often for head coaches, but the Bearcats finally have something brewing and Kelly is the reason for that.

Again, it would be nice to see a college coach stick around for longer than 2-3 years before screwing their program.

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For the third year in a row, NC State got the best of its in-state rival.

The Wolf Pack beat No. 24 North Carolina 28-27 on Saturday after rallying from down 24-14 at halftime. Sophomore quarterback Russell Wilson was outstanding while racking up 258 passing yards and four touchdowns on 20 of 27 passing. NC State’s defense also forced two turnovers and held North Carolina to just three points in the second half.

In the first half, Tar Heels quarterback T.J. Yates was incredible. He completed just 6 of 8 passes, but it went for 201 yards and two touchdowns on 25.1 yards per pass. But in the second half, he finished just 7-for-11 for 74 yards and an interception.

After ratting off four straight wins including impressive outings against Virginia Tech and Miami, this was a disappointing end for North Carolina – especially considering how good the Teels looked in the first half.

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Brady Quinn is standing by his former college coach and says that Notre Dame should too.

From ESPN.com:

“Personally I think it would be a horrible decision if they did make that change,” Quinn said. “I think there are a lot of circumstances that play into seasons like this. Hopefully he’ll have an opportunity to have another year with the guys.”
Quinn said it’s tough to pinpoint why the Fighting Irish have slipped nationally.

“I know as a player there, one of the things we prided ourselves on was winning games and not worrying about stats or individual accolades, but pulling through tight games and winning games and going in there and fighting every week,” Quinn said.

“I think if you’ve got enough talent on that team, there’s guys that need to pull together and start finding ways to win.”
One of the arguments often given for Notre Dame’s struggles is that the school’s high academic standards make it difficult to recruit. Quinn sees it differently.

“It plays to their advantage, too, that smart players on the team are able to do a lot more from a schematic standpoint and prepare for teams in better fashion than other teams,” he said.

It’s nice of his former player to stick up for him in the media, but Weis is done. It’s apparent that he can’t get Notre Dame to where it wants to be and he can’t recruit on the defensive side of the ball.

The real question is whether or not Weis will wind up back in the NFL or if he’ll stay in the college ranks. He’ll find a job somewhere (most likely it won’t be as a head coach), so it’ll be interesting to see where he winds up. My guess is that he’ll take over as an offensive coordinator back in the pros, but who knows at this point.

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While the attention will primarily be on No. 6 Boise State, Nevada has plenty to play for when the two teams clash at Bronco Stadium on Friday night.

The Wolf Pack has won eight straight games coming into tonight’s contest and a win would mean a guaranteed share of the WAC title. They’ve given the Broncos trouble the past two years, losing by only a combined nine points.

Boise State’s mission tonight is simple: Stop the run. Nevada has the top rushing attack in the nation and have three 1,000-yard rushers. The Broncos simply haven’t seen a running game as good as the Wolf Pack offers and have had trouble with teams that can run right up the gut. Still, they’re only allowing 115 rushing yards per game and dominated other top ground attacks in Fresno State and Idaho.

On the other side of the ball, Nevada’s defense better be ready to step up. The Wolf Pack rank 119th in the nation in pass defense and is giving up 286.27 yards per game. Kellen Moore must be licking his chops to take on such a horrid secondary, but he needs to limit turnovers that will give Nevada scoring opportunities.

Outside of a home game against a 3-8 New Mexico State team, this is it for Boise State: Get past Nevada on Black Friday and their BCS dreams will stay alive.

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It’s rivalry week!

No. 3 Texas at Texas A&M, 8:00PM ET, Thursday
Texas A&M have beaten Colt McCoy two of the last three seasons and will look to spoil Texas’s shot at a national title when the teams meet on Thanksgiving. The only problem is that the Aggies have the 110th ranked pass defense in the country and McCoy could torch them repeatedly. With so much on the line, don’t count on Texas overlooking their in-state rivals on Thursday.
Odds: Texas –21.

No. 2 Alabama at Auburn, 2:30PM ET, Friday
Auburn will be looking to ruin Alabama’s national title hopes by knocking off the Crimson Tide in the teams’ annual Iron Bowl meeting. Auburn hopes its spread offense and 11th best running game will be successful against ‘Bama’s top ranked defense.
Odds: Alabama –10.

Nevada at Boise State, 10:00PM ET, Friday
Even there’s any team that could ruin Boise State’s bid for a national title it’s Nevada, who has only lost by a combined nine points to the Broncos the past two years. The Wolf Pack have won eight in a row and could snag a share of the WAC title with a win on Boise’s blue turf this Friday. How will Boise’s defense stack up to the nation’s top ranked rushing attack?
Odds: Boise State –14.

Florida State at No. 1 Florida, 3:30PM Saturday
Tim Tebow will be playing his final home game of his collegiate career on Saturday when the Gators host Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles. Florida has won 21 straight games, but it needs two more victories to secure a spot in the national title game. The Gators have won the past five meetings vs. the Seminoles and lead the all-time series 32-19-2.
Odds: Florida –24.5.

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According to a report by ESPN.com, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen was punched in the face by an irate fan outside a South Bend resturant early Sunday morning.

The report states that Clausen has a swollen eye from the incident, although he’s still expected to play this weekend against Stanford.

That person said Clausen was “sucker-punched” by a fan as he left an establishment after having dinner with his parents.
The fan allegedly said something to Clausen and/or a female acquaintance.

A South Bend police spokesman said that no police reports were filed over the weekend involving Clausen, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The newspaper also reported that the name of the bar was CJ’s and that a bartender at the establishment said that Clausen had been there with family members and other Irish upperclassmen after Notre Dame’s loss to Connecticut on Senior Day.

If you’re an Irish fan, why punch Clausen? Out of all the players and coaches that have under performed on that team this season, Clausen would be the last guy you would punch, right? (I’m being factious by the way – fans shouldn’t be touching any player or coach no matter how much Charlie Weis screws the pooch.)

Either way, things are definitely getting a little testy in South Bend these days.

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