Notre Dame Football - Spring 2009

The news coming out of South Bend this week seems a little familiar: Notre Dame football is back. Of course, pundits have been saying this for four straight years. Exactly the number of seasons Charlie Weiss has patrolled the sidelines for the Irish. Is this the year they return to glory? I’m predicting Glory-Lite.

Certainly the schedule favors the Irish. Only one Preseason Top 20 opponent is on the schedule - USC. Notre Dame has most of its tough opponents at home this season, including the Trojans, Boston College, and Michigan State. A fairly easy road schedule awaits in the fall with visits to Pittsburg, Stanford, and UConn. They also face Michigan on the road, but the Wolverines haven’t been relevant since, well, the Irish were!

Talent wise, the Irish have no excuses for another mediocre season. After three straight Top 10 recruiting classes (including #2 last year), Notre Dame is loaded with talent. If Charlie Weiss is going to make it to the end of his ridiculously long contract, he must produce a BCS bowl win this year. Last year’s bowl win over Hawaii allowed the Irish to run up gaudy stats on a weaker opponent. The win served as a temporary distraction to those still reeling from the 7-6 season and ended Notre Dame’s nine bowl game losing streak.

In order to be truly "back," Notre Dame has to win a major bowl. The expectations in South Bend run too high for Charlie Weiss to have another mediocre season. And even though the fans and alumni have high standards for Notre Dame football, the legacy could be starting to fade. Consider that nobody playing in Division 1 this season was alive when the Irish won their last championship. For the last decade, the BCS has served too many times to expose a Notre Dame team that was ranked more on hype and tradition than what was really happening on the field. That played out in embarrassing BCS losses to Oregon State, Ohio State, and LSU.

Weiss may be seeing the sub par seasons having an impact on recruiting. The class of 2009 is ranked 21st. Most coaches would die for a class that good, but considering their string of top ten classes, it is a drop in recruiting performance.

The pressure is also on quarterback Jimmy Clausen. The all-everything prospect coming out of high school had the arrogance to announce his school selection at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend. Since then, he’s been anything but a Hall of Famer. It’s time for Clausen to back up the brash "I’ve arrived" talk by leading the Irish to a place they haven’t been in his lifetime: competing for a National Championship.

During the off-season, Weiss toyed with the idea of coaching from up in the press box, due to team’s success in the Hawaii Bowl. He was nursing two bad knees at the time, and chose not to work the sidelines on crutches. However, after talking to coaching friends, he has decided to move back to the field. Notre Dame football kicks off September 5th against Nevada. The coach is back. The Irish are back. Hopefully for Irish fans, the disappointment at the end of the season isn’t back.

Notre Dame football tickets are already in great demand for all home games at storied Notre Dame Stadium, including Nevada, Michigan State, Washington, USC, Boston College, The Navy & Uconn. Notre Dame will be on the road in 2009 against Michigan and Purdue as well as Stanford and Pittsburgh.

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