To Bowl, Or Not to Bowl?

We’re going to go ahead and just ignore all of the speculation about the Notre Dame coaching situation. We’re going to let Rob Ianello enjoy being the head of football operations for this piece of writing.

To bowl, or not to bowl? That is the question.

We’re going to say that Notre Dame fans need a bowl game. And we’re going to go ahead and say that the Notre Dame players do not need a bowl game.

Wait, what? No bowl game?

You heard right. If it were up to the fans of Notre Dame, the team would be playing in a bowl game, no doubt. Hell, if it were up to the fans, the Irish would play in more than one bowl game. Every fan wants to see one more game.

Every fan wants to see Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate wearing gold helmets… for one last time.

What am I insinuating? I am insinuating that Clausen and Tate are gone now. With Weis gone, the only coach they have known in their college days, these players will choose to move on as well. It is probably more certain with Clausen, but after the phenomenal year Tate had, it’s probably a done deal with him, too.

The team has experienced such a vast range of emotions this year that it would drain on even the greatest of players. I would be worn down, ready for the next step if I had the skill and opportunity. Clausen and Tate have both, and it would not surprise me if they choose to end the disappointment they have found in South Bend and move on to bigger things. And this brings me back to the original point.

I’m sure every player would love to suit up for a final game, a shot at one final victory. But then they must consider what is best for themselves and their teammates. Why take a few more weeks preparing for a game that essentially does not matter when that time could be used to prepare for more important things? Like next season?

And why waste three or four weeks to play in a pointless bowl when juniors and seniors with NFL aspirations could use the early jump on preparing for the combine and pro days?

The season is basically lost. A 9-3 record would have been a minor disappointment, with any more than 4 losses being a total disappointment. Well here we are, the Irish are 6-6. This season was “BCS or Bust” and it was just that, a Bust. Why risk injury to potential starters of the future in a game that will not change the way the season is viewed? Why risk injury to those select few players who are NFL-ready in a game that will not impress anyone?

The bowl game would basically be the “Nobody Bowl”… as in no team of significance is playing this game. Notre Dame can no longer be considered significant because it has no true head coach, it has stars that are seemingly ready to depart, and it will suffer rebuilding under the new head coach whether Domers like to think about it or not. The opponent would be similar: a middle-of-the-pack team that wasn’t significant enough to make noise at the top of its conference

Notre Dame still does have bright spots in its future: Michael Floyd, Kyle Rudolph, and Manti Te’o, just to rattle off the big ones. But these bright spots should look to next season and recognize the task of rebuilding. They must prepare to lead a team that will struggle if Clausen and/or Tate leave. A bowl game does not speed up the process of “moving on,” which will be difficult enough as it is.

I would consider myself a relentless follower of the Irish, the most loyal of Golden Domers, defending my team against any individual who speaks ill of it. But I am also a realist. There is much more for Notre Dame and its athletes to lose from playing in a bowl game than there is to gain. A loss would add further insult, while a win would do nothing to save the image of the team. Injuries could happen, and time is wasted that could be spent preparing for the future.

It hurts to say, because I would feel lost without ND in a bowl game, but I believe “Not to Bowl” is the answer. Putting myself in the shoes of a player ready to move on, I would look towards the fresh start that will come with whoever the new head coach turns out to be.

I would rather be in the weight room preparing to shock the nation in the new coach’s first year than to be in the Insignificant Bowl.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls"

I walk through Notre Dame’s campus with a companion on Saturday evening, and I hear church bells ringing. It gives you the chills, really.

Notre Dame on a cold November night, your breath is visible. There is a certain calming peacefulness to the whole situation. Images of the movie Rudy play in your mind. There is a spirit at Notre Dame, and a loyal Domer can feel it everywhere on campus.

Hearing the church bells as fans poured out of Notre Dame Stadium exemplified that spirit to me. It seemed to signal the end of Charlie Weis’ tenure as head coach. It was as if the whole campus, living or not, knew that the final home game of the season meant the end for Charlie and his “schematic advantage.”

A two-overtime loss to the Connecticut Huskies and a loss on senior day for the second consecutive year left me struggling to figure out just how I felt about my trip to South Bend as I walked in the cold night air.

First, out of frustration with a loss, I wanted to say that the trip was a waste of time and gas money. I could have been at home, watching football on TV and saving my money for the holidays.

But that’s not right. No matter the outcome, I always appreciate an opportunity to attend a game in the House that Rockne Built. And as I said, it is special when you walk through campus and can feel the Spirit that everyone talks about.

But the bells continued to toll, and again I’m back thinking about Charlie Weis.

It was touching to see the support the team has for its coach. Rather than running out of the tunnel at the beginning of the game like normal, the team marched arm-in-arm. It looked like a golden battle formation of tightly packed soldiers, with their Head Coach at the middle of the front line, arms linked with the team captains that stand by him through all of the rumors and negativity. He is their coach, and they are with him to the end. But the end is here. If a movie were to be made of Charlie Weis’ time at Notre Dame, the scene on senior day would have been known as “The Last March of Charlie Weis.”

When he was announced as the new head coach at the University of Notre Dame five years ago, he boldly proclaimed that the team was 6-5, and that it was not good enough. “That’s not good enough for you, and it’s certainly not going to be good enough for me,” he said.

And now his team stands at 6-5 after three straight losses. The argument can be made that the Irish are right on the cusp, walking a fine line between mediocrity and greatness. Five games decided by 7 points or less. Five scores away from a potential perfect season. It is a sign of improvement that the team is so close to so many wins. But it is not enough improvement. In the win/loss column, it could be zero improvement after the upcoming trip to Stanford.

You can see the difference in the team. The talent finally has experience. The players finally feel like they should win every game they play. There are no blowout losses, and every week’s effort is respectable.

But this team could have been great. The level of talent on the team is such that every game could have been won, and probably should have. But it did not happen. The talented players did not execute when the time was at hand for execution, and the coaches did not make the right calls when it was time to make them.

The team supports Charlie Weis. I’m sure they would be glad to have him back for one more year. But that was the mantra after last season when Weis was under fire: One More Year.

I believed it and proclaimed it loudly. “Give Charlie one more year with Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and Armando Allen, and the offense will be unstoppable. Give him one more year for his defense to improve, and we will be contenders again. Give him one more year so his players get that experience under him, and the National Championship is ours.”

It was wishful thinking, but it was a very real possibility. However, it did not pan out. If he were to get “one more year” again, his team would again have one of the most talented and dangerous offenses in college football. I believe Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate would return to play under him for their senior seasons. Even if one or both of them did not return, Weis would have his recruits to run his offense, and it would still have firepower. The team would be in a position to have a chance at winning every game.

But time is up. He was given a chance to get the job done, and it did not happen. Waiting another year for change under Weis is no longer an option. Action must be taken. A new leader must be brought in.

Irish nation is impatient, and its patience with Weis has run out. Stability is important, but winning is more so.

Just as the bells on campus tolled Saturday night, the bell has tolled on Charlie Weis. It signals the end of his time in South Bend.

And probably Jimmy Clausen’s. And probably Golden Tate’s.