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        No matter what I say or do, Navy still lost this past weekend in Baltimore. Navy did however manage to do some great things in defeat. They totally shut down Jimmy Clausen in the first half forcing him to throw two interceptions and one fumble.

        However, I cannot let Navy off the hook for the simple mistakes, as although Navy has come a long way in the past few years, they still cannot afford to give the Irish easy yards on off-sides penalties, false starts, fumbles and a blocked punt returned for a score. Think about this, if Navy doesn't allow the blocked punt for a score in the first half and doesn't fumble close to halftime they would have come out for the second half up 10 or 14 to 0. The ball control could have kicked in and who know what else. Instead, Charlie Weis make some adjustments, went to a three receiver spread look and ran the ball all over a tiring Navy defense in the second half. Navy makes it close getting two great onside kicks, but comes up short in the end.

The Navy Defense:

         The Navy defense couldn't have done anymore in the first half than it did against Notre Dame. Jabaree Tuani and Trey Grissom looked like an All Americans as they were getting a consistent push up the middle and off the edge, disrupting Notre Dame's offense in the first half. Ketric Buffin came up huge with two interceptions.

What happened to Ricky Dobbs?

            I can only remember seeing Ricky Dobbs once in the first half, as Jarod Bryant was given much of the time at QB. Notre Dame knew good and well that Bryant doesn't have that great of an arm. That being said, the defensive strategy was obviously to stop the run first and not to respect the pass until made to do so. Had Ricky Dobbs been able to get the pass going a bit in the first half, it might have freed up the run just enough to make the offense more productive and gotten the time of possession in Navy's favor. In Bryant's defense, Dobbs' got hot against the second team Irish defense and then carried on when Weis put the starters back in. However, it would have been interesting to see how Dobbs could have done with a whole game. Oh, by the way, starter Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada was hurt...

So what happens to Weis ?

          I first visited Notre Dame in 2001, just after the attacks on 9/11. I will always be gracious to the Domer Nation for their hospitality. That said, I don't know about Weis. He really hasn't gotten the team anywhere near where it was supposed to be. Jimmy Clausen was the top recruit when he came out of high school, and his development hasn't gone according to schedule. Do you really think that future Notre Dame Recruits are lining up to play in South Bend? Pete Carroll seems to be generating NFL star QB after star QB as Mark Sanchez looks to Join Carson Palmer, Matt Lienert (yeah, I know that he's holding a clipboard for Kurt Warner), and the guy who was holding the clipboard for them is the Patriots Starter (Matt Cassell). So to be fair to Weis, you must look at what other coaches are doing in similar situations to gauge his progress.

Well,

       There's Mark Mangino, who has turned Kansas into a solid program in the Big 12, albeit, the North and not the South.

And Kansas plays...

       Bo Pelini and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Huskers used to be the team to beat in the Big 12 not long ago, as Pelini has the Husker nation on the way back. Nebraska is the pace program for Weis and the Domers. Nebraska, who went to the 2001 National Championship under Frank Solich; later rid themselves of him only to suffer a down few years. If Pelini can get things going at Nebraska, Weis surely needs them going well at Notre Dame.

And let's not forget about...

      That guy named Nick Saban. In only his second year, he has Alabama ranked number one in the BCS rankings, needing only wins over Auburn and Florida (not an easy task) to get to the BCs championship game. Alabama like Notre Dame was becoming a forgotten power in the Mike Shula era. Alabama boosters ponied up a whole bunch of money to get Saban, and he has the Tide looking like the real deal in the SEC West. Although LSU and Arkansas along with Auburn are having down years, Saban and the Tide have a much tougher schedule in SEC.

Oh, and...

       Randy Shannon at Miami, who is another second year coach that has Miami atop the ACC Coastal. Three points at Florida State and if Robert Marve's pass is just about six inches lower against North Carolina, Miami is 9-1.

Who just happens to be playing...

       Georgia Tech with first year Coach Paul Johnson, and former Navy head man, tonight. There are no excuses to be made as Johnson went from scratch to a churning Flex-bone attack less than a year. It hasn't been perfect, but Johnson finds ways to win as he is a coach that takes risks and expects to win.

And Don't forget that...

       Notre Dame isn't even the best team in the state of Indiana. That title belongs to Ball State who just hit 11 wins. Give me a Notre Dame-Ball State game right now and I will take Ball State by three touchdowns.

So what will happen? 

       Weis gets one more year in South Bend, they need to finish the year ranked and beat some quality teams. (It does say something for Navy to be the best win for Notre Dame). Remember Notre Dame isn't playing in the SEC West, ACC Coastal with Florida every year, or even in the Big Ten. For right now Notre Dame gets by on its reputation as people generally go crazy for Notre Dame Football no matter how good they are. (There is a certain Navy LT that comes to mind...)There is a reason that the Cotton and gator Bowls are seriously considering taking the Fighting Irish even though they will probably have five losses. (TCU would be a perfect fit for the Cotton Bowl, but no one outside of Great Dallas-FT Worth really follows them).

         Put it this way, Notre Dame allegedly paid Weis almost 4 million dollars a year to be coach. I do not know what Gary Patterson at TCU (who, by the way only has six more losses in five less seasons), Brady Hoke at Ball State, Troy Calhoun at Air Force, and Jim Grobe at South Florida make, but they almost certainly do not make half what Weis does. The difference is that South Florida, Ball State, Air Force, and TCU are either ranked ahead or comparable to Notre Dame, and yet do not get near the press the Irish do or the bowl invites. Still they have coaches that manage to get the job done.

      Eventually the Domer Nation will get fed up with the Antics, promises and simply realize that they are a second tier team, who simple paid too much for a coach that cannot deliver.