Not So Fighting Irish in ‘07

Notre Dame football has produced All-Americans, national championships, and seven Heisman Trophy winners. It's noted as one of the best NCAA football programs to hit the gridiron with names like Knut Rockne and Frank Leahy leading the way.

But in 2007, it wasn't the glory that comes with the name Notre Dame. It was a dismal season with the Fighting Irish finishing 3-9 and Charlie Weis (22-15) scratching his head on how to right the problem.

2007 marked the most losses in a single year with nine, two of the 10 worst losses ever (Michigan and USC, 38-0), a loss to both Navy and Air Force (a first in the same year since 1944), and losing the first six home games.

One has to look at one person for their disappointing season — Charlie Weis. He doesn't want to be remembered in the same company of Tyrone Willingham (21-15), Bob Davie (35-25), or even the short-lived George O'Leary. If anything, Weis wants to be remembered like Knut Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine, and Lou Holtz.

"It's still 3-9. Let's not kid ourselves," Charlie Weis said to the media. "But at least it's 3-9 with two wins at the end of the year ... Let's start moving forward now."

Indeed, they have to move forward, but must look at the following areas that need improvement.

First: Weis saw seven of his players from the 2006 season go to the NFL; he finished on a high-note with a 10-2 record and accepted a bid to the Sugar Bowl, losing 41-14 to LSU.

Second: They need to be aggressive in their recruiting effort for the 2008 season. They have some uncommitted recruits, but must make it known to them that Notre Dame is a competitive and winning football program. The recruits that have expressed interest in the Fighting Irish are defensive lineman Ethan Johnson and Omar Hunter, quarterback Dayne Crist, linebackers Darius Fleming and Steven Filer, tight end Kyle Rudolph, and receiver Michael Floyd.

Third: A good point, which was written by Tim Prister of the Indianapolis Star, is that Notre Dame must strengthen its special teams. Prister pointed out that they were ranked 42nd in the nation in punt coverage, 56th in punt returns, 89th in kickoff coverage, and 93rd in kickoff returns. Prister also noted that, "when Charlie Weis took over as coach, he said the quickest way to turn around a program was to establish solid special teams. Save for an occasional long punt return by Tom Zbikowski, the Irish has played poorly on special teams, particularly this season."

Fourth: Another area they need to stress is maturity; they need their players to mature and play at the level they are capable of. Also, practice; they need to practice harder and have pride in what they are doing. They need to understand the problems and fix it. This will be on the shoulders of Charlie Weis and his coaching staff. They are also losing five starters which help the Fighting Irish, but three of them are their best players — John Carlson, Trevor Laws, and Tom Zbikowski.

Fifth: One factor that helps Notre Dame for the 2008 season is the schedule. It's easier with them facing San Diego State (4-7), North Carolina (4-8), Washington (4-8), Pittsburgh (4-7), and Syracuse (2-10).

Notre Dame, with the changes recommended, should make a comeback for the 2008 season. The areas that will help them are their reputation and desire to win. After all, Weis had a great 2006 season, but with the good comes the bad. If anything, 2007 should be an eye-opener for Weis and his staff because coaches do come and go. Weis could be on a short leash if 2008 is a disaster.

"And I'm never going to be content with a comeback when you end up losing," Charlie Weis is quoted as saying. "You just can't accept being in a game that's close and end up losing it. It's just not okay."

With that, Notre Dame must "Play Like a Champion Today" next season.