In the wake of the loss at the hands of UConn last Saturday, The Subway Domer (me in the 3rd person) has decided to take a major step back from posting anything and look at the situation with Notre Dame with a wider lens.

I didn't even vote in this weeks Blogpoll- which I take very seriously. Reflection. That has been the mode of operation deep in these tunnels. This has been one of the strangest seasons that I can remember ever witnessing as it pertains to Fighting Irish Football. So much of the season and the future of the program has hinged on just a few plays here and there.

So, instead of a Hangover post this week, I give you some Random Randomness that is just gnawing away at me. Keep in mind, that Random Randomness is exactly that. Random. I'll be all over the map and jumping around like a fresh coaching rumor. Enjoy...

UConn't do it. I have to get just a few tidbits in on the UConn game. It looks like that game was the last weight to be put on the scale. It was fitting in a way. It was another game this year that was too close and really- it shouldn't have been. Three plays really set this game on the path of destruction. Three.

1. The Sergio Brown personal foul kept a scoring drive alive for UConn when it looked like ND would get the ball back and extend its lead, as the offense was in sync.
2. The kickoff return for TD by UConn. It is what sent momentum in the Huskies favor, and it looked like it took even more away from Notre Dame.
3. The Michael Floyd fumble in the redzone. Redzone troubles unleash its ugly face once again.

You could probably take three other plays and just as easily plug them in- but the list I gave is what sticks out to me the most.

BTW- I was once again hassled by the ushers. I am struggling to have the slightest desire to attend a home game again.

Jimmy Clausen = Rodney Dangerfield. How fitting it was that Jimmy got sucker punched by an asshole "fan." No respect. That is exactly what Jimmy Clausen has got from this fanbase as a whole. We should be kissing his ass. He is the best Quarterback Notre Dame will ever have play for them again. (So that's a little overstated- but not necessarily untrue).

The old saying, "You don't know what you got, until it's gone," reads like a giant billboard. Jimmy Clausen, by all accounts, is going to leave for the NFL draft at the end of this season. As much faith as I have in Dayne Crist (a healthy Dayne Crist), I firmly believe that we have just seen the best QB in the country play for the Irish this year- his name is Jimmy.

This is the 13th year of suffering. Since Lou Holtz left town and Bob Davie took over, Notre Dame has been suffering. Sure, there have been seasons that have offered hope to all of ND Nation, but mostly as a whole- these have been 13 seasons of mediocrity.

• Bob Davie took over in 1997 with a veteran QB- but had a horrible offensive coordinator that often put the defense it bad situations. Bob Davies teams usually had very good special teams, a defense that was physical- but prone to allow big plays, and an offense that could run the ball well, but the passing game lacked the ability to be dynamic when needed. Davie's teams were physical- but they never wowed anyone.
• Willingham won right away- with Bob Davie's kids. That point is always lost by the media when discussing their boy Ty. The offense was dreadful for all 3 years, and the only real success for Ty came with a defense full of playmakers that Davie brought in to South Bend. Ty's lack of work ethic basically took the roster and molded it into a big pile of horse shit. The depth charts were insane.
• Charlie Weis entered the picture in 2005 and sent the team to two BCS games in a row with a veteran team, and yes... Willinghams players. 2007 was the year that really has Weis on the hotseat and probably on the move. 3-9 is a record Notre Dame should never touch. Weis debunked a lot of recruiting myths while at ND and put  some very good offenses out on the field. The defenses have been awful, and can be blamed for 75% of all of the losses that ND has had in the past 5 years.

It has been a very bumpy ride for all involved in these past 13 years. A few times, it looked as if ND finally got over the hump and was ready to step back into the national spotlight. The problem was that once they got to the stage- they folded like a lawn chair.

It can't be stressed enough that both Ty and Charlie were not the number one choices for the job. Ty was somewhere around 3 or 4 and was only hired after the O'Leary fiasco. Weis was even farther down the list at around 5 or 6.

Why did this season suck so bad? Because it was too entertaining. Notre Dame is sitting with a 6-5 record that could have easily been anywhere in the 2-9 to 11-0 range. Such a disparity in best case / worst case scenario means that as a team, Notre Dame played up to or down to its level of competition almost weekly.

Also, losing to Navy for the second time in three years is unforgivable. Just awful.

Watching this team regress late in the season is an indictment against the Head Coach. Charlie went into a shell after the Navy loss, and played Pitt and UConn in "don't lose" mode instead of throwing it all out there to win the game. I could be wrong, but the offense looked like it was far less dynamic in the last 4 games than it was for the rest of the season.

Coaching change in the works? More than likely. I have been a fence sitter for a long time. I really wanted Charlie to do well. I think he worked about as hard as a guy could on the job, but for whatever reason (and I'm sure you all have a few) he didn't get the job done. Too much of some stuff, and not enough of some other stuff.

Who then? Who should / will lead this team in 2010? I have three candidates that I think are good fits for Notre Dame and ones that aren't too much of a pipe dream ( A.K.A Urban Meyer).

1. Bob Stoops. He has done it on the big stage and could be ready for a change of scenery. Midwest roots, and his ability to recruit nationally make him a very "choice" choice. He would be as close to a "Holtz" hire as ND could get this year.
2. Brian Kelly. I think he is as hungry as any coach in the country and would work his ass off to get the job done. Many question his ability to recruit top talent, but given the chance, I think he could surpass even what Weis has been able to accomplish.
3. Gary Patterson. The scoop on Patterson is that he is very happy at TCU and doesn't want to leave. I think he might if the deal is sweet enough. He has been amazing in his ability to evaluate talent and move players around at different positions. Also, his defenses have been outstanding for a long time.

I know there are other names floating around the Bend, but those are the 3 I am most intersted in. All three of these guys have something in common. Can you guess what that is?

Bowling for pizza. Notre Dame has a big decision to make- kind of. The bowl situation is becoming more and more fuzzy. Will Notre Dame even go to a bowl game? Let's take a quick look, if Notre Dame wins Saturday...

• At 7-5, I would just about guarantee that Notre Dame goes to the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas on December 31 to play Cal.
• There is also a possibility that Notre Dame could go to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas on January 1 with a 7-5 record- but I am unsure of what would need to happen for that situation to unfold. Either way, I don't think it will happen.

Of course, there is always the chance that Notre Dame loses to Stanford on Saturday and finishes with a 6-6 record. If that happens, Notre Dame gets thrown into a pool of bowls.Those options are:

• The Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas on December 31.
• The Little Caesars Bowl in Detroit, Michigan on December 26.
• The Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho on December 30.
• The Eaglebank Bowl in Washington DC on December 29.
• The GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Alabama on January 6.

There is a lot of chatter on the message boards about the bowls. Some Irish fans feel that ND should not go to a bowl game. That it would be a waste of time and beneath us. This arrogance is why the media bashes ND with great joy. Notre Dame should go to a bowl game. Plain and simple. Even if you have to use a interim coach, the preparation for the bowl helps the team in so many ways for the next season. There isn't one team in the NCAA that would turn down a bowl game because they are firing their head coach. Stop being such a predictable, arrogant, snobby, bitchy, douche fanbase. If you can go- you fucking go.

Recruiting has come to a screeching stop. Remember how hot recruiting was for the Irish after the Washington State game? Smoking hot. There were all kinds of rumors about 5 star guys leaning this way and blah, blah, blah. It was awesome. So what happened? We started losing. The 3 game skid has not only affected the recruits that ND is currently pursuing, but it is also hampering ND with the recruits that have already given their verbal pledge. Chris Martin is probably heading elsewhere, unless the new Head Coach at ND is Bob Stoops or Urban Meyer. Also, Lane Kiffin is sniffing around on Tommy Rees.

To make sure that this recruiting class has a chance to still be a success, ND will have to make the coaching change quickly. This is another reason I like Stoops. Not only would our chances to keep Martin increase, but he has a few at Oklahoma that could follow him as well (notably QB Blake Bell and ATH Justin McCay), and the chances with Prater, Cooper, and Henderson are better.

The recruiting situation is one that should be closely followed as we enter the big season of decommits and shady play. Notre Dame can not afford to have a down class- NO MATTER WHO COACHES ND.

A quick word about Weis. The general thought is that Stanford will be the last game that Charlie Weis will be coaching for Notre Dame. Jack Swarbrick wants Charlie back in South Bend after the game instead of staying on the west coast to recruit. I would like to thank Charlie for all of the hard work and effort he has put towards his time with the Irish. This job is one of the toughest in the country and he still did it with a lot of class. His players are quality human beings and the graduation rate is still one of the highest in the country.

Weis did not fail because of a lack of effort, rather it was from a lack of roster depth when he got there, an underachieving 2006 freshman class, a lack of head coaching experience, and a lot of bad bounces. He also made some poor choices in his assistant coaches as well. His loyalty to the staff made a lot of situations worse.

Again, thank you Charlie. good luck in the NFL, and one day I hope you will be able to look back at your time in South Bend with fondness and not grief.

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