Ex-Irish QB returning to face Notre Dame
Connecticut (4-5) at Notre Dame (6-4)
When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium
TV: Channel 5; Radio: WLS 890-AM
Series: First meeting
Coaches: Randy Edsall (62-65, 11th year at UConn); Charlie Weis (35-25, fifth year at Notre Dame)
Players to watch: Former Notre Dame QB Zach Frazer (he sat out the 2006 season before transferring) hopes to leave South Bend as a conquering hero. After starter Cody Endres went out for the year due to shoulder surgery, Frazer has thrown for 594 yards the last two games. He's probably not the UConn skill player who'll have the biggest day as sophomore RB Jordan Todman gets his shot at a reeling Irish rushing defense. Todman stacked up a career-high 162 yards and 4 scores two weeks ago at Cincinnati. Senior DE Lindsey Witten ranks second nationally with 10.5 sacks.
Notre Dame junior QB Jimmy Clausen dropped to fifth in the national efficiency ratings (158.21) with a pedestrian (for him) 27 of 42 effort at Pittsburgh. WR Golden Tate already has seven 100-yard receiving days and he threw in that nice punt return for a TD last week. Junior RB Armando Allen comes off a solid effort (77 rushing yards, 8 receptions for 33 yards) at Pitt, which was his first game in three weeks.
The skinny: Can we stop the dancing and the semantics and break down this Charlie Weis issue to its essence? It's a simple question: Does the Notre Dame braintrust believe he's the guy to lead them to the BCS title game? It's difficult to believe the powers-that-be have yet to form their conclusion. But if they're still on the fence, then what does Weis need today to keep his job? A 25-point win? Any win? Let's put this another way: Since the 2008 season began (when Weis had most of his own players in place), the Irish are 4-7 against teams with winning records. We can call it 5-7 if you include Hawaii, which wound up 7-7 after losing to Notre Dame in last year's bowl. The Irish also are 8-3 against teams with LOSING records in that span, which is about three losses too many for Notre Dame fans. A loss to UConn would make it four, but it's not fair to judge the Huskies on their record. They're 0-3 since cornerback Jasper Howard was slain on Oct. 18, but the record belies their effort. They've lost by a total of 10 points at West Virginia, at Cincinnati and to Rutgers.