Has there been any coach on the proverbial \’hot seat\’ more often than Charlie Weis? Every day there is a new story about his future with ND and how up in the air it is at any given moment. I\’ll give you a definitive answer right now. If Notre Dame loses to UConn in South Bend this weekend, Charlie Weis\’s tenure at ND is over. End of discussion. I am in no way slighting UConn by saying they are an inferior team, because it is my alma mater, but given the year Weis\’s team has had, with arguably the best QB in college football, a loss to UConn would be the final straw for Swarbrick (ND Athletic Director) to make the decision everyone is anticipating, if he has not already, like he claims.

This gives me a great chance to discuss the game this weekend. UConn has had an exceptionally frustrating year. In many ways, they have performed extremely well, hanging in tough with highly ranked opponents (Cincinnati, Rutgers, Pitt, West Virginia, UNC). UConn is 4-5, and have lost by a combined 15 points over those 5 games. Some of their heart-breakers include: losing to UNC by 2 on a holding call in the end zone that resulted in a safety, losing to WVU by 4 on a late 60 yard run by Noel Devine, Losing to Rutgers by 4 after taking the lead with about 38 seconds left, losing to Pitt by 3 on a last second FG, and losing to #5 Cincinnati by 2 after missing a 2-point conversion and after being down 20 at halftime. The biggest loss for the Huskies this season was of their CB Jasper Howard who was stabbed to death on the Storrs, CT campus. Not only are they missing a close friend and teammate, but also an excellent CB, which has left a void in their secondary.Howard\’s death was extremely emotionally draining for his teammates, making the UConn season more impressive considering the circumstances.

That being said, this is the weekend that UConn gets over the hump and finishes a game (and Weis\’s career at ND). For the UConn program and Storrs, CT community, a win at ND would go a long way to push the difficult memories, off and on the field this year, behind them.
Prediction: UConn by 5