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I will say this, and then let you make your own judgment about the state of Notre Dame's program following a 38-3 loss at Southern Cal: USC would have won by less points than it did had the Irish not thrown a single pass.How is that possible? Follow me on this pathetic journey: Jimmy Clausen completed 11 of his 22 passes for 41 yards. He (obviously) threw no touchdown passes. He threw two interceptions.
Those two interceptions led to seven USC points - Joe McKnight rumbled 55 yards for a touchdown after Clausen's second pick. On the Irish's lone scoring drive, a nine-play march that led to a field goal, Clausen completed exactly zero passes - Notre Dame moved exclusively on James Aldridge runs.
So do that math. Notre Dame would have, in theory, put up the same three points minus any passing. And USC may well have scored seven less.
Whether you buy into that math or not, there is no debating that Notre Dame's offense was putrid on Saturday night.
I'm not sure that putrid is even strong enough of a word. Imagine taking a skunk, bathing it in a septic tank and then feeding it Indian food. Whatever that would smell like is the word I'm looking for.
This result really comes as no surprise - even when you consider USC's 449 total yards compared to Notre Dame's 96. The Trojans defense has proven itself to be, quite possibly, the best defense in the nation. The Irish offense, even with the Wizard of Weis calling the shots, is pretty mediocre.
Combine those two, and add in an outside shot for USC to reach the BCS title game, and you're setting the stage for a disaster.
Southern Cal is now one win away from (at least) a Rose Bowl bid. If the Trojans win at UCLA next week, they clinch the Pac-10 title - thanks to Oregon State's Sautrday night implosion. It would take a weird sequence of events to bump the Trojans into the national title game, but it's not completely out of the question, and it's hard to say that USC would be out of place there.
As for Notre Dame ... it's 6-6 and will await a call from a low-end bowl destination, and then decide on Charlie Weis' fate. Most alarming from this night - and, to some extent, losses to Boston College and Michigan State earlier in the year - is the just remarkable talent gap between ND and the upper echelon of college football. Sure, Notre Dame's recruiting prowess should close those gaps at some point, but it shouldn't be this bad to begin with.
And I'm not sure that any coach could have kept the Irish closer tonight, or put more points up, but Weis certainly isn't doing himself any favors. Instead of showing signs of improvement, Notre Dame looks more inept by the week.
I don't think Weis will be fired. But if he is, I won't be surprised and would not blame Notre Dame in the slightest.
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