SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis is getting tired of answering big picture questions.
It was evident from the answers he gave leading up to the game on Saturday at Pittsburgh, the answers he gave after the Fighting Irish fell 27-22 to the eighth-ranked Panthers and by the fact he canceled his scheduled Sunday night news conference.
The official reason for the cancellation was the team arrived home later than planned from Pittsburgh, putting the coaches behind schedule on their work. It was the first time in five years as coach of the Irish that Weis canceled a news conference the day after a game hours before it was about to occur.
Asked Saturday night about the status of his program, Weis said he didn't want to talk about it because it was "too big picture."
"I'm shortsighted. I think the most important thing is trying to get this team to worry about the last two games and in particular, just focus on one game," he said. "I think that's just the way we do business, and that's exactly what we're going to do."
Many expected this to be a decisive season for the fifth-year coach who led the Irish to Bowl Championship Series games in his first two seasons. After seasons of 3-9 and 7-6, the Irish (6-4) had an experienced team and a manageable schedule that some saw as a perfect combination for Weis to guide the Irish to a third BCS berth. Back-to-back losses to Navy and No. 8 Pittsburgh has turned the mood in South Bend ugly as the Irish dropped to 6-4.
Some Irish fans have moved from debating whether or not Weis should be back for a sixth season to whether Urban Meyer, Jon Gruden, Brian Kelly, or some other big-name coach should be his replacement.
Athletic director Jack Swarbrick said last week that he will evaluate the program after the season. The numbers might not be on Weis' side.
With two games left in the regular season at home against Connecticut (4-5) and at No. 14 Stanford (7-3), Weis finds himself with the same 35-25 overall coaching record that got Bob Davie fired eight years ago, and the same .583 winning percentage that got Tyrone Willingham fired five years ago.
Weis' 1-8 record against top 10 teams is the worst in Notre Dame history, a .111 winning percentage. Davie was 1-7, Willingham was 3-5.
Notre Dame coaches that led the Irish to national championships all had winning records against the top 10 teams. Frank Leahy was an amazing 19-3-1. Lou Holtz was 21-15-1, Dan Devine was 10-7 and Ara Parseghian went 10-9-3.
The eight consecutive losses by Weis to top 10 teams is a school record. His next loss will tie Gerry Faust for the second most in school history. The record is 30, set by Holtz, but he needed 11 seasons to do that.
Weis also fell to 4-12 against ranked teams overall, the second worst mark in school history. Only Hugh Devore, who served as interim coach in 1945 and 1963, has a worse mark at 1-5.
Weis said the Irish need to be focused on Connecticut heading into their final home game, mindful of how last year the Irish went into the final home game and squandered a 13-point fourth-quarter lead and lost to Syracuse. The Orange entered the game with a 1-8 record, were 19½-point underdogs and had just fired coach Greg Robinson.
"We're going to make sure we don't have an end of the season like we did in the Syracuse game last year," Weis said.
The loss dropped the Irish to 4-4 in games decided by a touchdown or less. Many of their preseason goals are now out of reach. Regardless, receiver Golden Tate said the Irish aren't going to let up.
"I don't see it as the season's over with or whatever you guys think it is," Tate told reporters. "I'm coming out tomorrow and I'm looking to get better. I'm looking forward to next week to getting on the field and getting a win."
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