Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson
If you're waiting by your computer or phone in hopes that news of Charlie Weis' demise at Notre Dame has finally come, you might be waiting awhile.
A decision about Weis' future might not come until Dec. 8, the earliest date Weis and athletics director Jack Swarbrick have mutual openings in their schedules.
Neither Weis nor Swarbrick returned to South Bend after Saturday's 38-3 loss at USC. Weis was staying on the West Coast to recruit and Swarbrick had other business to deal with.
Saturday's loss means the Fighting Irish finish the season 6-6 and likely will be placed into a pool of at-large teams for a bowl. The Irish have an outside chance for the Sun Bowl if the Gator Bowl decides to take a Big 12 team over a Big East team and Rutgers loses to Louisville.
But more than likely Notre Dame will have a postseason choice to make. Depending on which bowls remain, the Irish could opt out of a bowl despite coach Charlie Weis' insistence that his team will play in a bowl regardless. The decision to go bowling isn't solely up to Weis, it's an institutional decision that will involve Swarbrick, among others.
The Irish have not missed a bowl when bowl eligible since 1996. That year, the 8-3 Irish declined a bowl while it was switching coaches from Lou Holtz to Bob Davie. The Irish also passed on bowls in 1971 (8-2), 1975 (8-3) and 1979 (7-4) because the bowl they qualified for was not a New Year's bowl.
The last time Notre Dame played in a bowl at 6-6 was in 2004 when it lost to Oregon State in the Insight Bowl. The Irish have not won a non-New Year's bowl since 1983 when they beat Boston College, 19-18, in the Liberty Bowl.
Here's a review of the at-large bowls available:
GUARANTEED OPEN AT-LARGE SPOTS
- One in the Texas Bowl
- One in the Poinsettia Bowl
- One in the Papajohns.com Bowl
- Two in Independence Bowl
- One in the Emerald Bowl
POSSIBLE OPEN AT-LARGE SPOTS
- One in the Motor City Bowl if Ohio State moves into the BCS
- One in the Hawaii Bowl
Watson joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four seasons covering the Missouri Tigers and the Big 12 Conference for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She also covered college football recruiting for the Dallas Morning News.
