Kyle McCarthy News

There are plenty of reasons why Notre Dame wouldn't go to a bowl game this season.

Any time a coaching change is made, it's tough on the players. That was especially true on Monday for the men who wear the gold helmets.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has begun the work of trying to find a new coach for the Fighting Irish, convinced he can find someone who can follow in the path of Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian and Lou Holtz.

SOUTH BEND a ' As Eric Olsen eased into a cushioned seat inside Notre Damea TMs Guglielmino Athletics Complex Monday evening, someone casually asked how he was doing.

Stanford has the player to attack one of the weakest points of the Notre Dame's defense.

FACTS & STATS: Site: Stanford Stadium -- Stanford, California. Television: ABC. Home Record: Notre Dame 5-3, Stanford 5-1. Away Record: Notre Dame 1-2, Stanford 2-3. Neutral Record: Notre Dame 0-0, Stanford 0-0. Conference Record: Notre Dame 0-0, Stanford 6-3. Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 16-7. GAME NOTES: A bitterly disappointing regular ...

This late in the college football season, time for proclamations. We hold these truths to be self-evident ... Behind every struggling coach ... there are players having their hearts stomped on.

Question: What do you get when you combine the nation's top pass rush and its seventh-leading rusher? Answer: You get Pittsburgh.

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh When : 7 p.m. Saturday at Heinz Field TV : Channel 7; Radio: WLS 890-AM Series: Notre Dame leads 44-19-1. Coaches : Charlie Weis ; Dave Wannstedt Players to watch: Notre Dame junior QB Jimmy Clausen set career bests for completions , attempts and yards last week against Navy, which makes one wonder if those numbers inspired ...

No matter what happens between here and the awarding of the Lombardi Trophy in the moonlight of some distant South Florida February, nothing will match for compelling NFL video the 15 stunning seconds of New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez eating a hot dog on the sideline the week before last.

And now, as the water rises on the good ship Charlie Weis , a rousing chorus of the Notre Dame Fight Song.

Not surprisingly, after watching its highest hopes get obliterated by a loss to Navy on Saturday, Notre Dame was in search of why it happened and who was responsible.

No one on No. 19 Notre Dame needs convincing about how tough Navy is to play. The Fighting Irish remember how the Midshipmen gave them a scare last season by recovering two onside kicks and scoring two touchdowns in the final 99 seconds before the Irish held on for a 27-21 victory.

College football caps including Alabama-LSU, Notre Dame-Navy Submitted by SHNS on Thu, 11/05/2009 - 19:34 LAST WEEK: Northwestern lost at home to Penn State, 34-13. Iowa beat Indiana, 42-24. SERIES HISTORY: Iowa leads, 46-21-3 .LAST MEETING: Northwestern won, 22-17, last year.

Notre Dame is the home team for Saturday's game against Washington State in the Alamodome at San Antonio in name only.

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen and the Irish are 28-point favorites to beat Washington State today in San Antonio, Texas.

Golden Tate scored two touchdowns, including a spectacular grab of a desperation heave at the end of the first half, and No.

The Notre Dame defense has been under heavy scrutiny since it allowed a freshman quarterback to rally Michigan to a last-minute come-from-behind victory over the Irish in week two of this season.

No. 34 Logwone Mitz is listed as Washington State's new starting running back. That's a bit of a surprise, considering his 2.9 yards per carry average is a step back from the 3.3 YPC of the guy he replaced, No.

Line: Notre Dame by 27.5. Series Record: Notre Dame leads 1-0. Last Meeting: 2003, Notre Dame 29, Washington State 26, OT What's at Stake Notre Dame pride.