The Professors have found not a few detractors as we have sought to put forward our theory that those Division I FBS universities that aspire to both athletic and academic excellence labor under a disadvantage competing against those schools that have not made academic excellence (i.e., graduating athletes) a priority.

Notre Dame fans in particular have taken offense at the suggestion that the choice to graduate football players has made the Irish uncompetitive against those schools that could care less, such as Southern Cal, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, etc. Although this may be true of the other so-called Brainiac schools, and in particular of the service academies, Notre Dame is an exception, they protest. The Irish should not be compared to the rest of the Brainiacs. Because of its rich football tradition, which includes numerous National Championships and Heisman Trophy winners, and the dreaded and controversial NBC contract, Notre Dame can recruit and retain quality players who will compete with programs with low GSRs and "Leisure Studies"-like courses of study.  Or so say the Irish faithful.

Assuming arguendo that the ND fans have a case, the Irish should dominate the other Brainiac teams. But in recent years, Boston College has schooled the Irish, defeating them six straight times before losing a close contest this year. Navy has played ND tough since the turn of this century and has won two out of the last three match ups. And the Irish have fared better against Stanford, but the games have been tight.

There is no argument that Notre Dame has some of the best talent in the Brainiac Conference. It is inconceivable the the likes of Jimmy Clausen, Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, or Manti Te'o would have attended Boston College, Stanford, Duke, or Wake Forest. So why is Notre Dame struggling?

Despite some recruiting coups by Coach Weis, he has not been able to bring together this talent to dominate weaker opponents. The heroics of Clausen and Tate, and at times defenders lke Kyle McCarthy and Brian Smith, have translated into some heart-stopping Ws. But in the losses, the last minute charge has not been enough. The Irish have not played four good quarters against any half decent team this season.

In Weis's defense, his five star recruits aside, Notre Dame has not been able to bring in enough depth to compete with the elite of the FBS. Our analysis is the Brainiac theory. Without any "cake" majors in which to channel players and with the emphasis on keeping players on track to graduate, the Irish will rarely bring together the depth to compete with the schools content with a 50% GSR.

But in criticism, he should be doing much better. With Notre Dame's tradition, high media profile, and national fan base, the Irish should be the cream of the peer schools, the Brainiacs. Among the Brainiac coaching fraternity, a number of coaches have done much more with far less. Frank Spaziani at BC has turned a building year into a bowl season and in the process gave a superior Notre Dame team (at least on paper) a scare in South Bend. Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo will never recruit a player with marginal academic prospects or aspirations to play in the NFL. But his team took the measure of the Irish and made it look easy until late in the fourth quarter. Jim Harbaugh has Stanford firing on all cylinders; it is doubtful that Weis's current squad could stay close to and defeat the Oregon team that spanked Southern Cal. And for that matter the Weis Irish probably could not equal the feat of Jim Grobe's Wake Forest team that lost in the final minute to AP # 12 Miami and in overtime to #7 Georgia Tech.

Weis's problem is that he recruited the blue chippers he has on the promises of national championships and superior preparation for the NFL. Jimmy Clausen was thinking Heisman and Tate and Floyd expecting first round NFL draft picks. All three will do well; they are winners. But they will not achieve their full potential or fulfill their dreams of Heismans or national championships under Weis. If Weis stays, they may leave early. Recruits in the future will not buy Weis's pitch. He doesn't provide the "decided schematic advantage" he advertised.  Weis hasn't built it, so they won't come, Notre Dame's supposed perks notwithstanding.

But theories and personal opinions aside, Weis's future should be decided on the field. He has three difficult games left. Pitt is currently # 8 in the AP and playing very well. Connecticut is playing very tough, losing by only two to # 4 Cincinnati and losing heart breakers in the final seconds to West Virginia and Rutgers. And Stanford? Read our previous hubs - they are for real and should take the Irish on their home turf in the season finale. If Notre Dame loses two out of three, the case for Weis to continue is weak. If its three and out, there will be no case at all. Weis can silence his critics by finding a defense and a running game to go with the Clausen/Tate/Floyd aerial attack and taking at least two out of the next three. Verdict for Weis if he runs the table.