Is ND out of national title chase?

By Justin Albers
basketballss132002@yahoo.com
INDIANAPOLIS- After a humiliating defeat Saturday in South Bend, the question in the air regarding Notre Dame is whether or not the loss ruined their chances at a run to the national championship. The Irish dropped from #2 in the country to #12 after a 47-21 loss to Michigan, and most of the nation believes they were overrated to start the season. The featured discussion on ESPN's Pardon the Interupption today asked if Charlie Weis is any better than Ty Willingham. If you remember, Ty Willingham went 10-3 in his first season with the Irish, and went 10-12 from there on out before being fired.
The question posed by PTI is absolutely ridiculus. There is no way that Charlie Weis has sunk that low, and we have to remember that this is only one game. Does the loss worry me? Absolutely, but I do not think that is the end of their season. Right now with a #12 ranking and matchups still with Michigan State (3-0), Purdue (3-0), UCLA (2-0), and of course the big game against USC (2-0) there is still time to make up for the loss. Like I said before, Michigan is among to elite teams in all of college football, and I think they will prove that later this year. If Notre Dame wins the rest of its games I still do think they have a shot to go to the national title game. They're going to need some help, but what team doesn't? Nine of the 11 teams ranked ahead of Notre Dame either play each other or they play the Irish, so some of those teams are going to drop back automatically. Nobody should panic in South Bend, Charlie Weis will be ready. If you remember back to last year, Charlie had the perfect game plan for USC, a game he planned hard for. You better believe that after a punch in the mouth like they received on Saturday that he will be more than ready for Michigan State this week. Only time will tell, but the Irish are still a contender.