Sick of Notre Dame yet?

The NCAA has announced that it is awarding Notre Dame the national championship in college football. All the other teams are playing for second place. At least that is the impression that you get from reading Gene Wojceichowski�s story on ESPN. Or if you picked up any of the preseason publications predicting Notre Dame to win the whole thing.

Enough is enough.

Well, maybe it is easy to see why there is so much optimism in South Bend. Notre Dame did go to a BCS bowl game. Sure they lost, but they went to the game. And hey, they almost beat USC at home. Nothing says a team is ready to compete by almost beating USC. Hey, Fresno State almost beat USC last year, anybody campaigning for them as national champions?

But the biggest reason for optimism is that Charlie Weis has taken Notre Dame to levels it has not seen in recent years. Former coach Tyrone Willingham never had as much success as Weis.

Oh wait, Willingham went 10-2 in his inaugural season in 2002 and �like Weis�lost in a bowl game. How come Willingham didn�t get a 10-year contract extension? Please excuse those who want to see Weis win a meaningful game before anointing him the label of best coach in college football. It is a lot like the way the media predicts the Colts to win the Super Bowl every year�even though they find a way to lose.

We�ll believe it when we see it.