119th out of 119.

That's where the Irish rank amongst Division I football teams in points per game (4.3), offensive touchdowns (0), rushing yards (-14), total offense (115 ypg), and sacks allowed (23). This remains one of the top stories this college football season and I don't suspect it's going away anytime soon.

That's all very bad news, but it might not be as bad as rumors circulating the message boards today. I'm not one for wild speculation, but I've read and heard this from multiple people. From ND friends to those who work for rivals that the recap below from IrishIllustrated's two main writers (Jack Freeman and Tim Prister) is accurate:

Prister claims that Weis lambasted the players for about a half an hour in the visiting locker room after the Michigan game. He told the team that Sunday would not be the typical film review day and instead would be Weis' version of boot camp. He added that it was a forgone conclusion that he had completely lost this year's team. Prister and Sampson both also discussed the transfer of opening game starting quarterback Demetrius Jones, saying that he, in fact, had to be enrolled at Northern Illinois by September 12, but continued to practice and stay at Notre Dame until he didn't show up for the bus to the Michigan game. He didn't even tell Weis, no one did, despite the fact that several players were aware of the situation. The Jones transfer has far more wide reaching concerns than the departure of a backup quarterback. Sampson claims that Jones was one of the most popular players in the locker room and none of his former teammates were angry about his transfer, most supported him or understood.

Prister goes on to say that Jones didn't transfer from Notre Dame, he abandoned a sinking ship. Keep in mind, this is a pro-Irish Web site. He also says that when he bumped in to Jones last Wednesday and asked him if he was ready for the Michigan game, Jones responded by saying, "If you thought there was drama before, there's some drama coming up." That obviously shows that Jones knew ahead of time he was moving on. Prister then unloaded this gem, "Sure everyone knew the '07 season would be a titanic struggle. What no one knew is that it would develop into a Titanic-like struggle. Weis has lost his football team, and beating the crap out of them on the practice field offers no guarantees and runs the risk of losing them permanently." Well said.

Sampson is perhaps even more harsh. He refers to Weis has "Hurricane Hubris." He slams him for failing to read his team and their mood all the way back to spring practice, for the erosion of simple techniques and fundamentals he credits to Weis' arrogance. And he rips him for installing two offenses for two quarterback (one for Jimmy Clausen and one for Jones) rather than perfecting a basic off-tackle play.

Would it be a rush to judgment to conclude that Charlie Weis might not be cut out for a head coach in college football? I know he's coming off two "successful seasons," but that was with a veteran laden team comprised mostly of Ty Willingham's recruits. Weis has clearly shown he can recruit; Rivals.com lists his current class at #1 in the country. That's all well and good assuming you can also develop that talent. The jury is still out on whether Weis can accomplish that feat.

There's no doubting Weis has a knack for offense, even despite the early numbers. You can make the argument that ND has faced the toughest first three games of anyone in the country; in fact I'm certain of it. But Weis' specialty is creating an advanced game plan precisely for the next opponent, a task he can't accomplish with limited hours of practice at the college level.

But let's go back to the original question: Has Charlie Weis lost his team? There are also rumors of Ron Powlus confronting Charlie after his 30-minute post-game lambasting, and questioning him about whether that was the proper method to handle 18-21 year-olds. His arrogance, or "hubris" if you will, doesn't go over well at this level.

We'll see what happens this weekend after Charlie 'went back to training camp.' Maybe they'll come out refocused at home and these rumors will go away. Michigan State is likely the Irish's best chance for a victory in their first 8 games. But if Notre Dame gets down early against another close rival, it's going to get ugly in South Bend.