At college football's holiest cathedral -- home of Rockne and the Gipper -- the pressure to win is perhaps greater than it is anywhere else in the land.
Tyrone Willingham knew this when he left Stanford to become the coach at Notre Dame. But only now, one and a half seasons into the job, is he truly feeling the magnitude of the expectations.
"When you don't win, you feel like a piece of you has just been cut out," Willingham said this week as he considered Notre Dame's first 2-6 start since 1963.
"You feel like you've let yourself down, you feel like you've let your team down, your fans down."
The season reached a low point last week against Florida State when the Fighting Irish were shut out at home for the first time in 25 years, 37-0. Toward the end of the game, pockets of empty seats peppered the stadium.
Navy game
The pressure to win mounts exponentially today when Notre Dame plays Navy (6-3), a team it has beaten 39 consecutive times. If it loses, Notre Dame will no longer have the best cumulative winning percentage in Division I-A (.7461).
Michigan, idle this week, is second, by .0001 percent.
And if the Irish fail to win again this season, they will finish with their worst record since they went 0-1 in 1887, the football program's inaugural year.
If Willingham wanted to make excuses, he could build a case for why his team has not won more. Notre Dame has the most challenging schedule in the nation, with seven of its 12 opponents currently in the top 25.
And this year's team is still mostly made up of players recruited by a predecessor, Bob Davie. The Irish lost a handful of players from last season's 10-3 team to the NFL, and this season a true freshman is starting at quarterback.
"I don't make excuses," Willingham said. "You have to do things right. When you do things right and execute, good things usually happen to you. If you're not executing, then gosh, it doesn't happen."
To exacerbate the pressure, the 49-year-old Willingham is one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, and at this point last year, the Irish were 8-0 and ranked fourth nationally. In his first season, Willingham was being hailed as the savior of South Bend.
The Irish finished 10-3, losing to North Carolina State in the Gator Bowl. They entered this season in almost every top-25 ranking and defeated Washington State in the season opener, only to lose the next three games, including a 38-0 shutout to Michigan.
Measuring stick
Asked to evaluate his performance this season, Willingham said: "My measuring stick is winning. If we're not winning, I'm not doing a very good job."
Some of his critics have been quick to agree. A Web site -- FireTyWillingham.com -- advertises this season's lowlights: an offense that ranks 114th out of 117 Division I-A schools in scoring and a coach who has lost 45 of his last 102 games dating from his seven years at Stanford before coming to South Bend.
Notre Dame announced Willingham's hiring on Jan. 1, 2002. He replaced George O'Leary, who was the coach for five days before resigning over inaccuracies on his resume. O'Leary had replaced Davie, who was fired Dec. 2, 2001, after compiling a five-year record of 35-25.
Willingham, who signed a six-year contract that was reported by Chicago newspapers at the time to be worth US$12 million, insists that next season, his third, will be no more crucial than any other season.
"I think every coach is always worried about his job security," Willingham said.
His job security hinges almost exclusively on the opinions of the university's athletic director, Kevin White, and president, the Rev. Edward A. Malloy, said a member of the athletic department who did not want his name used.
When asked whether White or Malloy had offered him a vote of confidence at any point this season, Willingham skirted the question. Neither White nor Malloy returned phone calls.
Despite the ominous clouds hovering over Willingham's future, his players still believe that a turning point is just around the corner.
"I'm very surprised, I'm kind of shocked," running back Julius Jones said of the team's record. "No one expected it to be 2-6 at the beginning of the season. But we're going to keep playing; we're not going to give up.
Charles F. Lennon Jr., the executive director of the Alumni Association, tried to look on the bright side. "We lose more football games than we lose freshmen," he said. "Our students graduate, and that's important to alumni."
TV deal
It is not clear that NBC, whose five-year deal to televise Notre Dame home games expires after the 2005 season, will be as patient. According to BusinessWeek magazine, NBC pays the university about US$1.5 million a game. The pressure on Willingham to win will presumably grow as that renegotiation approaches.
Ken Schanzer, the president of NBC Sports, said: "It enhances our brand to be associated with Notre Dame in every way, shape and form. There are going to be years in which the team doesn't perform as well on the field as others, but we continue to be delighted with our relationship with Notre Dame."
NBC's ratings for Irish home games are down 19 percent compared with last season's. Schanzer would not comment on whether the network intended to continue its association with Notre Dame after 2005. A second member of the university's athletic department indicated that other networks had already expressed an interest in replacing NBC.
Television contracts are not Willingham's greatest concern these days. He is too busy trying to salvage a season that he says has been one of the most trying experiences of his life.
"I believe this football team can be successful," he said. "We have four games remaining. But we have to do things right. I think I have great young men to work with, and they're willing to stay together, pay the price and be the best they can be."
Jones, the running back, said: "We don't want to lose any more games. Losing is just not a part of Notre Dame."
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