Photos: Jimmy Clausen (above) huddles with the Irish offense; Golden Tate leaves the field after the loss. (Getty)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame's final home game Saturday was the last chance for seniors to play before the home crowd. The more momentous question might be whether you can lump Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate into that group as well.
But the Irish's explosive quarterback-and-receiver tandem held firm after a 33-30, double-overtime loss to Connecticut, refusing to veer from the wait-and-see stance regarding the NFL, avoiding any hints as to whether this was indeed their final Notre Dame Stadium game or not.
"I don't know," Tate said after setting new single-season receiving records with 83 catches and 1,295 yards so far in 2009. "I'm just trying to get wins. Just worrying about next week and come December, (coach Charlie Weis) and I and my family, we'll talk about what the future is and all the different possibilities. Right now I'm trying to get it done for the seniors."
Asked if there was a scenario in which he could return to Notre Dame, Clausen said there was, but he also said he hasn't thought about his future yet.
"I haven't talked to my family, coach Weis or anybody about the future," Clausen said. "I'm going to go in (Sunday), watch the tape, see what I could have done better in the game and get ready to go out to California and play Stanford."
You guys are crazy. Have you actually looked at his stats? He is more than just a mediocre QB. I'll give you one thing, he is not the most mobile quarterback, but he is a good, solid QB for sure. I believe he would definitely benefit from another year though. Tate is simply awesome. Illustrating Weis'coaching incompetence, where was TATE his entire freshman season? Sitting on the sidelines is the answer. What a huge mistake.
Clausen's not as good as he thinks and the scouts know it. If Weis goes, Clausen should stay. Then if he does well under the new coach, he proves he's more than Weis's Golden Boy, and his stock will go up. If he leaves now he carries the Weis Stigma and not much more.
One thing definately in their future:
One more loss. Next week at Stanford.