If there was, indeed, any doubt about whether former Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis would return for a sixth season as head coach at Notre Dame, it was eliminated Saturday afternoon, when the Fighting Irish lost in double-overtime to UConn, 33-30.

A Notre Dame coach in his fifth season can't afford to lose at home to UConn -- especially on Senior Day. It was the second year in a row the Irish have lost their final home game. Last year, Syracuse, which came in with 8 losses and a lame-duck coach, came from behind in the fourth quarter to upset the Irish. It was the first time in ND football history the Irish had been beaten by a team with 8 losses.

Notre Dame, now 6-5, has lost three in a row, including a second loss in three years -- both coming in South Bend -- to Navy, a team the Irish beat 43 years in a row from 1964 through 2006.

The Irish finish the season next Saturday at Stanford, which a week ago routed Southern Cal. Jim Harbaugh has done at Stanford what Weis was supposed to do at Notre Dame. The Cardinal has beaten USC twice in the last three years, both times in the L.A. Coliseum. Weis is 0-5 against former Pats head coach Pete Carroll's Trojans.

A loss to Stanford would leave ND at .500 (6-6) at the end of the season for the second straight year. The Irish beat Hawaii in a postseason bowl last year, but were 3-9 in 2007, leaving Weis with a record of 16-20 over the last three years going into the Stanford game.

UConn came into Notre Dame Stadium for the first time with a record of 4-5, including a win over URI. The Huskies had lost three straight since the tragic death of defensive back Jasper Howard, who was stabbed after a campus dance..