After last Saturday's loss to Navy, Charlie Weis received a text message from his quarterback Jimmy Clausen at 1am.

Clausen was sounding off---upset at himself for costing the Irish a win because of a fumble he made in the 3rd quarter attempting to score a touchdown at the one yard line. Clausen said Wednesday he actually thought it was 3rd down instead of 1st down.

"After the game, I felt really bad for not only the team and myself but also for coach Weis," Clausen explained.

That's when Clausen took the opportunity to defend his coach, who has come under fire again this week due to the loss to Navy.

"He's always seems to be the guy in the media," Clausen explained. "If be actually knew coach Weis.... that's the reason I came to Notre Dame was because of Coach Weis. If he wasn't here, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

"We have a great relationship and he's not out there each and every down playing in the game---it's all of us that out there. I take full responsibility for everything, all the mistakes I make, things I could have done better to give us a chance to make plays down in the red zone."

The Irish lost 23-21 and were just 2-of-6 in the red zone, leaving up to 24 points off the scoreboard while inside Navy's 20. Notre Dame didn't convert on a 4th and goal attempt, missed a field goal, threw an interception on a miss communication between Clausen and Floyd, and also there was the Clausen fumble.

"Fumbling the ball on the one yard line--that's not coaching, that's playing," Clausen continued. "I take full responsibility for stuff like that."

Weis, who calls the offensive plays for the Irish serving as its offensive coordinator, also has a strong relationship with captain Eric Olsen, according to the center.

"He's the first one out there in front of the media taking the blame," Olsen said. "As a player, I understand he's not out there.

"People sometimes Criticize his play calls, but what is he supposed to call when I let a guy run free right at Jimmy? It's really not him, it's the players. It's on us."

Weis doesn't really answer questions about being the hot seat, saying he doesn't worry about it because it's a constant week-to-week thing.

"He'd never admit it, but that kind of stuff has to wear down on you as a human being--constantly having that pressure on you like that," Olsen said. "But Coach Weis is a really strong person--that's no secret."

In many ways, the Irish players themselves could be controlling Weis' future based on what they do this Saturday against Pitt and in the final two games of the season.

"I don't want to say the fate is in our hands because I don't really know that," Olsen said. "I don't know who makes that decision but all we can do as a team is play our best and I know Coach Weis is going to try and coach his best and put us in the best position to win---because that's what he does every week."

After a 5-1 start, the Irish are now 6-3 with three games to go in the regular season. Last season, Notre Dame had a similar strong start and finished 7-6. In 2007, it was complete disaster as the Irish were just 3-9.

Pitt is ranked 8th in the country and is 8-1. It's an 8pm kickoff Saturday night in Pittsburgh.