Because of all the acute ridicule and despairing criticism that Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis has been receiving, he chose not make any comments before, during or after the game with Stanford.

The defense was behind their coach, and protested themselves — mindlessly forgetting their arms, hands, and head in a 45-38 shootout defeat to the Cardinals.

It takes a lot of superstars to put up 83 total points in a football game. And there were a handful of players on display Saturday night in Palo Alto, CA, that will soon be making seven-figure paychecks for their Sunday football playing services. Most notably, Heisman hopeful Toby Gerhart of the Cardinals.

In one breath: Gerhart gathered 205 rushing yards on 29 carries, had three rushing touchdowns — including the game-winner with :59 left in the fourth — and threw a halfback pass for a touchdown. He metaphorically took a pen, an envelope, and stamp and mailed his own invite to New York for Heisman festivities.

Golden Tate and Jimmy Clausen — if not for the 6-6 record — would also be included in the trophy party.  Clausen tossed a silly five touchdowns passes, three of which went to Tate.  Golden boy Golden also caught 10 passes for 201 yards.

Those 45 points were a lot of points for the Irish to give up — the most since Nov. 3, 2007 — against Navy to be precise.  And to lose to yet another freshman quarterback must make Weis and defensive coaches absolutely sick. Like, seasick and flu-sick combined.

The Irish, who are barely bowl-eligible, will be told of their coaches fate within the next 72 hours. Playblackjack.com has the odds at 8 to 1 that Weis will be the next coach to be fired or resign.

And if I was a gambling man, I'd have confidence putting my child's college fund on the line.