But Weis didn’t stop there. Earlier in the week, he called in a few favors from some old bosses, guys like Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells, and asked how they would play USC. But all Weis would say about that was, “It’s nice to have resources,” and that the most useful bit of advice he gleaned was to have Notre Dame “shorten the game” — meaning keep the football away from Southern Cal.

He attempted that in ways large and small, with clever quarterback keepers that Brady Quinn ran into the USC gut, with a flea flicker that backfired, and by alternating Travis Thomas, a slashing runner, with his regular workhorse back, Darius Walker.

“They just kept nicking us, kept the sticks moving, kept doing the things Charlie’s known for,” said USC coach Pete Carroll, who knocked heads with Weis when both worked in the NFL. “I looked up just before halftime and they’d run 50 plays to 29 for us. That had me worried.”

Ultimately, though, a handful of big plays by Southern Cal’s Reggie Bush and Matt Leinart proved quality still trumped quantity.

“When you’re going against an opponent of the caliber of USC, when you have the opportunity to end the game,” Weis said, “you better do it.”

Slide show   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

Experience has taught him to deal with the game’s high and lows. Afterward, Weis didn’t try to soft-pedal the loss and he stuck in the obligatory plug about bouncing back next week when BYU comes to town. It was a typically short, to-the-point speech from a coach who doesn’t mind being described as grizzled, someone who takes pride in treating every game — win or lose — like every other.

But a few years from now, when people go back and look for the game when Weis first wrapped his arms around all that is Notre Dame, when he learned to care about it more than the students and the fans, the alumni like himself, the administrators and even the players who walk through its doors — this likely will be it.

“I was a little bit worried if we won the game that I’d become the story,” Weis said.

“It didn’t happen,” he added, “but I would have liked to find out.”