After a 38-0 loss to Michigan yesterday — which tied the 38-0 loss to Michigan in 2003 for the eighth most lopsided in school history — Weis canceled his Sunday news conference and the usual session for players to run and watch film. Instead he held a full practice.

Weis said there was no need for players to see the game film because it wouldn't do any good.

"One game is worse than the next game," he said.

After falling to 0-3 for just the second time in school history, the Irish are starting from scratch. They are treating this week as though it were the start of training camp, going back to the basics. Weis said the team will focus on trying to get good at a nucleus of plays.

"You have to find something you can hang your hat on," he said.

The starting offense will work against the starting defense until they're worn out, he said. Then it will be the second-team offense against the second-team defense until they are exhausted. There will be no scout teams replicating the offense or defense of Michigan State (3-0), Saturday's opponent. The Irish will be focusing on themselves.

Players will be competing for starting jobs.

"Everything is even-steven, like it's the first day out there, and everything is up for grabs," Weis said.

The reason for the shake-up is the horrible numbers the Irish have put up so far. Of the 17 major statistics the NCAA tracks, Notre Dame is last in the nation in four, in the bottom 10 in three others and the bottom 21 in three more.

Just like in 2001, the other time the Irish opened 0-3, much of the blame falls on the offense.

The 2001 squad coached by Bob Davie lost to Nebraska, Michigan State and Texas A&M by a combined 45 points. This year's squad lost to Georgia Tech, Penn State and Michigan by a combined 89 points.

Davie's team scored just two touchdowns, covering a total of 10 yards, and ranked second worst in the nation in total offense at 211 yards a game. Weis' team has no offensive touchdowns and is last in total offense at 115 yards a game.

The 13 points scored by the Irish are the fewest through three games since the 1933 squad scored 12 in starting the season 1-1-1.

The most worrisome statistic, though, is that because the Irish have given up 23 sacks, leading to 167 yards lost, they are averaging minus-4.7 yards rushing.

"The easy answer to our problem would be us running the football. Because now if you run the football, everything becomes easier," Weis said. "Now it's easier to throw a play-action pass. Now it's easier to protect. Now it's easier to move the ball consistently. That would be a heck of a way for us to get it started."

It's not just the offense, however. There were quite a few missed tackles against the Wolverines, and the Irish gave up 289 yards rushing — the most by an opponent since Stanford ran for 322 yards in 1997.

Dating to last season, the Irish have given up 30 or more points in five straight games for the first time in school history. They've lost all five. The only time Notre Dame has lost six in a row came in 1960, when they lost eight straight.

So six weeks after Weis said he would never use the word "rebuilding," the Irish are focused on rebuilding. Weis said he doesn't know how long he will stay in the training camp mode.