Unable to walk without crutches because of bad knees, Weis led from above as the efficient Fighting Irish got their first postseason victory in 15 years, 49-21 over Hawaii on Wednesday night.
"The guys came out here on a mission," said Jimmy Clausen, who set Notre Dame bowl records with 401 yards passing and five touchdowns.
Golden Tate had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns, also Irish bowl records, including a 69-yarder that sparked a 28-point outburst to help the Notre Dame (7-6) end its NCAA-record bowl losing steak at nine.
With Weis calling plays from the coaches box, the Irish were unstoppable.
"This was a great step forward for us," he said. "It leads us into 2009 with a good taste in our mouth."
"They jumped on us," Warriors coach Greg McMackin said.
As Notre Dame was presented the bowl's pineapple-football trophy at midfield, each player came around to put their hands on it.
Notre Dame's victory was its first in the postseason since beating Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl to end the 1993 season. The Irish also avoided consecutive losing seasons.
Clausen was confident and sharp, completing 22 of 26 passes. He racked up 300 yards passing and three TDs by halftime, sending the crowd home early.
"We were clicking tonight," Clausen said. "Coming off the loss at (USC), we got to work, and I started feeling real good, the timing with the receivers and the timing with the backs.We wanted to come down here to get a win, and that's what we did."
Clausen faked a handoff, turned and heaved it to Tate, who had raced past cornerback Calvin Roberts along the left sideline. With the catch, Tate became the fifth Irish receiver to break 1,000 yards receiving in a season.
Tate followed it up in the third quarter with a 40-yard TD reception that pushed the lead to 42-7
Clausen and Tate shared the MVP award.
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