FanHouse Armando Allen

FanHouse writer John Walters is living in South Bend, Ind., during one of the most pivotal seasons in Notre Dame history. Check back daily for his dispatches on the Irish

Upon entering the Guglielmo Athletic Complex (i.e., "The Gug") on Sunday, one could still feel the entire Notre Dame football program exhaling with relief. Local columnist Al Lesar of the South Bend Tribune reminded Irish head coach Charlie Weis that yesterday Weis had said, "There was a lot of bad stuff in the game, but I'm going to have a tough time feeling bad tonight." Lesar wondered whether, having had a night to digest the tape, if Weis' mind had changed.

"I'm not going to feel bad," Charlie chuckled. "You can't talk me into feeling bad."

Before we begin, an injury report: even though I've been dinged up a little this week, I'm a go-to blog at Purdue on Saturday night. Earlier in the week I was held out of a few posts to accelerate my recovery. That allowed other bloggers to get more reps, which I believe will help us down the line ... on-line. It's one thing when you're a back-up and nobody expects anything more of you than a facile remark in the comments section, but when an editor gives you command of the huddle -- I mean, keyboard -- no one ever really knows how you'll respond. I've been pleased with how the younger pundits have stepped up this week.

Okay, guys, fire away.

Sophomore wide receiver Michael Floyd underwent surgery to repair his broken collarbone on Sunday morning, or at least he was scheduled to, according to Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis. "I would anticipate him missing the rest of the regular season," said Weis, "and maybe we could bring him back for the bowl game if that's the direction we want to go."

A few thoughts:

1) Because Floyd has only appeared in three of Notre Dame's 12 scheduled games, he could sit out the rest of this year and apply for a medical redshirt. On the other hand, have you seen how preposterously talented he is? The chances of Floyd spending five autumns in South Bend are slimmer than those of U-Dub beating USC-what?!? Still, it is highly doubtful Floyd would spend a fifth year here. He might not even spend a fourth year here.

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Charlie Weis began the Q-and-A portion of Tuesday's noon presser by calling on former Irish beat writer Michael Rothstein, one of his favorite gadflies the past few seasons, to ask the first question (Rothstein, whose pregame lodgings the last couple years was the floor of my hotel room, now writes for AnnArbor.com).

Anyway, Rothstein asked about the status Irish fullback James Aldridge, who injured his right shoulder versus Nevada last Saturday. Said Weis, "He'll be out next week." Asked what Plan B is in the absence of the senior running back, Weis said that junior Robert Hughes who, like Aldridge, was playing tailback last season, will assume the role.

Yes, but expect the Irish to show a lot of single-back sets and double tight end formations. Yes, they always do under Weis, but expect even more. And don't be surprised if tight ends-in-name Bobby Burger and Tyler Eifert line up at fullback. The former should be juggling in and out of the huddle all afternoon, making him, yes, an In-and-Out Burger.