FanHouse Michael Floyd

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Observations and opinions on Saturday's USC-Notre Dame clash:

Sure, Notre Dame came close, but imagine how much better quarterback Matt Barkley will be 13 months from now in the Los Angeles Coliseum. By the way, listening to both Pete Carroll and Barkley speaking to the media after the game, it sounds as if the USC head coach has engineered his own Mini-Me.

Here is a portion of what Carroll had to say about Barkley, who after all did toss for 380 yards, is 5-0 as a starter and has won on the road in Columbus, Berkeley and South Bend: "Matt Barkley is really something,'' Carroll said. "The plays he's capable of making, there's no limit for him. He's just remarkable -- there's no other way to describe it. There's no one else to compare him to in our history. He's so poised, so comfortable in the arena. He has this great inner strength."

And you thought Charlie Weis had a man-crush on Jimmy Clausen ...

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."

West Lafayette, Ind. -- What exactly was the down-and-distance? Fourth-and-goal? Fourth-and-game? Fourth-and-.500 record? Fourth and "Fire Charlie?"

"We were just talking about it in the locker room," said Notre Dame senior offensive tackle Sam Young. "Was that fourth down?"

It certainly was. Three yards from paydirt the Irish, trailing 21-17 at Purdue, were also one down away from heartbreak -- and the ever-present vultures -- again.

"When we broke the huddle, Kyle said, 'Give me the ball'," Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen said. "I said, 'You better catch it'."

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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After two games -- and this is sure to shock anyone who witnessed the 2007 season -- Notre Dame is tied for No. 1 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed. The Irish, who surrendered an NCAA-record 58 sacks two years ago, have yet to allow a sack. Compare that figure to 2007, when after four games the Irish had surrendered -- and I don't use that term casually -- 24 sacks.

The Irish are one of 12 teams yet to yield a sack. But the numbers are more impressive than that, actually. The Irish are one of seven teams who have played two games that have not allowed a sack yet. And of those seven teams -- Auburn, Georgia Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, the Irish, Pittsburgh, San Diego State and West Virginia -- Notre Dame has attempted the second most passes.

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic in South Bend right now. After all, at this time last year the Fighting Irish were 0-5 and well on there way to the worst season in school history. This season they've already surpassed 2007's win total, and are 4-1 while seeming to get better every week. Jimmy Clausen improves with each game, having two consecutive career games, and wide receivers Michael Floyd and Golden Tate give the Golden Domers the ability to score from anywhere on the field.

If there has been a weakness for this Irish team, though, it's been the kicker. Through five games Irish kicker Brandon Walker has made only one of his seven field goal attempts, and he's seven for twenty dating back to last season. After two more misses on Saturday in Notre Dame's 28-21 win over Stanford, Charlie Weis has seen just about enough of Mr. Walker.

"We definitely have to explore Ryan [Burkhart] kicking field goals,'' Weis said Sunday. ''Because in Brandon's case, it's not obviously a case of being able to kick it high enough or far enough. When you're 1 out of 7 kicking field goals, it just doesn't cut it.

''I've heard worse suggestions than that,'' Weis said when asked if sitting Walker for a game or two was an option. ''I don't know the answer to that at this point. We're going to get after this Monday and Tuesday, and we're going to make a decision on what we're going to do.

Much-hyped Notre Dame was overshadowed for once today, but here's guessing their fans don't mind. As a rule Notre Dame players seem to be a bit overrated by the recruiting services but across the nation there seems to be a vibe that Notre Dame's Signing Day haul was commendable. Rivals currently gives the Irish the #2 signing class, not far behind Alabama despite only 23 commitments to the Tide's 32.

So what gives? Was it luck of the Irish or simply a shrewd recruiting season for beleaguered coach Charlie Weis?

Here's guessing playing time was a major factor. Notre Dame played an army of young players last year. They looked terrible for it, posting the team's worst record in seemingly forever. Somehow that bad record and little hope for next year could be overlooked by many.

Among the best gets for Notre Dame: Ohio tight end Kyle Rudolph (nation's #20 player), California Quarterback Dayne Crist the nation's #25 player, tallish Minnesota receiver Michael Floyd (#27), Oregon defensive end Ethan Johnson (#32), Nebraska offensive lineman Trevor Robinson (#37), Michigan tailback Jonas Gray (#72) and Chicago linebacker Darius Fleming (#89).

Notre Dame also managed to steal defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore at the last minute from Texas A&M. Wednesday's big story was the retention of 6'-4" Virginia receiver Deion Walker who appeared ready to freak out and head to Penn State before sticking with the Irish.

While it's been incredibly painful to watch the Irish play football this season, and not just because of those horrid jerseys they wore against USC, the continual losing hasn't effected Notre Dame's recruiting very much. In fact, it could be helping.

The Irish may be 1-7 right now, with little light on the horizon, but they've picked up quite a recruiting class in the last few months. Including two players they just added to their class since Saturday's loss.

Running back Jonas Gray and wide receiver Michael Floyd have decided to play for Charlie Weis in the last few days. That means the Irish now have 21 commitments from high school players, eleven of which are in the Top 100.

This isn't a new phenomenon. A lot of times losing teams are attractive to recruits because they know there's a better chance they'll get playing time on a bad team. Throw in the fact that it's Notre Dame, and they're on national television every weekend, and Notre Dame becomes an extremely attractive option for high schoolers.

The question is whether or not it will make any difference for the Irish. I don't think there's much question that Charlie Weis knows how to get the talent to South Bend. The problem is, I'm not sure he knows how to turn that talent into a winning football team.

It's easy when you have Tom Brady, or even Brady Quinn, but Weis hasn't shown anybody he can win without those two. With all the talent the Irish have on the team right now, and with the talent they'll be adding next year, if Weis can't get this team back in the national picture he may find himself out of a job sooner rather than later.