Notre Dame Recruit Outlook-Michael Floyd

Michael Floyd is an amazing wide receiver coming out of Cretin-Derham High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has now committed to Notre Dame to play wide receiver under Charlie Weis. As you can see, he wears number 80, and here's a little more info on him.

Height: 6-3
Weight: 199
40 time: 4.55 seconds
GPA: 3.2
Stars: Rivals-**** Scout-*****

Those facts don't show how good he is. It is very surprising that he is not a five star wide receiver on Rivals. He has been hurt this year, but by looking at his stats, you couldn't tell. His season has solidified him as a bonafide stud. Here are his stats.

Rushing: 374 rushing yards, 4 touchdowns
Receiving: 39 receptions, 845 yards, 11 touchdowns
Returning: 1 punt return, 11 yards

His big play ability is amazing. He is averaging around 30 yards per carry, and he has scored on a little more than a fourth of his catches. His big play ability is what Notre Dame will need the most.

Floyd has had big games, but this is by far his best.

versus White Bear Lake: 9 catches, 194 yards, 3 receiving touchdowns; 6 rushing yards

Cretin-Derham ended up winning that game 55-17. Floyd is the leader for this powerhouse team. They will be playing in the state playoffs this coming weekend. Floyd is coming into Notre Dame as the star recruit. He is one of four five star recruits coming to Notre Dame this season. Notre Dame is banking on Floyd to be a star receiver for all four years at Notre Dame. Even though the Irish are not losing a wide receiver this season, he is projected to get great playing time and may even be a starter. If he can learn the system, he may become the biggest threat on the offense.

His strengths are his hands, playmaking ability, and his size. His only weakness is his route running, but that is a very fixable problem. Next year, he will be a key part of the Irish offense.

Notre Dame-Duke Preview

Notre Dame and Duke square off today in the battle of one-wins. Duke, they expected to be awful this season. Notre Dame, this season is a disappointment in your opinion. It's senior day at Notre Dame. Say goodbye to Tom Zbikowski, Trevor Laws, and John Carlson. Say hello to Kyle McCarthy, Ian Williams, and Mike Ragone. This game doesn't have very high expectations, but both teams will play very hard, and it should be a good game.

Starting Lineups
Notre Dame
QB-Jimmy Clausen
RB-James Aldridge
WR-George West
WR-Robby Parris
WR-David Grimes
TE-John Carlson
OT-Sam Young
OG-Mike Turkovich
C-Dan Wenger
OG-Eric Olsen
OT-Paul Duncan

DE-Trevor Laws
NT-Ian Williams
DE-Dwight Stephenson
OLB-John Ryan
ILB-Joe Brockington
ILB-Maurice Crum
OLB-Kerry Neal
CB-Terrail Lambert
CB-Darrin Walls
FS-David Bruton
SS-Tom Zbikowski

Duke
QB-Thaddues Lewis
RB-Re'quan Boyette
WR-Jomar Wright
WR-Eron Riley
TE-Nick Stefanow
TE-Brandon King
OT-Cameron Goldberg
OG-Zach Maurides
C-Matt Rumsey
OG-Rob Schrimann
OT-Fred Roland

DE-Greg Akinbiyi
DT-Vince OghoBaase
DT-Ayanga Okpokowuruk
DE-Wesley Oglesby
OLB-Vincent Ray
MLB-Michael Tauliili
OLB-Marcus Jones
CB-Leon Wright
CB-Glenn Williams
FS-Chris Davis
SS-Adrian Aye-Darko

Notre Dame Stat Leaders

Passing
Jimmy Clausen-864 yards, 4 touchdowns, 57%
Evan Sharpley-736 yards, 5 touchdowns, 55%
Armando Allen-10 yards, 0 touchdowns, 100%

Rushing
James Aldridge-436 yards, 0 touchdowns
Armando Allen-302 yards, 0 touchdowns
Robert Hughes-48 yards, 2 touchdowns
Travis Thomas-40 yards, 4 touchdowns
Junior Jabbie-21 yards, 0 touchdowns
Asaph Schwapp-11 yards, 0 touchdowns
Luke Schmidt-6 yards, 0 touchdowns
Golden Tate-4 yards, 0 touchdowns
Geoff Price-minus 12 yards, 0 touchdowns
Evan Sharpley-minus 95 yards, 0 touchdowns
Jimmy Clausen-minus 177 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving
Robby Parris-361 yards, 1 touchdown
John Carlson-285 yards, 2 touchdowns
Duval Kamara-232 yards, 3 touchdowns
David Grimes-188 yards, 1 touchdown
George West-137 yards, 0 touchdowns
Golden Tate-126 yards, 1 touchdown
Armando Allen-98 yards, 1 touchdown
Junior Jabbie-71 yards
Will Yeatman-37 yards
Aspah Schwapp-27 yards
James Aldridge-23 yards
Luke Schmidt-16 yards
DJ Hord-7 yards
Mike Ragone-7 yards
Travis Thomas-minus 1 yard

Results
Notre Dame
Georgia Tech 3-33 L
@ Penn State 10-31 L
@ Michigan 0-38 L
Michigan State 14-31 L
@ Purdue 19-33 L
@ UCLA 20-6 W
Boston College 14-27 L
USC 0-38 L
Navy 44-46 L
Air Force 24-41 L

Duke
Connecticut 14-45 L
@ Virginia 13-24 L
@ Northwestern 20-14 W
@ Navy 43-46 L
@ Miami 14-24 L
Wake Forest 36-41 L
Virginia Tech 14-43 L
@ Florida State 6-25 L
Clemson 10-47 L
Georgia Tech 24-41 L

Prediction
Notre Dame wins 28-14. I think the defense really steps up in this game. After two bad performances, they will go without starting nose tackle Pat Kuntz. Freshman Ian Williams will be making his first start. He's more of a true nose tackle, and I think he will have a big performance. Jimmy Clausen throws 4 touchdown passes in this game. Thaddues Lewis runs one in and throws one in.

Notre Dame-Long Island

Notre Dame kicks off its basketball season tonight at the Joyce Center tonight, hoping to have more success than the football team. This game looks promising for the Irish. Heck, this whole non-conference looks promising for the Irish. Hopefully, the magic will start tonight.

Starting Lineups
Notre Dame
PG-#2 Tory Jackson
SG-#23 Kyle McAlarney
SF-#31 Rob Kurz
PF-#40 Luke Zeller
C-#44 Luke Harangody

Long Island
PG-#11 Tyrone Mattison
SG-#55 John Scott
SF-#1 Eugene Kotorobai
PF-#32 Kellen Allen
C-#33 Aurimas Adomaitis

2006-07
Notre Dame
Record: 24-8 (11-5)
Postseason: NCAA Tournament (Lost in First Round)
Returning Starters: 3
Field Goal %: 45.9%

Long Island
Record: 10-19 (6-12)
Postseason: None
Returning Starters: 2
Field Goal %: 32.6%

Prediction
Notre Dame wins by 27. Long Island is just plain awful. 87-60.

Halftime Report

It's halftime at Notre Dame Stadium, and the Irish are, surpise, losing! Air Force is up 17-10. Here are the scoring drives.

First Quarter
AF-Ryan Harrison: 19 yard field goal; 8:31 (3-0)

AF-John Rabold: 19 yard fumble recovery; 0:40 (10-0)

Second Quarter
ND-Brandon Walker: 28 yard field goal; 8:29 (10-3)

ND-John Carlson: 2 yard catch from Jimmy Clausen; 2:32 (10-10)

AF-Spencer Armstrong: 8 yard run; 1:09 (17-10)

Statistical Leaders
Passing
AF-Shaun Carney: 5/10, 46 yards, 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
ND-Jimmy Clausen: 5/11, 59 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions

Rushing
AF-Chad Hall: 16 carries, 83 yards, 5.2 yards per carry
ND-James Aldridge: 11 carries, 55 yards, 5 yards per carry

Receiving
AF-Spencer Armstrong: 1 catch, 12 yards, 0 touchdowns
ND-John Carlson: 2 catches, 30 yards, 1 touchdown

Tackles
AF-John Rabold: 7 tackles
ND-Trevor Laws: 9 tackles

Longest Plays
AF-Shaun Carney 21 yard rush
ND-John Carlson 28 yard catch from Jimmy Clausen

MVP
AF-Chad Hall: If you've been watching the game, you would notice him. Maybe not from his play, but more from the lovefest he's getting from the announcers. It's starting to get a bit creepy. However, he's a big play back who has many runs that have been stuffed and many that have gone for 15 yards.

ND-James Aldridge: Aldridge has been the most consistent runner on the field. He always seems to get yards. You can't say that about Hall, Allen, or Carney. The Irish need him to keep it up for the Irish to come back and win this one.

LVP
AF-Keith Madsen: For a team that's doing as well as Air Force, it's hard to find a bad player. However, Madsen did have one bonehead play. He fumbled around the 37 yard line with 12 seconds to go. The Irish got lucky and kept the Falcons' lead at 7.

ND-Asaph Schwapp: If it weren't for Butterfingers here, this game would be tied. Clausen had a good handoff, but Schwapp fumbled it. When the ball was returned for a touchdown, Schwapp locked up my LVP of the half.

Bonehead Mistake of the Game
Clausen wraps this up. Air Force is clearly sending the blitz. I see it. Everyone else watching should be able to se it, but Clausen must not. He doesn't point it out to the tight ends, offensive tackles, or backs. This results in Clausen eating grass.

Outlook
Eh. Can't really say much. At one point, the Notre Dame defense was playing amazing. When Air Force ran the two minute drill, the Irish defense looked like they have never seen the option. Early in the game, Clausen was scrambling like crazy and throwing incompletes. At the end of the quarter, he was much more accurate. I can't even predict the rest of the game. It's just so weird.

Notre Dame-Air Force Preview & Prediction

Notre Dame and Air Force have found themselves on opposite sides of the football spectrums. Notre Dame is suppose to be the favorite at Notre Dame Stadium with the high powered run oriented offense. Air Force is suppose to struggle. Now, it's flipped.

Notre Dame and Air Force are squaring off in a rivalry that Air Force has done surprisingly well in. ESPN Classic shows countless replays of games where Notre Dame and Air Force go down to the wire. Now, it's Notre Dame who is looking for the upset.

The teams
Notre Dame: Notre Dame is 1-8 this year. That doesn't even sound right. This season is uncharacteristically bad for the Irish. Gerry Faust, Bob Davie, and Ty Willingham didn't start out this bad. Ever. Now, Charlie Weis has immense talent, especially in his underclassmen, but he can't translate this into wins.

Air Force: Air Force is 7-3. The Falcons haven't played a great schedule. Navy is actually their toughest game so far this year. Air Force is led by a great rushing attack that averages 272.8 yards per game on the ground. Shaun Carney is a very accurate passer with a 62.8 completion percentage.

Key Players
Jimmy Clausen, Notre Dame-Clausen is back in the starting lineup. Weis said that he looks like he healed from whatever injury he suffered against Purdue. This may be the first time we ever see Clausen at full health in his college career. After coming back from the elbow surgery and hip injury, he better be ready to play.

Armando Allen, Notre Dame-The Irish are going to have to keep it on the ground this game. Air Force has had some trouble stopping the run attack this year. Hopefully, Charlie tries to take advantage of it by putting in the speedy Allen. Screen plays and tosses put Allen in a good situation to get into the open field, where he will make you pay.

Shaun Carney, Air Force-Notre Dame has been bad in pass defense recently. Giving up a completion to Navy is bad, let alone a game winning touchdown AND two point conversion. Shaun Carney is a fast QB with an accurate arm. He will have to connect on short passes to wear out the Notre Dame defense.

Chad Hall, Air Force-Not only is he the Falcons' leading rusher. He is their leading receiver also. Hall will have to use his amazing speed to outrun the slow Irish safeties.

Prediction
Notre Dame wins 17-10. Both teams will try to wear out the opposing defenses. Both Allen and Hall will get over 100 yards on the ground. Clausen will not throw more than 20 times. Carney will have more rushes than he has passes. This will be a relatively quick game.

Clausen To Start Against Air Force

He's lost the competition. He's moved up to the number one spot. He's been "injured" and lost his starting job. Now, Clausen is back.

Jimmy Clausen, the supposed savior, was named the starter for Notre Dame's game against Air Force tomorrow. This season, Clausen struggled when he got the chance. He threw five interceptions and only one touchdown pass in his seven games.

Coach Weis said Clausen struggled because the speed of the Division 1 college football game is a big change from Clausen's small high school in Southern California. Now, the Irish season is finished. They won't go to a bowl game. They had a bad season. It will be better next year, however. The Irish need to start their young players and get experience.

In the last two games, Sharpley started and he had moderate success. He threw two touchdowns and only one interception. The problem is that none of those games resulted in wins. Sharpley is an inconsistent player. He was amazing against Purdue and Boston College, but he was pedestrian against Southern Cal and Navy.

This change will not be the only one that Weis makes. There will probably be changes on defense. Instead of Justin Brown and Dwight Stephenson, Paddy Mullen will see some good playing time. Kyle McCarthy might see some playing time instead of Tom Zbikowski. We will see Brian Smith and Kerry Neal going after the QB instead of Anthony Vernaglia and John Ryan. This change is just the beginning.

Air Force's defense is 38th in the nation. However, that is scoring defense. Air Force has played a very averaged schedule. Navy, TCU, and Utah are their toughest games. TCU and Utah have bad offenses, as do many of the teams in the Mountain West Conference. They can rack up yards though. The Falcons are 105th in passing defense. Clausen will have to step up for the Irish to beat Air Force.

Clausen has played better defenses than Air Force's. Michigan and Penn State come to mind. Clausen needs to play better to keep this job. Next year, Dayne Crist is coming to South Bend. Clausen doesn't have the starting job wrapped up. This game's importance is more than just a win or a loss. This game may decide the starting lineup for 2008.

Notre Dame Basketball Season Preview

This year, Notre Dame fans are hoping that the basketball season turns out better than the football season. Looking at the team, that seems more than likely.

2006-07
Record: 24-8 (11-5)
Postseason: Lost in the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament to Winthrop
Quality Victories: Maryland, Marquette, Syracuse In The Big East Tournament
Bad Losses: South Florida, St. John's
Key Player: Russell Carter

Roster
1 Tyrone Nash SG Freshman
2 Tory Jackson PG Sophmore
5 Tom Kopko PG Freshman
13 Ty Proffitt PG Freshman
20 Jonathan Peoples SG Sophmore
21 Tim Abromaitis PF Freshman
23 Kyle McAlarney SG Junior
31 Rob Kurz PF Senior
33 Zach Hillesland SF Junior
34 Carleton Scott SF Freshman
40 Luke Zeller PF Junior
42 Ryan Ayers SF Junior
44 Luke Harangody C Sophmore

Starting Lineup
PG-Tory Jackson
SG-Kyle McAlarney
SF-Zach Hillesland
PF-Rob Kurz
C-Luke Harangody
6th Man-Luke Zeller

Impact Freshman
Carelton Scott: Carelton Scott is a skinny but fast wing out of New Jersey. His wingspan is very impressive, and his speed at practice has been outstanding. After losing Russell Carter, Carleton Scott has to step up.

Best Player
Tory Jackson: Some may argue Kyle McAlarney or Luke Harangody. Harangody seems to be inconsistent, and McAlarney hasn't played college basketball in almost a year. Jackson stepped in after McAlarney's suspension and led this team. Jackson averaged 7.8 points in his freshman year and also led the Irish in assists. He stepped up big in their Big East Tournament game against Georgetown. He will be playing point guard even though McAlarney has returned. This could be his breakout year after being named to the Big East All-Rookie team.

Biggest Question Mark
Height: The Irish are a fast team, but they do not have much height. Their tallest player is Luke Zeller, who is 6-11. Zeller, however, is their only player above 6-10. When the Irish played Roy Hibbert and Georgetown last year, Harangody and Zeller were shut down. Harangody is big (250 lbs.), but he is only 6-8. Hillesland, Zeller, and Kurz need to play big in the paint so they don't get pushed around by big men.

Best News
McAlarney Returns: After being busted for having marajuana in his car, Kyle McAlarney was suspended for the remainder of the year. He was missed greatly, mostly for his 3-point shooting. He was shooting over 45% last year from beyond the arch. With Colin Falls, who is the Big East's all-time leading 3-point shooter, graduating, the Irish need him to make the big threes for them to win close ball games.

Big Losses
Collin Falls (Graduation)-16.1 ppg, 99 3-point shots made
Russell Carter (Graduation)-17.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg
Joe Harden (Transfer)-1.2 ppg

Schedule

vs. Long Island-11/12
vs. Monmouth @ the University of the Virgin Islands-11/16
vs. Baylor/Wichita State @ UVI-11/17 or 11/18
vs. Charlotte/Georgia Tech/UIC/Winthrop @ UVI-11/19
vs. Youngstown State-11/24
vs. Colgate-11/26
vs. Eastern Michigan-12/1
vs. Kansas State @ Madison Square Garden-12/4
vs. Northern Illinois-12/8
vs. San Francisco-12/22
vs. Brown-12/29
vs. North Florida-12/31
vs. West Virginia-1/3
vs. Connecticut-1/5
@ Marquette-1/12
vs. Cincinnati-1/15
@ Georgetown-1/19
@Villanova-1/26
vs. Providence-1/31
vs. DePaul-2/2
@ Seton Hall-2/6
vs. Marquette-2/9
@ Connecticut-2/13
@ Rutgers-2/17
vs. Pitt-2/21
vs. Syracuse-2/24
@ Louisville-2/28
@ DePaul-3/2
vs. St. John's-3/5
@ South Florida-3/8

Toughest Games
Kansas State, Georgetown, Connecticut (twice), Louisville, Marquette (twice)

Projected Win Total
20 to 27 wins

Projected Seed In NCAA Tournament
3rd to 8th