Adding Injury to Insult – Michael Floyd Breaks Collarbone

michael-floyd-injury
Michael Floyd broke his collarbone on a second quarter pass to the endzone that was ruled incomplete. (Photo - Icon SMI)

On a play in which it appeared Michael Floyd hauled in his sixth touchdown of the season in the back of the end zone, the super star sophomore wide receiver broke his collarbone according to NBC’s Alex Flanigan.

On first and goal Jimmy Clausen lobbed a fade to Floyd who appeared to have the possession of the ball with two feet in bounds, but officials ruled the play incomplete.  Charlie Weis challenged the play, but replay officials upheld the call even though the NBC announcing crew of Pat Hayden and Tom Hammond both thought the play would be ruled a tochdown.

The bigger news, however, is that Floyd broke his collarbone on the play and will miss considerable time.

Weis will no doubt be asked about the extent of the injury after the game.  How much time Floyd misses will be determined by how severe the break is.

Losing Floyd is a major blow to an Irish offense that was moving the ball at will prior to Floyd’s injury.  The sophomore hauled in his fifth touchdown of the season in the first quarter and was well on his way to another monster performance.

Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen has also been banged up this afternoon and is hobbling arond the field on what appears to be a gimpy ankle.  Clausen has only missed two plays thus far and is still throwing the ball pretty well.

We’ll have more on Floyd’s injury after the game when more information is available.

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43 Comments

    1. Floyd should be able to medical redshirt, but for a player of his caliber it probably wouldn’t amount to much because he will go pro after his senior year (at the latest). A medical redshirt would also mean he could not play in the bowl game, which is still a possibility.

  1. I wish ND fans could accept their own teams limitations instead of blaming all their losses on external factors like Big Ten officials. I can’t wait until USC stomps your ass and then you can blame your loss on Pac-10 officials LOL.

  2. Boys ( and girls)
    aren’t you glad NOW that Notre Dame is NOT part of the Big 10?
    Seriously, if we had joined the conference which cannot count,
    we would be the step child of this mess. ( I am amazed that
    the Pac 8 CAN change the title to Pac 10 when the Arizona’s of this world joined. Likewise the BIG 8-with the break up of the SWAC became the BIG 12–and the the “big 10” keeps their title to Big 10 when Joe Pa and the folks at Happy Valley joined.)
    I realize BIG 10 SOUNDS better than BIG 11-but it IS ELEVEN-and with ND they would STILL be BIG 10-uggh.
    Living in Columbus, Ohio is not a treat-but the folks here are frustrated too with this crew. Something should be done.
    Help me out here somebody–WHY DO we have Big 10 crews as a Non-conference team?
    Why not a MIXED CREW?
    I realize those who spearhead the organization look at
    schedules-but why not alphbetical names?
    Why must the Big 11 have their crew? Mix it up OR as somebody else stated–
    WHY– do we have to have a conference crew anyway?
    NCAA is NOT doing people favors!
    Is it because it is easier for the sake of organization?
    Is it because it is economical to keep Fred the Ref in a tri-state area so he can easily go to Madison then to Evanston and South Bend with a bogus call as opposed to going to Provo then Columbus then Boston?
    The NCAA has THEIR OWN INTERESTS IN MIND.
    Notre DAME had a touchdown with Floyd. Plain and simple.
    This is going from Bad to worse.
    I do fault our defense and stupid penalties for late hits and 74 Sam Young doing his “miami imitation” but please—
    Big 11 sucks–they are over rated-
    can’t win the big ones-
    and all they do is complain about the SEC conference and how they live in a bubble. Big 11 people should get better refs and not throw stones.
    But–I am sure as hell am at this and EVERY crew from the old farts from the big 11.

  3. We sure as hell gut it out and made plays to send the Sparties home with their tail tucked between their legs. The loss of Floyd is heartbreaking. He definitely was well on his way to a breakout season. However, let’s not forget Golden Tate. If he can just stay consistent with catching the ball he’ll have a monster season. With the entourage of awesome receivers I feel pretty confident that coach weis will plug in the best man for the job in Floyd’s absence. Allen is playing productive, Jimmy is just tough, Rudolph has a helluva stiff arm, Tate will step it up. We’re gonna be alright! With us traveling to West Lafayette this weekend, we’re not going to overlook Purdue. We’ll go in and get the job done and come out with a win. With or without Floyd this season will be one for the ages. And Floyd’s best years are STILL ahead of him. I’m expecting a big day for Weis and his coaching staff this weekend.

    Notre Dame 49
    Purdue 17

    GO IRISH!

  4. Micheal Floyd… Thanks for the plays this year, they were great!
    Get some rest, drink lots of milk, rehab hard. Looking forward to your return to the field.
    Shazamrock

  5. I like the idea of rotating TB in the backfield…however I think AA has shown some good runs and has show more consistancy than the other TBs… for example compared to last year he is breaking through arm tackles and has made some key first downs…also he is hitting that extra gear…matter of time before he hits a big big run. Also a lot of TB (or runnning backs as a whole) are rhythm players …its hard to get a rhythm without the reps.

  6. Floyd out is certainly going to hurt certain aspects of the passing game but I worry if another WR doesn’t step up teams are going to start bringing the safety in and focus on the running game or blitzing the corners. Who knows, maybe with Floyd out the refs will start watching Golden a bit more and start calling some much deserved pass interference/illegal contact against opposing corners.

  7. While I agree that Holtz had many great running backs it boils down to who knows the plays and can execute. AA has been outstanding so far. Jonas Gray has also shown real talent. I am not sure the fullbacks will get many chances with this type of offense.

    Floyd missing will hurt! This offense cannot be stopped if JC continues throwing with the same accuracy. Other wideouts will have to step up. Maybe Shaq?

  8. I disagree, Run Armondo till he drops. He’s not a 32 year old back, he’s a junior in collage, he’s got more energy to burn then all us old farts combined. He has it going on and let’s all go along for the ride.
    ps. Sorry for the shit sandwich Michael, hopefully you won’t have to eat it for long.
    Another weird game but I will take it….for now.

  9. We should be rotating at least five different running backs in and out of a game just like Lou Holtz did. All running backs and all players for that matter play with a different style, so it is hard to contain and prepare for them.

    1. The more players you use, the more experience they get and keep other players fresh. You also get to see what each and every player can and cannot do. That is why I loved Lou Holtz. If you were good enough to make the team, you were good enough to play no matter the situation!

  10. I agree Walker is a stud. We have alot of WR that can will step up. It will be interesting when the light goes off in this defense. The talent is there, they just need to stop thinking and react.

  11. They gave Riddick a shot to run the ball in the Nevada game…not sure why they did’nt give Wood a chance…I watched alot of film on Wood in HS and he is good…some would say that he was playing against weak competion…

    I predict Walker will step up and have a big input in place of Floyd…

  12. What is up with Ceirra Wood? I though he was having a great camp. They need to focus on the running game now that Floyd is out. AA is not going to be able to carry the ball 20 times a game. If we can put out a running game they will need to put three line backers on the field which will benefit JC hitting Kyle Rudolph across the middle. I just think the defense will be better. They need more time and more film study on the front seven. I see them growing into a good unit.

  13. Good point on Jonas…

    So Hughes playing FB he does not get many carries- however I thought they could of used him on sceen plays…rolling AA to one side and Hughes to the other side …keep the Defence guessing…

    We are stacked at WR…however I dont see Goodie, or Shaq or Walker stepping up…they all are very talented they just need some confidence– may after a week of running with the 1 team that is what they need.

  14. Cliff, he is young and AA was not good at picking up blitzs as a young RB. Jonas Grey will be a good back and will be able to pound the ball. My question is what happend to Robert Hughes? I am not worried about the loss of Floyd we have a lot of depth at WR and some players will step up.

  15. Thanks Jack.

    So other comments…did you (Jack) or did anyone notice how many times Jonas Gray missed blitzing LB’s? In fact the block he missed is when JC got hurt. He is a ok HB however part of being a good HB is picking up the blitz- just like AA did…wow has he evolved into a fine player.

  16. Cliff, great comment I agree. They are playing five yds off the ball and back peddling. Lets get these guys up in the grill of some WR. We have Blanton, Walls and several other great corners. Start putting them on an island and let them play bump an run just like the corners in Oakland did in the early 80’s. The only other receive we would have to worry about is the TE and we have LB that can run with the TE.

  17. We need to recruit corners that are bigger than 5’9″. We have not had a good corner since the days of Bobby Taylor. I agree with the thinking of finding 11 guys to do the job and get some continuity on defense. We had a great penalty with like 14 guys on the field. Nice.

  18. If we are going to Blitz we need corners that can play lock down coverage. I realize that is the toughest position in football however they need to step up…where is the Blanton swagger…?

    1. Floyd has had injury problems, but they are the kind of fluke injuries…not the type you tend to associate with someone who is injury prone.

  19. Why are our corners not playing press coverage. They seem to be 5 yards off the ball every play. M-state was hitting short passes all game long. We are suppose to have a great secondary, but I have not seen it yet. If we are going to play this pressure package, get the corners in the face of the receivers.

  20. NDMIKE, good post…Tenuta needs to re think is packages. I did see some solid plays from our D-Line so that is good…however our secondary is killing me…

  21. The loss of Floyd is devastating. He is the best wide receiver in the country. Floyd just can’t catch a break with these injuries. Last year it was a knee, then the stitches, and now a broken bone. I am very disappointed for Michael Floyd. There is no replacing him. Now for the defense; it is obvious that we won’t stop anybody this year. We are going to have to put up prolific offensive numbers and hope the defense doesn’t fail us in the end. That wide open receiver, who was overthrown in the end zone, was just a lucky break for the Irish. Otherwise, we let another average offensive team drive up and down the field on us. Jon Tenuta needs to stop all of the defensive packages, and substitutions, and find 11 guys who can consistently play tough defense.

  22. The run defense was actually excellent today its the no pressure on the QB which turns into the d-backs getting owned all day until KMc came up big. Floyd is theeeee best receiver in the country by a mile and its a shame no one would talk about him this year or last. It was all about the kid from S. Miss and AJ Green/Julio Jones. Because the media hates ND there is no may he would’ve won the top WR award this year. I pray everything heals fast, he is so much fun to watch play. What stud Floyd is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Go Irish beat Boilers!

  23. Our D is not getting to the QB…and leaving huge holes for the running backs! No adjusmetns…I have always liked Harrison Smith however he is getting beat deep…as a free safety you need to keep plays in front of you. UGHHHHHHHHHH!

  24. M. Floyd I hope you get well soon. You ara amazing. JC will miss you as well as ND nation.

    The game should have not been that close. Ref’s played a HUGE HUGE part. In the end the O could not get a first down and the D came through. The rest of game however the D SUCKED. Very concerning again. A Win is a win however.

    U$C lost haha!

  25. I agree the injury to Floyd is HUGE…my heart goes out to him. As was said above we need goodie, walker or shaq to step up- beacuse if they dont teams are going to double team tate and thats not good.

  26. Floyd is a huge loss; and yet, AA ran strong and Jimmy C was pinpoint with passes. Is blitzing working for this defense?

  27. HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY CARE ABOUT THE CALL?

    the call isn’t what matters with that play… losing floyd is a huge blow. kamara, shaq, or someone else needs to step up big for the next 4-8 weeks with floyd out. It is a shame to lose someone as gifted as floyd, and right as the schedule begins to really heat up!

    1. sorry i didnt state the obvious. everyone here knows it is a huge loss. i am just so pissed off with shitty refs playing politics and not having to answer for their bullshit!!!

      however i am pretty confident with our wr depth. it appears the misses to shaq and goodie were due to timing. that can be corrected in practice running with the 1st team. jimmy just hasn’t had to pass to them yet on a consistant basis. i would hope that will be addressed in practice this week.

      tenuta needs to look at his playcalling in the first drive of the 3rd quarter. by not blitzing on 1st and 2nd down, we were able to stop them, which set up a long 3rd down where he brought 1 blitzer up the middle. that resulted in a qb hurry and he threw an incomplete pass. that is how you play defense. coming off the edge with all of your lb’s leaves the middle of the field wide open. this style of blitzing is what hurts our secondary by making them play with cushions.

      1. The man in charge of the Big Ten Officiating is Bill Carollo. Write to him. Maybe if enough of us complain, next year, when our team is all Seniors and Juniors they will remember us.
        And realize that we are not going to take it any more.

  28. The more important issue is Floyd’s injury. The team just lost the best WR in the nation and all people seem to be complaining about is a blown TD call in a game we ended up winning anyway.

  29. SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE WITH ALL REFS!!! EVERY GAME I WATCHED TODAY, THERE WERE BULLSHIT CALLS!!! YES THE BIG 10 REFS ON THE FIELD DID THEIR USUAL BANG UP JOB, BUT NOW THE BIG EAST CREW IN THE BOOTH SHOWED THEIR BIAS!!!

    WE NEED “NCAA” REFS!!! NO MORE CONFERENCE CREWS!!! BREAK THEM UP NOW BEFORE THEY COST TEAMS MORE GAMES!!!

    1. nepachris – YES. Agree entirely. It’s absolutely a poor reflection on the NCAA “organization” to allow such entropy and disorganization to continue. Please end the madness – whoever is in charge.

      1. no — i think the crew was a big east crew. That is, I kept hearing the announcers claim that the crew was a big east crew.

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