November 5, 2009

Mike Huguenin
Rivals.com College Football

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Floyd's return means he and junior Golden Tate again will form the nation's best receiving duo, giving Irish junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen two high-caliber talents to work with on the outside.

It's too bad for the Irish that they don't have anyone of Floyd's or Tate's caliber on defense.

Even without Floyd, the Irish offense has been humming along. His return makes a strong offense even more potent, and it's likely that offense will need to be extremely productive Saturday.

The Irish defense has struggled this season, especially against the pass. But Navy is one of the worst passing teams in the nation, instead relying on the running game out of its triple option scheme. The Irish generally have been OK against the run, but they haven't played anyone who will make this big an effort to keep the ball on the ground.

The Irish's defensive linemen will spend a lot of time moving laterally against the Midshipmen, all the while trying to keep Navy linemen from having success with cut blocks. Notre Dame strong safety Kyle McCarthy normally is active in run support, and you can expect McCarthy to serve as almost an extra linebacker Saturday.

Navy expects quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who has missed all or part of the past two games, to be ready to go Saturday. He and fullback Vince Murray are the keys to the rushing attack. If Murray is stymied, opposing defenses can focus on Dobbs and take away his pitch men. Conversely, if Murray runs effectively right up the gut, defending Dobbs and the slotbacks can become nightmarish.

Floyd's return could lead to nightmares for the Navy defense, too.

KEY MATCHUP: Fresno State run offense vs. Idaho run defense. Fresno State is looking for its seventh consecutive victory over the Vandals, who haven't beaten the Bulldogs since 1967. Fresno relies heavily on its run offense, which averages 259.6 yards per game. Junior RB Ryan Mathews leads the nation in rushing at 164.5 yards per game. Idaho has allowed 706 rushing yards in its past two games; granted, 484 of that was against Nevada, but the Vandals still allowed 222 to Louisiana Tech. If Fresno runs for 200, it will win.

PLAYER ON THE SPOT: Tulsa QB G.J. Kinne. Despite suffering a concussion in last week's loss to SMU, Kinne is expected to start Saturday's home game against Houston. Any chance the Golden Hurricane have of winning the game depends on their offense. In Tulsa's four victories this season, the Golden Hurricane have averaged 41 points and 450.5 yards of total offense. In its four losses, Tulsa has averaged 14.5 points and 328.5 yards of offense. Kinne, a first-year starter, has good mobility but has struggled at times and is averaging just 187.2 passing yards per game. If Kinne can't go or is ineffective, Jacob Bower will get the call.

NUMBERS GAME: TCU's No. 4 ranking in this week's coaches' poll equals the highest ranking ever by a MWC team in that poll, matching Utah's No. 4 position in the final 2008 coaches' poll. It's also the Horned Frogs' highest ranking since being fourth in the Oct. 15, 1956, Associated Press poll.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"Leading up to the game, with all the excitement, you get pretty pumped up until you watch the film and remember that we're actually going to have to play this football game. ... Their program is kind of the blueprint for what we would like to do and how we would like to build this program. Twenty years ago, we were on very level playing fields and there was a great rivalry between the two schools. When you look at where Coach [Frank] Beamer has taken that program and the things he has done with it, that's where we want to go and where we aspire to be." - East Carolina coach Skip Holtz, on Virginia Tech, the Pirates' opponent Thursday night

"I'm starving for a win, to be honest with you. I've been sitting here for six weeks, doing TV, radio and press conferences. I would like to walk in in a good mood." - Colorado State coach Steve Fairchild, on his team's six-game losing streak

"I thought Boise State was the better football team. They're both outstanding. That's just my opinion. We played Cincinnati at Cincinnati and probably gave them their best game of the year. But I strongly feel Boise is the best team we've played." - Fresno State coach Pat Hill, comparing unbeaten teams Boise State and Cincinnati. Both beat Fresno State

"What I've learned in my time here is that our toughest opponents have been in the conference because we know each other so well. There is not a lot of 'overlooking.' ... We see each other's tape all of the time." -Houston coach Kevin Sumlin, on this week's game against C-USA West rival Tulsa

"I know they are staying focused and doing the things they need to do, but the biggest thing you worry about is getting through these next three or four ballgames without a letdown. If you do have one, can you still find a way to win? That's the hard part. It's just hard to keep up that kind of intensity for so many ballgames. You always worry more about it on the road than you do at home." - TCU coach Gary Patterson, on keeping his unbeaten team motivated

"I promise you I am not telling them to turn the ball over. I am trying to coach them where they don't turn the ball over." - Memphis coach Tommy West, on his team's problem with turnovers; the Tigers have a minus-7 turnover margin

Etc.: Temple beat Navy last week for its sixth victory in a row. It's the Owls' first six-game winning streak since 1974 and made them bowl eligible for the first time since 1990, when they didn't receive a bid. True freshman RB Bernard Pierce ran for 267 yards and two touchdowns, and he is the leading freshman rusher in the nation. ... Western Michigan is at Michigan State this week. The Broncos have beaten Big Ten teams late in each of the past two seasons, upsetting Illinois last season and Iowa in 2007. ... North Texas beat Western Kentucky 68-49 on Saturday, with the Mean Green tying the school record for most points in a game. UNT snapped a 15-game Sun Belt Conference losing streak with the win. Meanwhile, Western Kentucky has lost 16 in a row, which is the nation's longest streak. New Mexico is second, with 12 losses in a row. ... Tulane is playing its last home game of the season Saturday, against UTEP. The school will honor the team's 16 seniors before the game, including eight who were in school when Katrina hit New Orleans. ... Louisiana-Lafayette has allowed just four sacks this season. That's tied for the fewest in the nation with Oklahoma State and Arizona. ... SMU is 3-1 in Conference USA, its best league start since going 4-0 to start the 1986 Southwest Conference season. ... Florida Atlantic QB Rusty Smith's college career is over. An injured shoulder will sideline him for the rest of his senior season. Junior Jeff Van Camp is the new starter. ... Colorado State has lost six in a row and a major reason is the Rams' defensive futility on third down; they're allowing foes to convert 56.7 percent of their third downs, the worst mark in the nation. ... Utah has won 21 of its past 22 and 28 of its past 30. The Utes beat Wyoming last week behind the performance of RB Eddie Wide, who ran for 135 yards. He tied a school record with his fifth consecutive 100-yard game. In addition, true freshman QB Jordan Wynn made his college debut and led the Utes on four second-half scoring drives. If Wynn starts this week instead of Terrance Cain, he'll become just the third true freshman to start a game at quarterback for Utah since the NCAA restored freshman eligibility in 1972, joining Ken Vierra (in 1981) and Scott Cate (1982). ... Houston junior QB Case Keenum threw for a career-high 559 yards against Southern Miss last week, his 20th career game - and his seventh this season - with at least 300 yards passing. It was his ninth career game with 400 yards. ... San Diego State has won back-to-back games for the first time since Nov. 3/Nov. 10, 2007. ... TCU has led at halftime in each of its past 12 Mountain West Conference games. That is the third-longest current streak in the FBS behind Troy (20, in the Sun Belt) and Oklahoma (13, in the Big 12). ... Hawaii has committed at least one turnover in 32 consecutive games. ... Each of Utah State's past four games have been decided by four or fewer points; the Aggies are 1-3 in that span.

Mike Huguenin is the college sports editor for Rivals.com. He can be reached at mhuguenin@rivals.com.