A lot ofimportant stuff in regards to injuries in Coach Weis' Tuesday.  First, the good:

• Michael Floyd is cleared to play for the Navy game (!!!!!). Floyd had 13 catches for 358 yards and five touchdowns before going down with a broken collarbone in the Michigan State game. With Golden Tate playing at the level he is, Jimmy is going to have a field day back there.
• Robbie Parris is also back after Taylor Mays' attempted homicide. It's nice to see college football writers across the country starting to realize that Mays isn't actually a top-tier safety in the Eric Berry/Earl Thomas/Kyle McCarthy-mold, but really just a head hunter who we all were led into thinking was good.  I was guilty of it as much as anyone, but writers are redeeming themselves nicely in noticing this, although it'll be interesting to see if NFL scouts pick up on it. (Probably not.)  Nice to see Parris back, especially since Robby Toma and Duval Kamara have got some reps in his absence. Receiving corps is looking particularly deep now.

And the not so good:

• Back-up quarterback and heir apparent to the throne whenever Jimmy leaves, Dayne Crist, is out 4-to-6 months with a torn ACL. He could be back for spring practice, but nothing is certain there. If you were on the Notre Dame message boards this week, you might have been as surprised as I was to find that A) Only Notre Dame players enter the draft early and B) Only Notre Dame players get injured. I should start selling "Hold me, I'm Irish" t-shirts on this site for all of the emo Fighting Irish fans, we'd make a killing.
• Trevor Robinson is doubtful for Navy, and Armando Allen is day-to-day. If I had my druthers, I'd try to limit their action against the Midshipmen and get everyone up to one hundred percent for the throwdown with Pitt next Saturday night.

The most important things from these bullets are obviously St. Michael's return and Crist's injury.  The offense might almost be unstoppable with Floyd back, but sadly, getting a big fourth quarter lead will mean increased reps for Evan Sharpley, who won't be on the team next season.  John Goodman will now be your emergency third string quarterback, so um, Wildcat anyone? 

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We'll get into a more extensive look at the team in the coming weeks, but I'm very worried about the Irish basketball team this season.  Even though they are playing an embarrassingly awful non-conference schedule, the Big East is still really good and Scott Martin's injury was an absolute killer.  Martin was the second most important player on the team after first-team preseason All-American Luke Harangody, as was going to fill in the Kurz/Ayers roll as big forward who could shoot perfectly.  Now we have a team that goes seven deep and relies on three-point shooting, only there are about two shooters you'd feel comfortable with. 

Oh, what is it that you're drinking there, Seth Davis?  May I have a sip?

Oh yeah, indeed:

Maybe I'm overreacting to one practice, but this team was bigger, deeper and more talented than I anticipated. Clearly, the Irish do not have much margin for error, and they certainly cannot afford any more injuries. But they've got the best player in the league, if not the country, and that's not a bad place to start. Notre Dame might have a low ceiling, but it also has a pretty high floor. Write it down: The Gody is going back to the NCAA tournament.

During the course of the article, Davis praises everyone on the team for something and compares Tim Abromaitis to Matty Carroll.  I obviously hope he's right, but I'm going to maintain some skepticism until we actually see it mesh on the floor.  The first non-tomato can for the Irish is Northwestern on November 27.  They'll then play either Saint Louis or Iowa State, with the only opportunity for a big non-conference win coming December 19, when the UCLA Bruins roll into town.  The Big East slate isn't as tough as it was last year with UConn and Louisville twice, but it's still not going to be easy.  I will leave you with my single favorite part of the story:

When Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry told Harangody that the Cavs considered former Louisville forward Earl Clark a better pro prospect, Harangody told him, "I have a f------ problem with that."

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Staying over at SI.com, Stewart Mandel spends part of his mailbag advocating a plus-one plan.   If you frame the plus-one as a natural step to getting to a playoff, then I can accept it.  If you frame it as some sort of cure to the many ills of the collegiate football postseason, you're an idiot.  Tell me, if we're using the "Mandel Plan," what do you do in years like 2002 or 2005, when you have two clear, undefeated teams at the top heading into the bowls?  Or, even more fun, what about in years like 2007, when it's a giant clusterf*ck?  Who would play in the plus-one game then?  LSU vs. USC?  Or Georgia?  Or Kansas?  Or West Virginia?

Mandel tacks this onto the bottom:

I'm sure I will now be deluged with 800 e-mails picking my proposal apart, but keep one thing in mind before you hit send: There's at least a glimmer of hope the Mandel Plan could become reality (the SEC and ACC are already open to a plus-one), whereas any larger playoff proposal -- no matter how many political action committees form to support it -- still has a 0.0 percent chance of getting adopted any time soon.

Great, so I'm supposed to be excited your shitty plan has a chance to come into reality?  Awesome.  Thanks for that caveat, Stewart. 

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In the latest College Football Is Going To Hell News, they just added the Dallas Bowl for New Year's Day 2011.  What esteemed program will you see play on what used to be a holy day for college football?  I'm glad you asked!

Jan. 1, 2011 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Big 12 (No. 7 team)
Jan. 1, 2012 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Conference USA team
Jan. 1, 2013 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Big 12 (No. 7 team)
Jan. 1, 2014 -- Big Ten (No. 6 team) vs. Conference USA team

Can I set my Tivo now?!  Gee golly, can't wait to see Purdue and and UTEP square off while I'm nursing a hangover.  IS NOTHING SACRED TO YOU PEOPLE?!