Notre Dame Football: Michael Floyd's Revival Will Help Irish Forget Kyle Rudolph

On the first offensive play from scrimmage in Notre Dame's 44-20 victory last week against Western Michigan, Irish quarterback Dayne Crist did two things that he has done rarely this season. He looked off a safety and put some air under a throw. The result was an easy catch by Michael Floyd, that turned into any 80-yard touchdown reception.

In isolation, it was the first of several big plays which propelled Notre Dame to an easy win. On a deeper level, it was a signal that the Irish may be able to survive, and even thrive, during the remainder of the 2010 season, despite losing one of their best players, tight end Kyle Rudolph, for the season.

Before the knee-jerk reactions start flooding the comments section, this claim can be explained.

Those two elements of Crist's throw are very subtle, but they are indications of a maturing quarterback. As would be expect from a first-year starter, Crist has relied primarily on his raw talent, most notably his cannon of an arm. However, success at the quarterback position requires mastery of nuance, the lack of which can result in both maddening inconsistency and flashes of brilliance.

Rudolph factors into the equation in that he provided a safety net for Crist on the underneath routes. This allowed Crist to rely on his arm to whip a fastball into a tight space for Rudolph. And Crist did lean on this option quite heavily, as Rudolph had the most catches on the team through the first three games and is still has the third most receptions through the season.

The problem with that approach is that it turns Rudolph into a crutch and does not allow Crist to develop the subtleties of his game necessary to make head coach Brian Kelly's offense truly hum. The offense becomes much more powerful when a quarterback can take advantage of the vertical routes, but this requires a quarterback that can do the small things, like look off a safety and make throws with more touch.

Michael Floyd's revival in the last two games could be the final piece to accelerate Crist's development. Up until the last few games, Floyd looked very average as a wide receiver. He made catches, but was unable to break open the big play.

Now that Floyd is once again showing All-American form, Crist will have more confidence to attempt those challenging throws, knowing that he has a receiver who can not only make catches, but turn them into big plays. Floyd should have plenty of chances to solidify Crist's confidence again this week, as no one in the Navy secondary can match his athletic ability.

It's never a good thing to lose a player with the skill level of Rudolph, but for Crist to learn how to ride Kelly's offense, now might not be a bad time to lose the training wheels.