ND's Floyd, Tate are tough matchups

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd ran a couple of yards to his left, caught the short swing pass from Jimmy Clausen and appeared headed for about a 5-yard gain.

Then receiver Golden Tate threw his shoulder into the right thigh of Nevada cornerback Antoine Thompson to give Floyd just enough time to turn the corner. Tate then knocked down safety Mo Harvey and looked up to see Floyd race down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown.

That in a snapshot shows why Floyd and Tate are rated one of the nation's best receiving tandems. One is regularly making big plays, frequently with the help of the other.

"At this point I want to see what defense is going to stop us," Tate said.

Floyd had four catches for 189 yards and three touchdowns in Notre Dame's 35-0 victory over Nevada, highlighted by an 88-yard catch where he outjumped and outmuscled a defender. His 47.3 yards a catch set a school record.

Tate added three catches for 59 yards, including a 36-yard catch that set up Notre Dame's first touchdown. Tate had the big numbers in the previous game, a 49-21 victory in the Hawaii Bowl, with six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns.

Talk about a 1-2 punch. Twelve games into his career, Floyd already has 10 TD catches. That is two fewer than 1987 Heisman winner Tim Brown had in his career.

Coach Charlie Weis was asked Sunday if he thought Floyd has a chance to be the best receiver ever at Notre Dame.

"Golden would argue with you," Weis joked.

The two say they have a friendly competition going.

"We compete," Tate said. "We both want to be the No. 1 receiver. We both want to catch all the passes. We compete, and I think that's what makes us great."

Michigan cornerback Donovan Warren said he's looking forward to the challenge of facing the pair on Saturday when the No. 18 Irish (1-0) travel to Ann Arbor to face the Wolverines (1-0).

"Any time you're an athlete at a big-time Division I level you always want to face what's supposed to be the best, and those two guys are supposed to be two of the best out there," Warren said.

The Wolverines struggled against the pass last season, giving up an average of 230 yards a game. Western Michigan passed for 263 yards against the Wolverines last week.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said the Wolverines' safeties are going to have to help the cornerbacks in covering Floyd and Tate.

"They've got tremendous ball skills. So there's a lot of times there's jump balls and there will be guys right on them, and they'll go up and make a play. That happened against Nevada, it happened last year, it happened against us," he said. "We've got to do a great job of playing the ball in the air."

Both Floyd and Tate are standout athletes. Tate, who is also the starting left fielder on the Irish baseball team, has blazing speed. A tailback in high school, he's still learning the receiver position but seems to come down with every fade ball thrown his way. Floyd is a more polished receiver who has a long, fluid stride and is deceptively fast.

They also have vastly different personalities. Tate holds court with the media every Tuesday, cracking jokes and telling stories. Floyd is more reserved and soft spoken when talking with the media, although Weis and his teammates all say he is a "goof ball."

"I think he has a lot of personality in the locker room. He's got personality in the meeting room," receivers coach Rob Ianello said. "I think when he's around people he doesn't know as well he might not be outgoing."

Floyd also was elected to the team's leadership committee, one of just two sophomores selected.

So far Ianello appears to be about the only person not impressed by the pair. Both Floyd and Tate said Ianello didn't give them good grades for their efforts against Nevada.

"Those grade sheets are pretty tough. They keep you humble for sure," Tate said.

Ianello was a little more generous when talking with the media.

"They know there's room for improvement," he said. "But certainly we're pleased we made some big plays. But there are a lot of things we can do better."