Of all the ways to go out after 41 consecutive starts, a nine-yard scramble with a 28-0 second-quarter lead against Charleston Southern isn't exactly a storybook ending. But so apparently concluded the amateur career of South Florida's Matt Grothe Saturday, when the Big East's all-time leader in total offense tore his ACL on a random run in a lopsided blowout. The Bulls went on to win, 59-0, but lost the on-field face of their nascent program.
Grothe was too short and not exactly cannon-armed for a star quarterback, but he got an unusual amount of mileage out of an unhinged reckless streak, a tendency to scramble around wildly and ad lib in a way that can only be described as Favre-ian, only with better wheels than his fellow dirt artist and without the ability to rip the gloves off his receivers' hands. Most of the time, USF's offense seemed to be best defined as "Spread/Grothe Makes Something Up On the Fly," with all that entails: He led the team in rushing as well as passing in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and was responsible for a huge number of big plays with his arm and legs, including most of the ones that led to back-to-back upsets over Big East juggernaut West Virginia in 2006-07, the second of which briefly vaulted the Bulls to No. 2 in both major polls; he also has more career interceptions (44) than any other active quarterback. USF ordered its offense around Grothe and usually sank or swam with his creativity, which is likely to be as missed in the win column as it is on the random Thursday-nighter.
The other big name ending his season Saturday: Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd, the towering, acrobatic sophomore whose broken collarbone against Michigan State should send familiar shivers of regret down the collective spine of the Irish faithful. With four combined touchdowns and 100-plus-yard games against both Michigan and Nevada, Floyd was well on his way to fulfilling his recruiting hype as a giant bird of prey swooping down to devour tiny cornerbacks whole -- just as he was as a true freshman in 2008, when he averaged 15 yards per catch with seven touchdowns and four 100-yard games in five weeks before missing the final month of the season. At which point ND's offense just happened to go into a tailspin against Boston College, Navy, Syracuse and USC.
Floyd was perhaps the most impressive of the several rising stars invigorating the prolific Irish passing game, and can't be easily replaced as a downfield threat; from here on, defenses will be able to focus on Golden Tate on the other side and force Jimmy Clausen to do something other than put it up high for whichever guy was facing single-coverage. It doesn't quite strike at the heart of the offense, like Grothe's injury, but it's a significant blow.
All pain, no gain: Notre Dame’s Floyd done for the season, and a fond farewell to Matt Grothe
On September - 20 - 2009
Of all the ways to go out after 41 consecutive starts, a nine-yard scramble with a 28-0 second-quarter lead against Charleston Southern isn't exactly a storybook ending. But so apparently concluded the amateur career of South Florida's Matt Grothe Saturday, when the Big East's all-time leader in total offense tore his ACL on a random run in a lopsided blowout. The Bulls went on to win, 59-0, but lost the on-field face of their nascent program.
Grothe was too short and not exactly cannon-armed for a star quarterback, but he got an unusual amount of mileage out of an unhinged reckless streak, a tendency to scramble around wildly and ad lib in a way that can only be described as Favre-ian, only with better wheels than his fellow dirt artist and without the ability to rip the gloves off his receivers' hands. Most of the time, USF's offense seemed to be best defined as "Spread/Grothe Makes Something Up On the Fly," with all that entails: He led the team in rushing as well as passing in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and was responsible for a huge number of big plays with his arm and legs, including most of the ones that led to back-to-back upsets over Big East juggernaut West Virginia in 2006-07, the second of which briefly vaulted the Bulls to No. 2 in both major polls; he also has more career interceptions (44) than any other active quarterback. USF ordered its offense around Grothe and usually sank or swam with his creativity, which is likely to be as missed in the win column as it is on the random Thursday-nighter.
The other big name ending his season Saturday: Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd, the towering, acrobatic sophomore whose broken collarbone against Michigan State should send familiar shivers of regret down the collective spine of the Irish faithful. With four combined touchdowns and 100-plus-yard games against both Michigan and Nevada, Floyd was well on his way to fulfilling his recruiting hype as a giant bird of prey swooping down to devour tiny cornerbacks whole -- just as he was as a true freshman in 2008, when he averaged 15 yards per catch with seven touchdowns and four 100-yard games in five weeks before missing the final month of the season. At which point ND's offense just happened to go into a tailspin against Boston College, Navy, Syracuse and USC.
Floyd was perhaps the most impressive of the several rising stars invigorating the prolific Irish passing game, and can't be easily replaced as a downfield threat; from here on, defenses will be able to focus on Golden Tate on the other side and force Jimmy Clausen to do something other than put it up high for whichever guy was facing single-coverage. It doesn't quite strike at the heart of the offense, like Grothe's injury, but it's a significant blow.
