Wide Receiver Michael Floyd is still in that Notre Dame University limbo/purgatory. He’s not yet re-instated, but he’ll likely play. If he is allowed to come back, he’ll probably comprise a really exciting, high scoring combination with quarterback Dayne Crist. That is if Crist starts.
Both members of the Fighting Irish are looking at uncertain roles this college football season, yet both made the list of Maxwell Award candidates, given the nation’s outstanding player.
Go here for our season preview of the 2011 ND offense (passing game)
Go here for our season preview of the 2011 ND Defense
Go here for our season preview of the 2011 ND offense (running game)
Voters for the Maxwell College Awards are NCAA head college football coaches, members of the Maxwell Football Club, sportswriters and sportscasters from across the country.
Auburn’s Cam Newton took home the 2010 Maxwell Award, which has gone to a quarterback in each of the last eight years. The last time a non-quarterback won the award was 2002, when Penn State running back Larry Johnson took home the honor Usually the winner of the Heisman Trophy also takes home the Maxwell award.
Complete 2011 Maxwell Award Watch List:
Illini QB Nathan Scheelhaase made the watch list, as did two more local players: Dan Persa of Northwestern and Chandler Harnish of Northern Illinois. Three Wisconsin Badgers made the list.
On a side ND note, football ticket lottery results are available on-line beginning today (July 6) – and, despite continuing high demand alumni who followed the University’s advice to apply for tickets to as many games as possible (three or more) of this year’s six home games, for the most part, will win tickets to one or more home games this season.
Senior alumni requests for that designated game, South Florida on Sept. 3, remained high this year. However, a lottery was not necessary for the senior alumni allocation.
Alumni ticket requests in the past few years have been high and continue to be for 2011, based on these examples:
Nearly $2 million will be refunded this year to unsuccessful lottery participants. That $2 million figure is more than twice the refund amount from the 2010 lottery – even though the 2010 lottery featured seven games in Notre Dame Stadium compared to six in 2011. The ticket office will begin to mail those refunds the week of July 11.
More than 45,000 tickets were requested for the USC game on Oct. 22. In fact, both the USC game (at Notre Dame Stadium) and the Sept. 10 Michigan game (at Ann Arbor) ranked among the top 25 games all-time in terms of home and away ticket requests, respectively.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports You can follow him on Twitter