Notre Dame will be without DaVaris Daniels for the final two games of the season, meaning a seasoned senior and green freshman will take on increased roles against Wake Forest and USC.
John Goodman, who's only caught 32 passes over his four-year career in South Bend, will be counted on to add to the Irish offense in his final two regular-season games. In 2012, Goodman has been banged up, only catching four passes -- but two of those went for touchdowns, including an 18-yarder against Boston College.
"When we ask him to go in there, he's the center of some big plays," coach Brian Kelly said of Goodman. "... John has given us everything he has in his senior year. He's been a great teammate. He'll get a chance now to play a little bit more in the absence of Double D."
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And true freshman Chris Brown, who reeled in a deep pass that set up Notre Dame's win over Oklahoma for his only reception of the year, could see more balls thrown his way. T.J. Jones and Danny Smith, too, will have to be flexible moving between positions.
"We can move Danny to the field, we can move T.J. to the boundary," Kelly explained. "So we can flip them around because the offense is so interchangeable.
"So it just won't be one guy lining up at Daniels' position. You'll have two or three different guys."
If you're a glass-half-full person, that Everett Golson has started to link up with Tyler Eifert on a consistent basis is a positive in terms of shouldering the loss of Daniels. And with Jones and Robby Toma healthy, Notre Dame's pass-catchers appear to have the ability to absorb the blow of losing Daniels.