Daily Domer: Cold 'N Tate

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Oh, the weather outside is ... nasty.

Sure, I saw that it rained in Los Angeles Wednesday, but here in South Bend the temperatures are in the low 40s and are expected to drop to 35 by the fourth quarter on game day. You might want to tell the Song Girls to wear sweaters (They do? Really?).

The last three times USC has visited South Bend, the sunshine had a golden tint -- as opposed to, well, you know -- and the air was crisp. In brief, sublime autumn weather. Not this weekend. The Irish may be without Michael Floyd, but their new secret weapon may be Mother Nature.

Of USC's 22 starters on offense and defense, 14 are native Californians and two are from Arizona.

Running back Joe McKnight is a Louisiana native. If you look at the road games USC has played in the past three seasons after mid-October, it's fair to assume that Saturday's may be the most inhospitable weather conditions many of the Trojans will ever have experienced. I asked Jimmy Clausen, himself a Southern California native, if that element -- the elements -- is overhyped.

"To be honest, it's kind of difficult," Clausen said Wednesday. "I'm texting Matt Barkley when I was in the locker room before I came in here. It's going to be different for him because he's never played in cold weather, things like that.

"When I first came out here, it was freezing cold. The first day I went out there, I was throwing ducks all over the place, couldn't really grip the ball. It's something you have to get used to. It's good for us being able to practice outside. I don't know the coldest game Matt has ever played in, but it's probably going to be a lot different for him."

That's right, the quarterback at Notre Dame was texting the quarterback at USC. Then again, that dovetails perfectly with the nature of this rivalry, which has always been one of opposites attract. Clausen and Barkley, by the way, both are students of quarterback guru Steve Clarkson and have known one another for years.

A word or two about the atmosphere here, and not just in barometric terms. Last week was the football team's bye week, but next week is the students' and faculty's. Notre Dame begins its one-week mid-semester recess after classes on Friday.

That means two things: 1) Students are free to drive or fly home a day before the game, but expect almost none of them to do so, and 2) At this "Work Hard, Pray Hard" university, things are going to be as wild as they ever get here (roughly akin to a Tuesday evening in Gainesville, but hey) on the eve of the game.

Golden Date

The kids from the Golden State will have their eyes on the Golden Tate come Saturday afternoon. Despite the near-miraculously swift recovery of Michael Floyd (you wonder if the big J himself got involved) from his broken collarbone, the sophomore wideout will not be playing this weekend. That leaves Tate who, despite being considered the second-best wideout the Irish have (especially by NFL scouts), is on pace to become the all-time leading receiver in school history in terms of both receptions and receiving yardage.

This season, Tate should at least equal the career numbers he had entering the year after two previous seasons. Currently he has 33 receptions after five games after having entered the year with 64. The Tennessee native has 602 yards receiving, having begun the season with 1,211.

Jeff Samardzija, who did not start until his junior year, is Notre Dame's all-time leader in both categories. Shark caught 179 passes. Tate enters the USC game with 97 receptions not even midway through his junior year. The Chicago Cub pitcher ended his career with 2,593 receiving yards. Tate has 1,813. If Tate stays healthy, he will shatter the latter mark and should eclipse the first.

Of course, Tate's production pales in comparison to his ability to rise to the occasion. Senior offensive tackle Sam Young was asked about what it means to be a "gamer" on Tuesday night, and when I used Tate as an example, he smiled. "I knew you were going to say that," Young said. "Our position coach, Frank Verducci, put it best about Golden. He said, 'Golden plays every game like he's in his own backyard.'"

Date With Digger

Last night, I ventured outside with the intent of putting together a little visitor's guide to South Bend considering the amount of out-of-towners who will be coming in the next two weekends. And I will. Alas, when I arrived at my first stop, Parisi's, I was met by the sonic boom that is the voice of Richard "Digger" Phelps.

The former Irish hoops coach/ESPN personality and I go back a ways. About a dozen years ago we collaborated on Basketball for Dummies (I know, I know; too many jokes).

Anyway, how surreal was it for this late-'80s alum to be having a beer with the Irish hoops coach of my undergrad days while watching the Irish football coach of that era, Dr. Lou, doing color commentary of the Boise State-Tulsa game. Then throw in the fact that it was John Wooden's 99th birthday. Digger did phone Coach Wooden, by the way, to wish him a happy birthday.

It was Phelps' Irish, you recall, who ended the Bruins' NCAA-record, 88-game winning streak in 1974. However, Digger was not the only Irish record-breaker inside the bar at Parisi's last night. Former South Bend mayor, Indiana governor and Notre Dame catcher Joe Kernan was there -- you're getting the idea that Parisi's ain't exactly the Viper Room and you're right -- and he introduced me to his ex-teammate, Jerry Goetz. According to Kernan, Goetz, a southpaw, holds the school records for best strikeout percentage and highest ERA.

"Jerry allowed five runs in one-third of an inning and struck out the only batter whom he got out," said Kernan. "So his career averages are 27 strikeouts per nine innings and a 135.0 ERA."

"And that was your only appearance?" I asked Goetz.

"Did we need to see more?" said Kernan.