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The two top wide receivers in the NFL draft Justin Blackmon and Michael Floyd talk to Suzy Kolber.

One last Wednesday, one last roundup of our experts' forecasts for this weekend's NFL draft.

One thing I think we can all agree on after some earlier offseason debate: Michael Floyd will be chosen Thursday.

Floyd, who will be in New York for the draft, is ranked as the No. 15 prospect on Todd McShay's 32-man draft board , 14 spots ahead of safety Harrison Smith, who's at No. 29. Mel Kiper has Floyd 12th on his 25-man Big Board .

Kiper has both players going in the first round in his latest mock , with Floyd Buffalo-bound at No. 10 and Smith headed to New England at No. 31.

There are plenty of draft boards that will have Floyd as the best overall WR in this class. The Bills could go a few different ways here, but they really need another threat in the passing game, and Floyd gives them size and smarts. He'll grasp the route tree early, and can both stretch the field and work underneath.

The Patriots will address the pass rush with one of the first two picks, but I think they'll also look for help in the secondary if they like the value. Smith is a very good player. He takes great routes to the ball, and he doesn't shy away when he's closer to the line and has to take on runners. Corner could be a target here, but Smith also makes your coverage better.

McShay, meanwhile, teams up with Scouts Inc. partners Steve Muench and Kevin Weidl to mock the entire seven-round draft . In addition to Floyd and Smith, the group has Darius Fleming going in the fifth round (No. 143, Panthers), Robert Blanton going in the sixth round (No. 185, Cardinals) and Jonas Gray going in the seventh round (No. 249, Falcons).

Insert World Peace suspended joke here.

• Declan Sullivan's family will hold a fundraiser Saturday in his honor, Stacy St. Clair writes in the Chicago Tribune.
• Dayne Crist is a Kansas captain.
• The gang at The Observer offers 2012 season predictions, which have probably made them social outcasts on campus. (Respect.)
• BlueandGold.com's Lou Somogyi looks at defensive players on the rise for Notre Dame this spring.
• I'm a couple days late here, but the South Bend Tribune's Eric Hansen has a recap of the alumni flag football game.

We haven't done one of these in a bit. Let's see what's on everyone's mind.

David Hunter from Seattle writes: Well Matt, Like I said after bowl loss, This will be Coach Kelly's last year. If he Doesnt win a BCS Bowl or Title, He will not be coaching. Of all the players, who decomitted or left the Dame since the Bowl game, Aaron Lynch leaving will be missed the most. Not just his play on the field, but recruits like him watching the Dame and thinking about coming to South Bend. I was 17 and watched ND last Title, I don't think in my lifetime will i see them win another unless ND lower it admissions. College fans are going to see more teams like Boise St, Oregon, Baylor, Oklahoma St, Clemson, Houston, Ole Miss, Cincy and Rutgers be in a better positon to win titles than ND.

Matt Fortuna: David, it's not BCS or bust for Brian Kelly this year, barring any unforeseen off-field happenings. Yes, it's a big year with a challenging schedule and lots of question marks at several key positions, but he is not in danger of losing his job yet. I think another eight-win season, while disappointing to the perfectionists, is important in order to show that the program is on stable ground with Kelly leading it. Yes, the loss of Lynch is huge. He is the type of talent who helps you compete for BCS bowls on an annual basis, and yes, you can be sure he's being pointed to by other schools as an example of why a kid from a warm-weather state should stay closer to home and attend a nearby power program. But Kelly isn't losing his job over it.

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Pat from Washington, D.C., writes: Hi Matt, in your live chat after Aaron Lynch left, it was mentioned, from a question I believe, that Lynch had more penalty yards than sack yards. Out of curiosity, do you have a list of his penalties? I went through the box scores and was only able to find that he was called for the following:-- offsides vs Pitt-- personal foul vs Purdue-- offsides versus Air Force-- offsides versus Stanford-- offsides versus FSU. There was another off-setting personal foul that was called in the Southern Cal game I believe (box does not list a player but I seem to recall it was him), but other than that, it's not really a remarkable string of penalty calls. Are there penalties that are missing from the box scores?

Matt Fortuna: Pat, I was interested myself and did a quick scan of box scores and the notes I took for each game. Here they are, by my unofficial count: Offside (minus-5) at Pitt, personal foul (minus-15) at Purdue, personal foul (minus-15) and offside (minus-5) vs. Air Force, offside (minus-5) at Stanford and offside (minus-5) vs. FSU. There was also an offsetting conduct penalty against Boston College, but since yards weren't gained or lost, we won't count that for the purposes of this discussion. Also, if you were wondering, his personal foul against Air Force was unattributed in the official stats package from that game, but I wrote down while taking notes during the game that it was him. So I have one more penalty than you. Now, let's add up those loss of yards (minus-50) and subtract them from the sack yards he was responsible for. Notre Dame's official stats from last season credit Lynch with 5.5 sacks for a total of 45 yards. So Lynch did, in fact, have more penalty yards (50) than sack yards (45) last season. However, he also had seven tackles for loss, accounting for 48 yards. That cannot be overlooked, either, so we'll add that to the sack yards, giving him 93 yards. Subtract 50 from that and you've got a net total of 43 yards for which Aaron Lynch was responsible in 2011. Thank you for the massive brain cramp. (Now I know why I wasn't a math major.)

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Scott Gerdenich from Mason, Ohio, writes: Which quarterback on Notre Dame's roster right now gives them the best chance at getting back to a BCS bowl game and hopefully the national championship game? I have believed since he commited to Notre Dame Golson will be the man to lead ND back to the top. I was at the spring game and although he had his mistakes and was having trouble playing at a fast pace he was meant to play in Kellys offense he has all the tools for it. Thanks again and go Irish!

Matt Fortuna: A non-Aaron Lynch question! Scott, Everett Golson definitely has all the tools, and we got a glimpse of them Saturday. The key for him is being more consistent every day in practice and establishing command when he walks into the huddle. He has also had trouble handling snaps. Kelly said after the spring game that the numbers didn't mean anything to him because Golson had trouble getting the plays in on time, which would obviously present a bigger problem in a real game. I will say that I don't envy Kelly's position right now, as the fan favorite (the backup, as always) out-performed the incumbent in the only real chance everyone got to see the quarterbacks perform this spring. But there's a lot more to winning the job than one Saturday scrimmage. And the Irish need to be cautious with risk-taking given the turnover plague from a year ago. A repeat of that against this year's schedule would doom them.

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DCW from Pittsburgh writes: Why does USF's relative youth matter in Aaron Lynch's departure? Lynch has a lot of ties to USF and people from Florida generally don't like Indiana weather. From a football standpoint, USF did just beat ND, and USF produced JPP [Jason Pierre-Paul]. JPP's college position coach, Kevin Patrick, is still the DE coach at USF. No one likes when a guy like Lynch transfers out- it he had redshirted or scuffled as a freshmen, people wouldn't be so upset. But that's no reason to trash his destination. But, I guess Notre Dame fans will always have that strange inferiority/superiority complex.

Matt Fortuna: Skip Holtz has really laid a couple of haymakers on his alma mater lately, no? Full credit to the Bulls for marching into Notre Dame Stadium last season and coming up with a win. The players on that roster and the students there now currently hold bragging rights over their peers at Notre Dame. But big-picture, Notre Dame is one of the most historic college football programs in the country, if not the most historic. It has the third-most wins all-time. South Florida has not even had a program for 16 years yet and didn't even jump to the FBS level until 2001. Credit USF for the strides it has made in such a short period, but when you take weather and personal situations out of the conversation, it is confusing for many to see an NFL talent who looked like he was on the fast track to success at Notre Dame leave for USF.

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Our esteemed group of NFL bloggers took part in a mock draft this week, with all eight making first-round selections for the four franchises each represented. Trades, backhand deals -- all was fair game for this deal, which painted a picture of what Thursday night in New York may look like.

Former Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd, one of the biggest risers in the weeks leading up to the draft, was taken by NFC West blogger Mike Sando with the 13th overall pick, which belongs to the Cardinals.

As always, there is no science to how these things play out, both on draft day and over the course of one's career. Believed to be a fringe first-round prospect upon season's end, Floyd has seen his stock shoot up in recent weeks, thanks to strong combine and pro day showings. I've seen him in mocks going as high as No. 7 to the Jaguars, though it's worth pointing out that AFC South blogger Paul Kuharsky dealt that selection -- along with Jacksonville's sixth-round pick (No. 176) -- in this mock to NFC East blogger Dan Graziano and the Eagles for Philadelphia's first round pick (No. 15), third round pick (No. 88) and fifth-round pick (No. 153).

Another year, another night game in the state of Michigan.

Notre Dame's Sept. 15 contest at Michigan State will be an 8 p.m. ET kick on ABC, the Big Ten announced Tuesday.

It will mark the third straight year the Irish play a night contest in the state of Michigan, and if history is any indication, it will be another thriller. Notre Dame came out on the losing end of the last two, both of which were decided on touchdown passes in the closing seconds.

It was already announced that the Irish's Sept. 22 home game against Michigan would kick off at 7:30 p.m. on NBC, giving the program consecutive prime-time contests against the Big Ten schools.

Notre Dame's game against Miami in Chicago will start at 7:30 p.m., with their other home games starting at 3:30 p.m. The Sept. 1 opener against Navy in Dublin, Ireland, will kick at 2 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET).

The Irish's only 2012 contests currently without an announced start time are Oct. 27 at Oklahoma, Nov. 10 at Boston College and Nov. 24 at USC.

Charley Molnar will return to Notre Dame in three years, just wearing different colors.

The Irish will host their former offensive coordinator, Massachusetts' new head coach, in 2015, UMass announced this past weekend. The game is one of many the Minutemen, who begin their first season as a Football Bowl Subdivision program this fall, will play against name programs.

Notre Dame will host the Minutemen on Sept. 26, 2015. The Irish had been scheduled to host Temple on that date, but a Temple official said that the game has been pushed back to Sept. 2, 2017.

The Irish's tentative schedule for 2015 -- with extra emphasis on the word tentative -- includes games against Texas, at Michigan, at Purdue, against Navy, against USC, against Wake Forest, at Pitt, against Syracuse, at Stanford and at Boston College.

UMass, meanwhile, has been ambitious in its jump to college football's highest level, scheduling games against schools from every BCS conference except the Big East, plus Notre Dame. Already slated to face Connecticut, Indiana, Michigan and Vanderbilt this fall, the program has added games over the following eight seasons against Wisconsin, Kansas State, Boston College, Colorado, Penn State and Florida, with games in place through 2019.

I just don't want to imagine a world without the Nets in New Jersey ...

• Colleague Andrea Adelson likes the potential of USF's defensive line with Aaron Lynch and Ryne Giddins.
• The South Bend Tribune's Al Lesar says Notre Dame's questions outnumbered its answers this spring.
• Braxston Cave worked his way back this spring, Pete Sampson writes on IrishIllustrated.com.
• The Irish can lean on experienced safeties, Dan Murphy writes on BlueandGold.com.
• Cris Collinsworth thinks Michael Floyd is the top receiver in the draft.

Colleague Ivan Maisel's story on this week's postseason meetings in South Florida has a phrase so natural that it may as well be ingrained in the college football lexicon. Most other stories regarding BCS changes include some version of it as well.

"The 11 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick …"

That sound you hear is the sigh of relief from every Irish fan with an attachment to the program's history in the national landscape. The relevance of Notre Dame football, often called into question, might never be on display more than it will be this fall. In addition to playing regular rivals Boston College, Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford and USC, the Irish will open their season against Navy more than 3,000 miles away in Dublin, Ireland; will face old rival Miami (Fla.) in Chicago; will host independent brethren BYU and will travel to Oklahoma to play the perennial Big 12 favorite. Notre Dame will also host Pitt, which might be playing its final season in the Big East.

For those counting, those are opponents from five of the six automatic-qualifying conferences, in addition to two of the nation's other three independents. The games will be played in three of this country's four time zones, in addition to the opener in Dublin, which is five hours ahead of local time in South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame has its own television deal with NBC. Most of the program's road opponents will likely push for a night start against the Irish, who are a draw everywhere they go. Hence, the phrase that will continue to be thrown around as details of this week's meetings emerge.

"The 11 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick …"

Swarbrick and head coach Brian Kelly spoke at a dinner Saturday at the Joyce Center, and, naturally, the subject of the BCS, and specifically Notre Dame's fit in it, came up.

"The goal and priority is to remain independent (in football)," Swarbrick said, according to Notre Dame's sports information department. "What the postseason becomes is the lynchpin. There's still one chapter to come as far as conference realignment and that will come after these BCS discussions. These are an important three-and-a-half days (of meetings) this next week in Florida. (The result) will have a significant impact on us one way or another."

Colleague Travis Haney pointed last week to the paradox Notre Dame faces in years like this one — managing a potentially damaging on-field slate while refining its brand. The goal every year, however reasonable or unreasonable, is to earn a berth in a BCS bowl, something the Irish need a top-eight finish to clinch while others must win their conferences. Of the many potential models for postseason change, one limiting a playoff pool to conference winners presents the biggest obstacle for Notre Dame.

Thus, weeks like these are important for Notre Dame, not ready to show its hand. Could that hand be forced, marginalizing the program as another Midwestern power in a conference full of them (Big Ten)? Could it move to another stable, expanding conference, clutching some of its broader appeal and easing its BCS path but surrendering the all-encompassing allure of Notre Dame Football (ACC)?

The answers, like most everything else when it comes to change in this sport, will reveal themselves slowly over the coming months. So long as that reassuring phrase keeps popping up in print and online, Notre Dame fans can breathe a little easier, their collective seat at the table momentarily secure.

"The 11 FBS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick …"

It began with a conspicuous absence before the ninth spring practice, was quelled by a return from an extended Easter break, and was made official with a hastily called news conference Friday the 13th.

Even then, after Notre Dame and Aaron Lynch announced their divorce, the drama didn't slow, the height of it coming Thursday night when Aaron's mother, Alice, asked former Irish standout Justin Tuck on Twitter to talk her son into staying at Notre Dame.

On Monday, the curtains were finally closed on the Lynch saga, ending with South Florida's announcement that the star defensive end will be added to the Bulls' 2012 roster. Lynch is expected to finish out the spring semester at Notre Dame before enrolling at his new school, and he will have to sit out the upcoming season because of transfer rules. The Cape Coral, Fla., native will play for Notre Dame graduate Skip Holtz, who, of course, is the son of former Irish coach Lou Holtz.

"With Aaron originally being from Florida, we're very familiar with the kind of player he is," Skip Holtz said in a release. "Aaron had a great freshman season at Notre Dame, and we're excited to welcome him into the Bulls family."

The official exit of Lynch comes two days after the Irish closed their spring season, one that was supposed to be dominated by quarterback talk while the defensive line -- powered by Lynch -- quietly took care of business and eased the transition for a pair of new cornerbacks.

Instead, Lynch added a new wrinkle to the spring storylines, one the Irish hoped to avoid. The 6-foot-6, 270-pounder is taking his team-leading 5.5 sacks and 14 quarterback hurries, his seven tackles for loss and his vast potential down to South Florida, which didn't even have a football team until 1997. He leaves the other two-thirds of the Irish's young, talented front -- Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix -- behind, allowing fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis-Moore to slide back into a starting role.

In the days after Lynch's departure, coach Brian Kelly called the line's transition seamless. Manti Te'o, whom Lynch called his big brother on the team, said then that he was surprised by Lynch's decision. It took 10 days for the talented defensive end to land at a new home -- albeit one that seemed likely from the start of this episode -- but Monday served as the final act of the Aaron Lynch narrative, the freshman All-American leaving the nation's third-winningest program for one getting ready to celebrate its Sweet 16.

Notre Dame will enter preseason camp with unresolved issues at quarterback and cornerback, specifically. The Irish will be trying to take the next step in Brian Kelly's third year as head coach. But even if they play well enough, will their daunting slate of opponents prevent them from reaching the goal of a BCS bowl?

Our Travis Haney says this year's schedule is ambitious by even Notre Dame standards, beginning with an out-of-country trip to kick off the season, featuring the usual big-name suspects and throwing in Miami and Oklahoma.

So, accounting for the potential pitfalls, what would represent "back" for this Irish team? If it can hang in with a 10-2 record, and well within the conversation for a BCS bowl berth (it's hard to see a two-loss Irish team not getting one), would that be the equivalent of a national championship in 2012? As difficult as some teams' schedules are this fall, even in the SEC, there isn't anything to rival what the Irish are facing on a weekly basis.

To provide a little context on the challenges facing Notre Dame, take a look at Insider colleague Brian Fremeau's FEI rankings from last season (the Fremeau Efficiency Index is an opponent-adjusted measurement that looks at a team's overall efficiency). The Irish ranked 15th, just one spot below the Arkansas Razorbacks and 14 spots ahead of the Baylor Bears, teams that ranked Nos. 5 and 13 in the final AP poll, respectively. Notre Dame did not receive a single vote in the poll.

Granted, these numbers don't tell the whole story (Notre Dame's 118th-ranked turnover margin was crippling last season), but it does show that the Irish can play pretty well and still finish well behind comparable teams, based on the competition they face.

Ultimately, Haney wonders, will the Irish be able to regain their status among the nation's elite if faced with so many strong opponents year after year? The schedule, after all, is part of the program's national appeal.

Matt Fortuna talks to Theo Riddick about spring practice and moving into a hybrid-like role for his senior year.

It's been real, spring football.

• Before their spring game, Notre Dame players took part in a great cause: The Bald and the Beautiful.
• NBCSports.com's Keith Arnold breaks down the Blue-Gold game, with video interviews from the broadcast.
• In a video captured by the Kansas City Star's Rustin Dodd, Charlie Weis tells Kansas players that he wants them to celebrate wins the right way. (Credit colleague David Ubben for the find.)
• Notre Dame kicker Nick Tausch is eager to start again, Lou Somogyi writes on BlueandGold.com.
• DaVaris Daniels has shifted into the next stage, Tim Prister writes on IrishIllustrated.com.

Notre Dame didn't resolve its quarterback situation Saturday, but the Irish likely won't need to worry anytime soon about who is protecting their signal callers.

Four-star offensive line prospect John Montelus (Everett, Mass./Everett) committed to Notre Dame following its spring game, becoming the Irish's fifth, and likely final, offensive line commitment from the 2013 recruiting class.

The 6-foot-5, 293-pounder hails from the birthplace of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, and he is Notre Dame's 11th commitment for this class. Montelus is ESPN's No. 1 player from Massachusetts, No. 21 offensive tackle in the nation and the ninth four-star commitment for the Irish.

Montelus joins fellow offensive line commitments Steve Elmer (Midland, Mich./Midland), Colin McGovern (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way West), Hunter Bivin (Owensboro, Ky./Apollo) and Mike McGlinchey (Philadelphia/William Penn). McGovern and Bivin are ESPN 150 players.

The rest of Notre Dame's 2013 class consists of tight end Jacob Matuska (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley,) athlete James Onwualu (Saint Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham), quarterback Malik Zaire (Kettering, Ohio/Archbishop Alter), athlete Rashad Kinlaw (Galloway, N.J./Absegami), receiver Corey Robinson (San Antonio/San Antonio Christian) and cornerback Devin Butler (Washington D.C./Gonzaga).

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- From the stands, one could imagine the minor sigh of relief Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly exhaled upon Everett Golson's 19-yard touchdown pass to Theo Riddick in the second quarter of Saturday's Blue-Gold game.

It came after the defense forced another turnover, after Golson fumbled the drive's first snap and after the sophomore quarterback seemingly ran in circles before drawing a facemask penalty on Kendall Moore.

"The quarterback position, as I mentioned to you before, is the art and science," Kelly said. "In putting both the art and the science together, he's very creative. The art part he's got down. It's the science and the consistency, all of those things to be a championship quarterback."

Two drives earlier, Kelly was likely the only one among the crowd of 31,582 to control himself as George Atkinson III took a short pass from Tommy Rees, juked Cam McDaniel and made 19 yards out of nothing.

Because two plays later, the running back mishandled a pitch from Rees and turned it over for the second time in the first half.

Golson, the great unknown of this four-man quarterback derby, finished 11 of 15 for 120 yards and two touchdowns. He carried the ball six times for 25 yards. He was the only quarterback to not throw an interception.

Atkinson, whose electricity was on display during kick returns last season, rushed for 124 yards on just 15 carries, and added 54 receiving yards on three catches.

"Both of those guys are exciting, electric players," Kelly cautioned, "but they are a heart attack for me."

So goes it for the Irish at the end of the spring season. They put up 500-plus yards of offense in five games a season ago, but ranked 118th in turnover margin. They entered fall camp last season with a quarterback controversy, and they also ended it with one.

Few clues could be gathered from Saturday's spring game -- in which the defense defeated the offense, 42-31, for those counting -- as the offense netted 551 yards but turned it over six times.

Rees took the game's first snap, played five drives, completed 7 of 14 passes for 84 yards and tossed a pick to Matthias Farley. Andrew Hendrix came next, connecting with Tyler Eifert for a 25-yard score and eventually playing four drives. He was 4 of 9 for 51 yards, rushed for 13 yards on a pair of carries and threw a pick right over the middle to Ishaq Williams.

Gunner Kiel started the second half, completed his first pass for 11 yards and was promptly picked by Chris Salvi on the next play. The freshman played the entire third and fourth quarters — which were eight minutes apiece with running time — and went 5 of 10 for 57 yards, adding 15 yards on three carries.

"I think we saw some things that we haven't seen before in terms of ball placement," Kelly said. "Then we saw some errors that, unfortunately, are all too familiar. So, I think there were some strides made, but clearly we're not there yet. We've got a lot of work to do with all the quarterbacks to get them to the level that we want. And we have a high bar set for them."

Kelly mentioned having seen the same movie before with Rees' and Hendrix's picks, specifically saying that Rees needs to know that "zero" is OK on third down, especially in drop-eight situations. He said the offense can't run everything with Kiel after just 15 practices to work with him.

And he said Golson needs to do a better job of getting plays in quicker, a fact the signal caller acknowledged goes a long way in earning the staff's trust.

"You never really know which way the play's gonna go with me and George," Golson said of himself and Atkinson. "That's because we're just not consistent: One play we're making a good play, one play it's a fumble or turnover, so I think just being more consistent on the positive end will help us out."

Added Atkinson: "There's so many things I can work on. I don't think I did that well today, personally. I still need fundamentals, basically. Just work on fundamentals and taking the coaching and everything else."

Atkinson said he doesn't want to give his staff a roller-coaster ride when he's on the field. Having a man under center who can protect the ball will go a long way in easing the blood pressure of everyone in the huddle and on the sideline. But an answer there isn't coming anytime soon.

"The guy that really commits to the details this summer is probably one of the guys that's going to start it," Kelly said. "So if you can go to any of those voluntary workouts, then let me know. I'd be happy to field that when I'm on the golf course. Just text me if you have that opportunity. The point is all of them have a lot of work to do. We'll see who does a great job this summer."