The Michael Floyd Suspension Watch is underway at Notre Dame

The other shoe has fallen on Notre Dame receiver Michael Floyd in predictably stern-yet-open-ended fashion, with coach Brian Kelly placing his brightest star under indefinite suspension Monday afternoon in the wake of Floyd's early morning drunk driving arrest by campus police on Sunday. The arrest was the would-be senior's second alcohol-related offense since the start of 2010, and opens the door to three possible scenarios for his immediate football future this fall:

a) Floyd returns to the team in the fall but misses at least the season opener against South Florida, if not more games;
b) Floyd is expelled by the university's Office of Residence or otherwise reconsiders his decision to pass on the NFL draft for his senior season and enters his name instead to become the league's most sought-after supplemental draft pick in at least 20 years; or
c) Floyd keeps his nose clean, sits out spring practice, and returns to the team in more or less good standing for preseason camp.

There's also a (probably distant) possibility that Floyd could face up to a year in jail if convicted on a misdemeanor OWI charge, or that he'll somehow fail to fulfill Kelly's orders to "get his life in order" and "successfully modify his behavior" and simply won't be allowed back on the team, robbing Notre Dame and college football in general of the best returning wideout in the country.

I'm a fake doctor, not a lawyer, nor a psychologist, nor a judge, nor a disciplinarian. If I had to bet, though, I'd take my chances on a) A standard, quiet suspension of three or four months, followed by a timely return to the team and a one- or two-game absence to start the season. If for some reason Floyd's not suiting up for the Irish in 2011, it's more likely to be at the discretion of the Office of Residence Life ?�which most definitely will boot or suspend a football player for an entire season for a serious or repeat offense ?�than a prosecutor's, his coach's or his own.

In the meantime, Irish fans, try not to let the intrigue ruin your spring break. Or your summer, for that matter, because we might be intriguing for a while.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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