updated 1:13 p.m. ET Oct. 23, 2009

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Golden Tate is always excited to see what Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has in store for him.

"You never know what he's got dialed up," Tate said.

With receiver Michael Floyd out until early November with a broken left collarbone, Weis has been moving Tate around to make it harder for defenses to focus on the speedy receiver. Tate has lined up at all three receiver spots, at tailback, fullback and quarterback in the wildcat formation. Tate also is the punt returner and against USC he took over kickoff returns in the second half when the Irish were looking for a spark.

"He makes plays," Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen said. "He wants the ball in his hands. And once I get it in his hands, he makes a lot of good things happen."

Tate had two touchdown catches against USC last Saturday, the only two TD passes the Trojans have surrendered. One was on a 45-yard go-route where he was double covered, the other a 15-yard catch. On both he held on after hard hits by USC safety Taylor Mays.

It's quite a change from a year ago when Tate and the Irish offense struggled when Floyd missed three games with a knee injury. Tate figured with Floyd out last season his numbers would go up. Instead they went down as teams double covered him. In games Floyd played, Tate averaged nearly five catches a game for 92 yards. Without Floyd, he averaged three catches and 53 yards.

This season, though, has been different. He's gone from averaging six catches for 100 yards a game in the three games Floyd played in, to seven catches for 139 yards a game in the three games Floyd's missed. Overall, the Irish (4-2) went from averaging 327 yards a game with Floyd to 307 yards without him heading into Saturday's game against Boston College (5-2).

The difference, coaches say, is that Tate is smarter. He came out of high school as a running back and needed to learn how to run precise routes, how to shake defenders, basically how to be a receiver.

Tate concedes he couldn't have done last year what he's doing now, saying the only thing he was proficient in was long passes. This season, though, he's running all sorts of routes.

"I'll give credit to Golden's production due on to what we've been able to challenge with him mentally," Weis said. "Because we've had to do a lot of things so that we couldn't just settle in with him at one spot. We've had to do a lot of things formation wise, I mean, significant wrinkles."

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Sometimes Tate's nothing more than a decoy. When the Irish had a third-and-1 against USC, Tate lined up at tailback and ran laterally left at the snap of the ball knowing the Trojans would focus on him. Fullback James Aldridge carried up the middle for a 2-yard gain.

Before the Irish ran a fake field goal that set up a touchdown against USC, Tate was told to be sure not to run off the field anywhere near receiver Robby Parris —  because the Irish knew the Trojans would be watching Tate closely and didn't want USC to notice Parris standing a few feet from the sideline trying to hide. It worked.

About the only place Tate has looked uncomfortable on the field has been when he's been around the opposing team's band. Against Michigan State he caught a touchdown pass and was running hard toward the band after making the catch. Instead of running into a band member, he leapt, figuring the band members would catch him. They parted instead and he landed with a thud. Against USC, he landed at the feet of a USC drummer and pushed the drum as he got up.

"Me and bands. I don't know what's going on," Tate joked.

Tate still looks most comfortable running the deep routes. He had had catches of 67 and 77 yards against Washington and a 54-yard catch against Michigan State. He's also gained a reputation for high-flying tricks. As well as the leap into the Michigan State band, he also leapt over a defender against Purdue and was sent somersaulting in the air on a hit against Washington on a 22-yard catch in overtime that set up the game-winning touchdown.

"He said he wants to go to the Packers," Weis said, referring to the Lambeau Leap frequently done in Green Bay.

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