By Neil Hayes, Sun Times, November 9, 2011.

Starting center Braxston Cave will miss the rest of the season after injuring a ligament in his foot, meaning a player with a famous last name will finally get his chance when the Irish play Maryland at Fed­Ex Field on Saturday night.

Senior Mike Golic Jr., the son of former Notre Dame player and ESPN personality Mike Golic and the nephew of ex-Irish standouts Bob and Greg, will make his first career start.

"Everything really hasn't gone according to plan like I envisioned it coming in," Golic Jr. said. "It has been a process of getting a little bit bigger and getting acclimated to the speed of the college game and just waiting for my opportunity. Obviously, it took a lot longer than I planned originally, but through my own little support system with my family and the guys around me I've kept the faith knowing there's a time and place for everything."

Cave has not missed a start since the beginning of the 2010 season before being injured late in the first quarter of Notre Dame's 24-17 win at Wake Forest on Saturday night. "Braxston has been a consistent performer for us over the past couple years," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. "We feel terrible for Braxston."

Receiver Theo Riddick will not play against Maryland after injuring his hamstring. Robby Toma will start in his place. TJ Jones and John Goodman can also expect more playing time, Kelly said. Linebacker Manti Te'o re-aggravated an ankle injury that has bothered him for much of the season and will be limited in practice. Freshman defensive end Aaron Lynch also suffered an ankle injury. Both are expected to play Saturday.

"He's such an integral part of our defense that he has to practice," Kelly said of Te'o. "We'll just be smart. He'll spend most of his time on teamwork. He won't do a lot of individual work. We won't have him in run support. He won't be doing things like that, but he'll be involved in most of our team stuff."