Coach Brian Kelly said Michael Floyd was so ill he went to the infirmary Wednesday. But the senior receiver still refused to skip practice.

"He had every excuse in the book to come to practice and go half-speed --- great player, senior year, and he did the exact opposite. He took every rep. He didn't take one off. He returned punts. He did everything and we ran them pretty hard. Those things are starting to show themselves. This is how you practice. This is how you prepare. You're confident going into games when you prepare like that."

Kelly's mention of Floyd returning punts prompted a follow-up question about Floyd's growing confidence as a punt returner. 

"If he gets the ball with any type of separation, you know how hard he is to tackle," Kelly said. "We just haven't gotten any separation to this point."