Notre Dame senior tackle Christian Lombard, seen as a probable third-day draft pick, has a career-ending back injury.
Irishillustrated.com, a Notre Dame-centric website, reported the news Saturday.
A source tells Irish Illustrated that Christian Lombard will miss the Music City Bowl with a career-ending back injury (bulging disc).
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Wisconsin made Paul Chryst’s homecoming official on Wednesday, announcing he is the Badgers’ new head coach.
Reports in the past week indicated Chryst, who had served as head coach at Pitt, would return to Madison. Wednesday was the earliest Wisconsin could hire Chryst because of university policies.
Welcome home, Coach Chryst. Welcome home. #Badgers pic.twitter.com/yZOpLkX2ak
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Bo Pelini, fired as Nebraska’s coach at the end of November, will be the new coach at FCS school Youngstown State, a report says.
The Youngstown Vindicator reported the news Tuesday morning. Pelini is a Youngstown native.
The Vindicator said a school spokesman could neither confirm nor deny the report, but also that the spokesman said the school "hopefully" would have an official statement later Tuesday.
Youngstown State’s president is former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who enjoyed great success as Youngstown’s coach in the 1990s.
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Will Muschamp, who was fired as Florida’s coach last month, will remain in the SEC as Auburn’s new defensive coordinator.
"He’s one of the best in the business, if not the best in the business," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said of Muschamp at Saturday’s introductory news conference.
Muschamp’s last official day at Florida was Nov. 29, when he coached the Gators in their loss to Florida State, which means he spent less than two weeks out of work. Numerous reports indicate his salary will be $1.6 million, meaning he will be the highest-paid assistant in college football. He reportedly also was a candidate for the Houston head-coaching job.
"We’ve been pretty good where we’ve been, but we’ve also had a bunch of good players," Muschamp said Saturday of the defenses he has coordinated.
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The very first day of Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston’s code of conduct hearing went "as expected," his advisor told reporters, as well as the hearing is anticipated to close Wednesday.
"We believe this nightmare is going to be over really shortly," David Cornwell, Winston’s advisor, told reporters following the hearing ended Tuesday.
The school’s hearing — that is closed to the people — facilities on sexual assault allegations against Winston from December 2012, and possible punishments vary from probation to expulsion.
Winston did not talk to the media before or after the hearing, but both sides got their points across before the hearing. Cornwell said the accuser and her lawyers were attempting "to do their extortion strategy." And John Clune, the accuser’s lawyer, said in a statement, "it is the day that Mr. Winston has been urgently trying to prevent for two years. … Neither Jameis Winston nor his attorney can quit what’s coming."
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Florida is seeking a fresh trainer, and rumors are wild — so wild that school officials released a statement Monday morning saying no one was offered the occupation.
Statement from UAA (1 of 2): We will not have any opinion to the recent multiple reports other than to say that we’ve made no occupation offers to
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Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett was carted off the field with an injury early in the fourth quarter of the Buckeyes’ 42-28 win over longtime opponent Michigan.
Barrett was injured on a second-and-1 run on the initial play of the fourth quarter. His lower left leg was put in a air form before he was taken off in a handcart. Columbus Dispatch reporter Tim May tweeted that sources told him Barrett has a right ankle dislocation and likely broken bone. Barrett additionally was promptly taken to the hospital after suffering the harm, per May.
Sportsmanship. pic.twitter.com/2q8sw7OlsN
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Mark Richt didn’t exactly ease Todd Gurley back into the mix in the Georgia rushing rotation Saturday. And after a four-game suspension, the star junior looked like his dominant self until a left knee injury ended his night.
Gurley fed on a season-high 29 carries for 138 yards and a touchdown to help the Bulldogs to a 34-7 home drubbing of Auburn, keeping UGA in the hunt for an SEC East title, and as well marking the return of one of college football’s elite talents. But late in the game, Gurley took a carry up the middle and suffered an undisclosed injury to his left knee. He was carted off the field.
In his postgame press conference, Richt acknowledged Gurley hurt his knee, but wasn’t able to shed any light on the severity of the injury.
"Don’t know, I really don’t know," Richt told reporters. "I’m just as curious as everyone else. … He hurt his knee."
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South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday night he anticipates several juniors, including star tailback Mike Davis, to take part in this season’s "Senior Day."
While a junior participating in a Senior Day event is not always a certain indication that the player is turning professional, it usually is a great index.
"I believe (tailbacks) Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds and, possibly, (offensive tackle) Brandon Shell, I’m not certain, perhaps some of the defensive men," Spurrier told The State newspaper of Columbia after the Gamecocks’ practice Tuesday. & quot;We will have several juniors do the senior walk, and then they’re going to make the choice after whether to go or come back. When they would like to walk twice, that is good, also. We have had several men do that."
South Carolina’s "Senior Day" is Nov. 22, against South Alabama.
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Maryland star wide receiver Stefon Diggs continues to be suspended in the Terrapins’ next match, Nov. 15 against Michigan State, for his activities before last Saturday’s triumph over Penn State.
The Big Ten announced the suspension Monday day, saying Diggs broken the Big Ten’s sportsmanship policy.
Various media reports said Diggs touched an official in the face in a fracas ahead of the match. But Diggs had not been ejected and led Maryland with six receptions for 53 yards, and he also returned kicks and punts.
In addition to suspending Diggs, the league issued a public reprimand of Maryland coach Randy Edsall, saying Edsall neglected to command his team prior to the match, when Terps players started a confrontation with Penn State players. The league said, "Officials did a great job of including the situation once it began, and luckily the incident didn’t escalate any additional."
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Beleaguered Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon apparently will step down Friday day.
The school has scheduled at 1:30 p.m. ET news conference, and various media reports have Brandon stepping down.
Brandon, 62, has become the ADVERTISEMENT since 2010. He’s a Michigan alum and was the chairman of the board of Domino’s Pizza when he was hired by Michigan.
He hired Brady Hoke as football coach, and Hoke undoubtedly is to the hot seat. The time of Brandon’s resignation could throw the anticipated Michigan training investigation into chaos, as it will be hard to engage a fresh trainer without that trainer understanding who his supervisor will be.
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Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott said he’s good and can play Saturday against Arkansas – – and he brought up Beyonce when he was asked of a foot injury.
Prescott wore a walking boot after last week’s win over Kentucky, and he’s said all along it was a precautionary measure. He explained that again Tuesday night and wondered what all of the fuss was about.
"I am convinced there is some boots Beyonce or somebody’s worn before that folks have made a huge deal about," Prescott told reporters.
Prescott also said, "I am good. I do not believe I Will have anything wrong with me for the Arkansas game. I will be good."
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An investigation into whether a college football player accepted money in exchange for autographs has already thrown the career of the Heisman front-runner, Todd Gurley, into jeopardy this season, and a similar probe might yet trip up the remaining eligibility of the Heisman’s reigning winner.
The Florida State compliance department has begun to look into how a large number of Jameis Winston autographs were authenticated and whether he accepted any money as a result, according to a report on ESPN.com.
A source told ESPN that head coach Jimbo Fisher asked Winston if he ever accepted money for autographs after Saturday’s win over Syracuse, and Winston responded that he did not. However, the James Spence Authentication company certified more than 340 autographs from Winston.
"The items that I’ve seen signed by Todd Gurley and Jameis Winston, which have been authenticated by JSA, look like they came from an autograph signing," Martin Buckley, co-owner of Palm Beach Autographs in Florida told the site. "This is based on the items themselves being similar, the quantities of those items, the consistency of signature as well as similar spots in which they signed."
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Jameis Winston threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns Saturday as Florida State cruised past Syracuse 38-20 a day after FSU announced that Winston faces a student honor code hearing.
» Report: FSU, police obstructed Winston investigation
Winston threw two TD passes in the second quarter to lift FSU to a 24-6 halftime lead; his final TD pass of the day came in the third quarter for a 31-6 lead that ended any intrigue.
"It’s not about distractions," Winston told reporters afterward. "It’s about Florida State football."
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Suspended USC cornerback Josh Shaw’s immediate future remains up in the air.
The Los Angeles Daily News reported Wednesday that Trojans coach Steve Sarkisian said Shaw’s status rests with USC "higher-ups" after he was asked if Shaw would play this season.
"I know Josh is trying to do everything in his power to make that happen, but really there’s not even a decision to be made on our end, at this point," Sarkisian told trojansports.com.
Shaw (6-foot-1, 200 pounds), who would’ve started at cornerback for USC, was suspended indefinitely in late August, after he admitted he fabricated a story saying he had injured himself saving a drowning nephew. He is being investigated for a possible domestic violence incident.
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Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan is injured; that much is known. The severity of the injury or even the specifics of the body part that hurts – – well, Cardinal coach David Shaw won’t say.
Shaw did say Hogan seemed likely to play Friday when Stanford plays host to Washington State.
Hogan (6-foot-4, 225 pounds), a junior, suffered some sort of injury on his leg in last week’s loss to Notre Dame. Whether it was to his knee, ankle, foot, whatever – – Stanford isn’t saying.
"All things point toward him hopefully being ready (for Friday),” Shaw told reporters Tuesday. "We were aware of it. There was no fear of further injury. He still had full range of motion. He still had full strength. After you play the game, it gets really sore, and that’s where he is. But we feel good about him being ready."
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UCLA played with fire all season long.
On Saturday night at the Rose Bowl, the Bruins finally were burned.
Utah helped close out a day of crazy college football upsets by shocking UCLA, 30-28, even though the Utes were without starting quarterback Travis Wilson most of the night.
The 6-foot-6 Wilson was reportedly benched early in the game in favor of backup Kendal Thompson, who certainly provided a spark for the Utes’ offense. He finished the game 10-of-13 passing for just 95 yards and a touchdown, but it was his dual-threat nature that either extended plays or allowed him to pick up key yards on the ground.
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NFL Media’s Albert Breer reports, per a source briefed on the situation, that the NFL will begin testing for human growth hormone on Monday.
The league and the NFL Players Association announced an agreement on a new drug policy on Sept. 19 that included HGH testing for the first time ever.
It also stated that any positive test violations of both substances of abuse and performance enhancing drug policies — which includes HGH — will be handled by an independent arbitrator.
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Charlie Strong is definitely an early riser, but lately discovered a high profile assembly in the docket rather than movie review.
The Texas head coach met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent in Austin on Sunday morning.
"This morning, (Goodell) and I met with (trainer Strong) to discuss core values, game ethics, and faculty connections. Excellent assembly, great stimulation," Vincent tweeted. & quot;(Strong’s) emphasis on character and esteem over gift is shaping the following generation of football ability. Standards are essential. Commissioner and I are focused on strengthening relationships with schools. Thanks for the time today (Charlie Strong)."
In the aftermath of several high profile domestic violence cases, the commissioner spent about three hours on Saturday night in the National Domestic Violence Hotline in Austin. Vincent was also apparently in attendance, and afterwards met with NFL alumni in your community about various problems based on his Twitter account.
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Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah needs what Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston already has — a Heisman Trophy — but it was Abdullah doling out some serious guidance for Winston on Monday.
The two school stars both hail from Alabama and consider each other friends. They were high school competitions in the Birmingham region, however they attended several summer camps jointly and apparently prepared together at exactly the same fitness center.
Nevertheless, Winston has been no stranger to off-the-field problems, as well as the episode that resulted in his suspension from Florida State’s game against Clemson — Winston shouted an obscene phrase within the student union — has seemingly rankled his fellow Heisman Trophy candidate and buddy. The Cornhuskers star directed a message Monday directly at Winston: Grow up.
"(Winston is) a very intelligent young man," Abdullah told the Associated Press. & quot;But he’s made his fair share of errors. It gets to the point at which you are feeling like he needs to begin understanding and take things more seriously because these matters can change what the results are in his future."
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