College Football Capsules - Others: UNC files response to NCAA notice of allegations
North Carolina will vacate all 16 football victories from the 2008 and 2009 seasons, and reduce scholarships as part of self-imposed penalties following an NCAA investigation into the program.
The school also put the football program on two years of probation as a result of the probe into athletes accepting improper benefits and academic misconduct.
In Monday's response to the NCAA's notice of allegations outlining nine violations, the school said it will cut three scholarships for each of the next three academic years. The school will also pay a $50,000 fine, though it isn't imposing a postseason ban.
The response calls the punishments "difficult but necessary steps."
The school still must appear before the NCAA infractions committee on Oct. 28 and await word whether the university will face additional penalties from the NCAA. Athletic director Dick Baddour said the school reviewed similar cases from the past decade before deciding on the penalties.
"I can say that we were very serious in our approach and we didn't look at it from the standpoint of trying to figure out what (the NCAA) might do," Baddour said in a teleconference with reporters. "It was only about what we felt like we should do."
Fourteen players missed at least one game and seven were forced to sit all last season, with four of those either dismissed from the team or ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA.
The scandal that has hovered over the school for 14 months included an assistant coach receiving personal loans from an NFL agent, players receiving jewelry and other gifts from people outside the program, and a tutor providing improper help to players on term papers.
"We have acknowledged our violations and we've responded in the way you would expect of this university," chancellor Holden Thorp said in a statement. "We think that the sanctions we have proposed accept responsibility and, at the same time, give our current and future student-athletes and coaches every opportunity for success."
Gone are head coach Butch Davis and assistant John Blake.
Thorp fired Davis a week before training camp, citing the cumulative damage to the university's reputation by the probe. The Tar Heels went 8-5 under Davis in both 2008 and 2009, losing each time in the Meineke Bowl. Davis has never been tied directly to or cited for any violation in the probe.
Blake resigned as associate head coach after last year's opening loss to LSU, during which the Tar Heels played without 13 players due to the NCAA probe. His close friendship with late NFL agent Gary Wichard became a focus of the investigation, including more than $31,000 in money transferred from Wichard to Blake that Blake's attorneys have characterized as loans from one friend to another during financial trouble.
The NCAA's notice of allegations, sent to the school in June, reported seven players received more than $27,000 in improper benefits in 2009 and 2010. It also alleged unethical conduct by former tutor Jennifer Wiley for refusing to cooperate with the investigation and providing about $3,500 worth of extra benefits in travel, parking expenses and free tutoring to players.
In its response, the school largely agreed with the NCAA's findings except for allegations that it failed to adequately monitor the social media activity of players. North Carolina noted that the NCAA rules "are silent with respect to any alleged institutional obligation" for daily monitoring of players' activity on sites like Facebook or Twitter.
The school also defended itself against the allegation that it should've better monitored the activity of former player Chris Hawkins, regarded as a prospective agent by the NCAA. It said there were "no red flags" about Hawkins' presence on campus in recent years for workouts with friend and former Tar Heel Willie Parker, adding that former school athletes are often welcomed back to campus.
The response also said school officials didn't know Hawkins had "impermissibly socialized" with current players away from campus. The school has since told Hawkins to stay away.
The school said it has updated policies for former players to use campus football facilities, including creating an attendance log. It will also add a staffer to its compliance department and is revising its academic support program to better oversee tutors, among other changes.
NCAA: South Carolina athletes get illegal benefits
CLINTON, S.C. (AP) — The NCAA has accused South Carolina athletes of receiving $55,000 worth of impermissible benefits and recruiting inducements for getting reduced hotel rates and for their involvement with a Delaware-based mentoring organization.
The NCAA sent university President Harris Pastides the letter of allegations Monday and requested the school's response by Dec. 14.
Football coach Steve Spurrier was among those asked to meet with the NCAA's Committee on Infractions in Los Angeles on Feb. 17-18. Track coach Curtis Frye was also asked to attend the hearing.
Pastides said the university would review the allegations and cooperate with the NCAA.
"I assure you that we will continue to take all aspects of this investigation very seriously," Pastides said in a statement. "We are prepared to continue to work with the NCAA to resolve any issues."
Spurrier did not take questions after practice Monday night.
The NCAA began its investigation at South Carolina in the summer of 2010, talking to former tight end Weslye Saunders about potential contact with agents during a trip to Miami. Instead, the NCAA found Saunders was among several athletes who lived at the Whitney Hotel for a reduced rate.
The NCAA said 10 football players stayed at the hotel at a rate of $14.59 a day. It found two members of the women's track team lived there at a rate of $14.16 per day. It said those rates were not available to the general public and gave athletes extra benefits worth $47,000.
In documents obtained from the school last October through a Freedom of Information Act request, its athletic compliance office had signed off on the rate of $450 per player for a two-bedroom hotel suite. The NCAA had deemed the rate should've been $57 per day for a total of $1,710 per month.
Last summer when Spurrier said he learned about the arrangements, he told his players to pay their bills and find acceptable places to live.
The NCAA's allegations also included dealings with the Student Athlete Mentoring Foundation, its president Steve Gordon and its treasurer Kevin Lahn — both South Carolina graduates.
Earlier this month, the NCAA suspended freshman receiver Damiere Byrd four games and ordered him to repay $2,700 in impermissible benefits before he can play for the Gamecocks. Byrd's father, Adrian, is a vice president with the foundation.
Byrd has missed No. 12 South Carolina's first three games and will sit out Saturday's contest with Vanderbilt. He is expected to make his college debut Oct. 1.
The NCAA said Gordon and Lahn contacted South Carolina staffers in football, basketball and track about prospective student athletes and funded unofficial visits to campus for those prospects.
The NCAA also said Lahn paid $3,350 for a dinner cruise on Lake Murray about 10 miles away from campus for SAM members visiting for football camps in June 2010. Along with those prospects, 16 members of the men's and women's track team, along with Frye, attended the dinner cruise.
The benefits from Gordon and Lahn totaled $8,000, the NCAA said.
The NCAA also alleged that South Carolina failed to monitor either the hotel or the SAM situations.
South Carolina has disassociated itself from both Lahn and Gordon as university boosters, school spokeswoman Luanne Lawrence said.
Gordon has said the NCAA's practices, as well as its suspensions of Byrd and Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd — also part of SAM — are unfair.
The NCAA "can blackball me forever," Gordon said Monday by phone. "I'm trying to get inner-city kids to college."
Others the NCAA asked to attend the February hearing include athletic director Eric Hyman, quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus and assistant men's basketball coach Michael Boynton.
Hyman said his staff would continue cooperating with the NCAA with the goal of making South Carolina's compliance efforts second to none.
"Any pertinent information from the NCAA that can help us strengthen our athletics program will be used as an opportunity to make positive change," Hyman said.
-- Pete Iacobelli
Team Capsules
Buckeyes in quandary after punchless loss at Miami
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — This promises to be an intriguing week for Ohio State.
Coming off a dreadful 24-6 loss at Miami on Saturday night, interim coach Luke Fickell, his staff and players will try to solve a host of problems while preparing for the most challenging part of their season.
The Buckeyes are coming off one of the worst offensive performances in the school's 122 years of intercollegiate football.
"We didn't execute as a whole," said fifth-year senior quarterback Joe Bauserman, who had spelled Terrelle Pryor the last two years. Then Bauserman added, "It's a long season."
It could get even longer. The Buckeyes, ranked No. 17 last week, plummeted from The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in almost seven years. Now they've got to regroup for a home game against Colorado, buoyed by a victory over cross-state rival Colorado State and with a chip on its shoulder.
"The Ohio State game is a big game for us," Buffaloes quarterback Tyler Hansen said while mentioning three Ohio natives on the Colorado roster. "(They) really want this next one bad so we are going to fight for them and work our butts off."
Beyond the Colorado game lies a minefield of good teams awaiting the Buckeyes: Michigan State, at No. 9 Nebraska, at No. 24 Illinois and home against No. 6 Wisconsin.
"With a loss like this, we can go and learn from things and get a lot better," defensive back C.J. Barnett said of the punchless loss in Florida.
Fickell seemed as flummoxed by his team's mental and physical lapses as anyone. As the final minutes ticked away, he didn't even use any timeouts to stop the clock. It was as if he just wanted the whole, ugly thing to disappear as quickly as possible.
"We've got to do a great job at sitting down and figuring out how we need to move forward and where our focus is going to be with the guys we have and how we can get the ball into different guys' hands and what we can do to be successful," Fickell said. "There are a lot of areas we have to make sure to go back and take a real hard look at — and to get better at."
The first position is quarterback.
True freshman Braxton Miller completed two meaningless passes to backs on Ohio State's final possession in the final seconds. That padded a woeful stat line for the passing game. The Buckeyes combined to hit on just 4 of 18 passes for 35 yards with one interception. Miller was stuck with that pick when his hard throw went off the hands of tight end Jake Stoneburner and was intercepted by JoJo Nicolas. Miller also lost a fumble and recovered another one he dropped.
Despite the two turnovers, many Buckeyes fans want him to step into the starting role. It's a troubling dilemma for Fickell and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. The problem fell into their laps when Pryor was first suspended for the first five games for breaking NCAA rules by accepting cash and free tattoos and then left school a year early for the NFL. Inexperienced and unproven players were left to replace him.
Bauserman has not been on the field for a turnover but has also not produced in the last two games. Miller has come closer to enlivening the attack, adding the ability to break containment, but has three turnovers in limited playing time.
The quarterbacks certainly aren't alone in having a bad game. The wide receivers didn't catch a pass — all four of Ohio State's completions went to running backs — and the guys out wide had three or four drops and couldn't shake defenders.
The void at receiver will be helped in two weeks when DeVier Posey returns from his own five-game suspension for his role in Tattoo-gate. In addition, Corey "Philly" Brown sat out the Miami game after injuring his leg against Toledo in Week 2. It's unknown when he will return.
On top of the other concerns, the defense was gashed for 240 rushing yards, including 54 by Lamar Miller on the Hurricanes' first play from scrimmage, and gave up passing TDs on the first two possessions.
In other words, it's not as if the offense was alone in losing the game.
"We blame no one," defensive lineman John Simon said. "This is a full team effort. This team is very close, family-like, so we'll be fine."
Colorado (1-2) comes in fired up after the first win of the Jon Embree era. The Buffs don't plan on taking the day off.
"I'm familiar with that team; I've played them twice," said Colorado wide receiver Toney Clemons, a transfer from Michigan. "The Horseshoe is going to be a madhouse. We have to get ready to go play against them. Right now, we're playing against ourselves. That's the main goal — to stay focused."
-- Rusty Miller
UCLA swaps starting QBs again after Texas loss
LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel has finally chosen a starting quarterback several days ahead of his usual timetable.
He'll still have to wait until Saturday to find out whether it helps his struggling Bruins in their Pac-12 debut after a nonconference schedule that went mostly wrong.
"We're not quite as far along as we had hoped," Neuheisel said Monday.
UCLA (1-2) is shuffling its quarterbacks for the third time in three weeks, with Neuheisel confirming Richard Brehaut will start at Oregon State this weekend.
"I said all along I wanted one to separate himself, and looked forward to the day when we would have one (starter)," Neuheisel said. "Richard has got that opportunity now as a starter to keep it, and hopefully he'll play well enough to maintain that role."
Kevin Prince started UCLA's losses to Houston and Texas, getting hurt in the season opener against the Cougars before throwing three interceptions in the first quarter of last weekend's 49-20 loss to the Longhorns. Prince said his injured right shoulder felt odd during the loss at the Rose Bowl, but Neuheisel expects him to be ready for practice this week.
Brehaut played fairly well in relief during both defeats, yet the two-sport athlete didn't look sharp in his only start against San Jose State while the Bruins struggled to grind out a 10-point win.
So the job belongs to Brehaut, but the competition isn't finished, either. Neuheisel said his decision "doesn't mean I'm giving up on (Prince)," who has battled numerous injuries during his three seasons at UCLA.
Neuheisel also appears to be giving more thought to the possibility of playing Brett Hundley, the highly touted freshman who's among the biggest recruiting coups of his tenure at his alma mater. Hundley missed much of fall camp while recovering from a basketball injury, but the Bruins must decide whether it's worth burning a redshirt year to use Hundley in the final nine games.
"Brett certainly brings something to the table that's intriguing, which is why he was so highly recruited and why so many believe he has a fantastic future, myself included," Neuheisel said. "I want him to be preparing as if he were to play, and then we'll see where he is as we get later in the week, and see if there's a place for him in the game plan."
Yet quarterback is hardly the only position that concerns Neuheisel. His Bruins haven't done a whole lot right in their first three games despite a wealth of talent, with two new coordinators still struggling to fix the finer points of their new players' approaches.
Neuheisel is understandably concerned about coordinator Joe Tresey's defense, which has yielded 1,274 yards and 104 points in the Bruins' first three games. True, the Bruins have faced two tough offenses from the Lone Star State, yet they haven't exactly risen to the challenges, either.
Neuheisel isn't looking over Tresey's shoulder as he works on a way to beat winless Oregon State. After all, Neuheisel has got enough problems on his offense.
"The kids have to embrace the system, which I think we have," Neuheisel said. "Now we just have to play it correctly."
The Bruins' defensive struggles have been magnified in Datone Jones, the standout defensive end who missed all of last season with injuries. Jones is healthy this fall, but has managed just six tackles and no sacks — and his entire team has just three sacks this season.
Jones even got a bit of pointed criticism from the usually sunny Neuheisel.
"I think he's pressing," Neuheisel said of Jones, who apparently was yanked out of the Bruins' rotation for part of the loss to Texas after committing a penalty. "I think he's trying to make too many 'SportsCenter' plays, rather than just playing the defense. ... He's ready to hopefully settle in and become the player we all expect him to be. I know this, he's got to get his mind on playing each play."
The Bruins also confirmed versatile offensive lineman Sean Sheller will need season-ending surgery this week to repair his broken left arm. Sheller, a sixth-year senior, has played tackle and guard while returning from two major knee injuries to start 13 of UCLA's last 14 games.
Neuheisel hopes to have cornerback Andrew Abbott back in the lineup after he was dazed by a blindside hit in the Bruins' loss to Texas.
-- Greg Beacham
Vols get time to heal before rest of SEC slate
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee coach Derek Dooley often tells his players it's not the adversity they face that matters. What matters is that they respond positively to the challenge.
Dooley admits he had a hard time following his own advice when he watched the Volunteers' star wide receiver, Justin Hunter, go down with a season-ending knee injury early in the 32-22 loss to Florida on Saturday.
"When you go out there and you're really excited to see what your offense is going to look like against these guys and you lose your dynamic playmaker on the third play, it's gut-wrenching," he said Monday. "It's hard to just say, 'move forward.' I was probably as guilty as any player who got affected some way early in the game because of it, because you've invested so much and now it's been taken away from you and you've got to figure out how to win the game.
"But we'll be fine going forward," he added.
The young Vols (2-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) finally got the "scars" Dooley has said they've needed after cruising to wins at home against Montana and Cincinnati. Seventeen players were making their first start outside the friendly borders of the state of Tennessee, and most of the rest had not yet played in a venue as hostile as the Swamp in Gainesville.
"If you are going to compete for championships, you are going to get scars on you," Dooley said. "We didn't have any scars on us and (against Florida) we got plenty of them. That is a good thing, we need them."
The Vols now have two weeks to heal their wounds before diving back into SEC play. This week is their bye week, which they will spend looking at different schemes and trying to determine what players can contribute more, and Tennessee hosts the Mid-American Conference's Buffalo (1-2) on Oct. 1. The Vols won't face another road test until traveling to third-ranked Alabama on Oct. 22.
Aside from sophomore wide receiver Da'Rick Rogers, no offensive player has shown the capability of making big, game-changing plays, so Dooley is looking to fill Hunter's hole by committee. Hunter, a sophomore from Virginia Beach, Va., tore the ACL in his left knee and will soon have surgery.
"You have to build your offense around your guys, and Justin was our most dynamic playmaker on offense, and we were building the offense around him," Dooley said. "When you lose that, you can't replace that. You just have to shift to, 'Now, who are we shaping the offense around?' It's going to have to be a little more committee-oriented — that's just what we've got."
More than anything, Tennessee needs to develop its running game. The Vols are averaging just 81.7 yards on the ground, ranking them last in the SEC and 105th in the FBS in rushing offense.
The Tennessee coaches spent five hours on Monday morning analyzing game tape of the run game to determine what they could do to improve it.
They'll work on some different looks, like implementing more of a screen-pass game that wasn't as necessary with a playmaker like Hunter. They also will try to work into the lineup backup tailbacks Rajion Neal, Tom Smith and Devrin Young and offensive lineman Antonio "Tiny" Richardson, who all missed much of fall practice because of injuries.
Beyond that, Dooley said the running backs and offensive linemen must play more physically and work on minimizing their own mental mistakes.
The running game "was important before because you always need it," he said. "When you can throw it and have the ability to throw it for 350, 400 yards a game, you still need a running game but that's your secondary market. You're throwing to set up the run. I don't think we're going to have that luxury now."
-- Beth Rucker
Mississippi AD: Football fans 'clearly frustrated'
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi athletic director Pete Boone said Monday that "everyone who loves Ole Miss is clearly frustrated" about the progress of the football program.
Coach Houston Nutt said the blame starts with him.
Boone met with Nutt on Sunday after the Rebels were embarrassed in a 30-7 loss to Vanderbilt and discussed the future of the program. The loss to the Commodores left the program in disarray and fans calling for Nutt's resignation.
Boone said the "rare circumstances" stemming from the Vanderbilt loss led to Sunday's meeting. He also questioned the team's attitude during Saturday's loss.
"I don't want our coaches walking around on egg shells if they see me — start looking down or looking away." Boone said. "I want us to step on some eggs. I want us to come out with some fight and some fire."
Nutt is in his fourth season at Ole Miss. The first two seasons produced 18 combined wins and back-to-back Cotton Bowl victories, but since then it's been a disaster. The Rebels have lost nine of their past 10 Southeastern Conference games, including two to Vanderbilt and two to rival Mississippi State.
The coach said Monday that there was no excuse for his team's poor play. Nutt showed little emotion during Monday's press conference as Boone discussed the state of the football program.
Ole Miss (1-2, 0-1 SEC) hosts Georgia (1-2, 0-1) on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Bulldogs have won seven straight in the series, dating back to 1997.
"Anyone who was disappointed on Saturday, you can multiply it 99 times for me," Nutt said. "It all starts with me. I appreciate Pete Boone meeting with the staff and myself and I appreciate what he did the last 24 hours. But now the bottom line is it's up to us as coaches and players to do our job."
Nutt is making about $2.7 million this season in the first year of a four-year contract. Boone has previously said Nutt's current buyout is around $6 million. That buyout diminishes the longer Nutt remains the coach.
The salary pales in comparison to the $150 million fundraising campaign Ole Miss started during the summer that will add improvements to the football stadium and build a new basketball arena. Boone admitted the embarrassing football losses have an adverse effect on potential donors.
"I don't think there are any broken bones, but there's some bruises," Boone said. "This is certainly not the way that most successful campaigns would kick off."
Boone is taking his share of the blame as well, with fans calling for his dismissal. A group that calls itself "Forward Rebels!" took out a full-page advertisement in several newspapers on Monday blaming the current problems on the school's administration.
"I saw the ad," Boone said. "I've been in the business close to 15 years. I'm not paying that much attention to it. There's things that are more important to me than that."
Boone, Nutt and the players said they're trying to tune out any outside criticism and focus on making the football program better.
There's plenty of work to do — especially in trying to rebuild an offense that was awful against the Commodores. The Rebels managed just 234 total yards in Saturday's loss. Quarterback Zack Stoudt threw five interceptions, but wasn't helped by an offensive line that had trouble keeping the pressure away.
"It's about execution," Nutt said. "Everybody getting their block and doing what they're supposed to do. Having 11 people doing it the right way on every play. We've been having about seven. You can't do that."
Stoudt is still listed as the starting quarterback on Monday's depth chart. Nutt and offensive coordinator David Lee have discussed shortening the Rebels' playbook, but Stoudt said he didn't think changes were necessary.
"I think everything we have in the playbook we can do well," Stoudt said. "We just have to go out and actually do it. We've got to stop talking about it and just freaking do it."
Boone isn't necessarily expecting miracles. He didn't even mention a win against Georgia. But he made it clear things would have to change.
"I expect our team will come out and fight," Boone said. "I expect our coaches to have a lot of enthusiasm. I think our fans will come out and support and be loud. I think it will be a totally different team than we had" at Vanderbilt.
-- David Brandt
Tulsa's Kinne expected to have MRI on knee
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne is expected to have an MRI to evaluate the severity of a knee injury he suffered early Sunday morning in the first quarter of the Golden Hurricane's loss to Oklahoma State.
University of Tulsa officials did not definitively say the three-year starter would miss Saturday's game at No. 4 Boise State.
But his injury doesn't bode well for the Golden Hurricane, who are 1-2 after the 59-33 loss to the No. 7 Cowboys, and face their third top-10 opponent of the season.
"What I can tell you is I have been told his mother (Jocelyne) posted on her Facebook account (his status)," coach Bill Blankenship said. "My trainer and our doctor have not told us a definitive diagnosis. They believe he had an MCL injury.
"I can tell you our trainer felt much more positive about it Sunday afternoon than he did (Sunday morning). I can assure you that G.J. has said to me, we're not saving him for anything. It's his senior year. If he can play this week, he'll play this week. ... It is my understanding he will have an MRI done to confirm what we expect the diagnosis to be."
With 46 rushing yards in the season opener at Oklahoma, Kinne became the only quarterback in school history to throw for more than 6,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000. Officially, Kinne has thrown for 6,907 yards, good for third all-time at Tulsa. He's rushed for 1,044, which ranks third among Tulsa quarterbacks behind Steve Gage (1983-86) who rushed for 2,096 and James Kilian's 1,083 rushing yards from 2001-04.
Blankenship said the late-night game was close to being canceled if the team's did not take the field by midnight. But the first-year coach said he was not looking at the wet field conditions and late start as an indicator to Kinne's injury.
"Cancel the game and you presume G.J. doesn't get hurt," Blankenship said. "In my own life, if you get caught looking backwards you are going to spend a whole lot of time second-guessing everything you do. It is football. I really regret it for him and for us. Again I don't know how you second-guess that. We were scheduled to play the game and we played the game."
Redshirt freshman Kalen Henderson struggled when he initially took over the offense, fumbling a couple of snaps. The 6-foot, 202-pound quarterback was 6-of-20 passing for 102 yards and two touchdowns. But he threw three interceptions.
"He was justifiably nervous and a little shaky to say the least in his debut," Blankenship said. "This is his first significant experience in college football. I was very proud that he settled down and began to manage the offense better. ... He led our team to 27 points against a Top 10 defense. We have something to build on. He's in a crash-course (mode) now to get better and more prepared for Boise State."
A decision on Henderson's backup will be made this week. Joseph Calcagni and Stephen Rouse, both true freshman, are competing for the backup position.
"We've been trying to redshirt Joseph Calcagni," Blankenship said. "To this point, Stephen Rouse has been the third-team quarterback."
As the backup, Henderson has worked with some of the players who are starters now, namely wide receiver Bryan Burnham, who leads the Golden Hurricane in catches (13) and receiving yards (230).
"I hope it will help," Blankenship said of Henderson's chemistry with Burnham. "There's no shortcut to taking snaps out there when there's live bullets firing. ... He has plenty of ability, he's plenty smart and there's just no shortcut for experience. What he got the other night is invaluable in him becoming the kind of quarterback he wants to be and what we need him to be."
Strong: Stein will start at QB vs Marshall
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville coach Charlie Strong said Monday that Will Stein is set to be the Cardinals' starting quarterback against Marshall.
Stein injured his shoulder in the second quarter Saturday against Kentucky. Teddy Bridgewater replaced him and led the Cardinals to a 24-17 win over the Wildcats.
The highly regarded freshman out of Miami threw two 25-yard touchdowns to help snap the Cardinals' four-game losing streak against Kentucky after playing just a series each in Louisville's first two games. He finished the game 10 of 18 with 106 yards.
The injury to Stein, who returned on the game's final play for the clinching kneel-down, won't take away his starting spot, Strong said.
"I'm not one of those guys who believe you lose your position because you're injured," Strong said. "It's still about competing."
Strong said Stein was itching to return after halftime but he wanted to both protect his starter and ride Bridgewater's hot hand.
"Stein could have come back into the game but I told him 'If Teddy isn't getting it done then you'll be able to come back,'" Strong said. "But Teddy ended up playing very well for a freshman on the road in a hostile environment."
Strong called the win against Kentucky his biggest since arriving at Louisville and that it has the ability to change his turnaround project.
"Now, after this game, you can watch this program: either it's going to take off or we're going to take a step backwards. We're not in no position to take a step backwards."
Strong said his game plan called for using Bridgewater in both the second and third quarters against UK, even without Stein's exit. The two quarterbacks will continue to share first-team snaps in practice and the playbook won't be trimmed for the youngster as he continues to be used in the offense.
"There's no cut down," the coach said. "The whole package is thrown at him."
The rivalry returns to kick off the season in 2012 when the game will again be played at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. In recent years Kentucky has scheduled the game in the third week of the season while Louisville has chosen to host it as the season opener.
Strong said, half-jokingly, that he expects the buzz to begin about next season's Kentucky game as soon as the calendar turns to next year.
"I don't think I've been anywhere where that game is made such a big deal," he said. "Next year when it's played here for the first (game) it would be blown up for the whole summer. No, it will start in January. 'Coach, you've got to win that game. You've got to win that game.'"
O'Brien brings NC State team home to Cincinnati
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Tom O'Brien is taking North Carolina State to his hometown of Cincinnati. The Wolfpack are bringing some new worries with them.
The consensus opinion before the season was that N.C. State's defense had to carry the team while new quarterback Mike Glennon and an inexperienced offense found their way.
Three games in, and it's the other way around. The Wolfpack (2-1) likely will be without at least three defensive starters Thursday night when they visit the Cincinnati Bearcats. Linebacker Terrell Manning is having surgery on his left knee and was replaced by Dwayne Maddox on the depth chart.
O'Brien, one of five members of his coaching staff with ties to Cincinnati, said Monday that the rash of injuries means the coaches "are the Dutch boy, putting fingers in the dike."
Defensive linemen J.R. Sweezy and Jeff Rieskamp have missed time with injuries, though Rieskamp was back on the depth chart this week. Cornerback Jarvis Byrd (knee) is out for the season.
Defensive tackle Markus Kuhn said the younger defenders have to grow up quickly.
"It's always bad if we have one of the starters going down," the senior said. "Dwayne stepped in at the end of the last game and did pretty good. Now he has to do it against Cincinnati."
Rieskamp is one of seven Cincinnati natives on the team. O'Brien and offensive coordinator Dana Bible attended high school in Cincinnati, Bible played and was an assistant coach for the Bearcats and was the Cincinnati Bengals' quarterbacks coach for three seasons. Three other assistants also have Cincinnati-area connections.
Tight ends coach Don Horton "grew up in the city and went to Wittenberg and has a lot of great ties," O'Brien said. "When I was growing up, the Catholic league in Cincinnati was as good as any league there was in the nation and still is."
One bright spot on his current team has been Glennon, who replaced Russell Wilson after the former all-Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback transferred to Wisconsin. Glennon threw a career-high four touchdown passes in a 35-13 win over South Alabama.
"Glennon has done better than I would have expected," O'Brien said.
Fullback Taylor Gentry, who caught two short TD passes from him in the South Alabama game, agreed with his coach.
"The first ball I caught from him about took the skin off my hands," Gentry said. "He's come a long way. He's waited patiently. I'm all about Mike. I want him to succeed."
Bison coach: Team can make statement vs. Gophers
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — About half of North Dakota State's roster hails from Minnesota. Bison coach Craig Bohl said it is not a big motivating factor for Saturday's game against the neighboring Gophers. Or is it?
"I do know that there's not a guy on our squad that was offered a scholarship from a Big Ten school. Not one," Bohl said Monday at his weekly press conference. "You've got a bunch of small-town guys from small Minnesota communities."
The Bison (2-0) face the Gophers (1-2) for the first time since 2007, when NDSU pulled off a 27-21 shocker at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. At the time, NDSU was making the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I athletics and was not eligible for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
The Bison have high hopes this year for a second straight FCS playoff run, but that doesn't take away from the opportunity to make a statement against an FBS team, Bohl said.
"Make no mistake, this is an important game for us," the coach said. "It's a great thing for NDSU. It's a great thing for the community. We will have exposure all across the country."
NDSU has a 4-3 record against FBS teams since 2006. The Bison are 1-1 against Minnesota, 1-0 against Kansas, 1-0 against Ball State, 1-0 against Central Michigan, 0-1 against Iowa State and 0-1 against Wyoming.
Minnesota officials expect a near-capacity crowd at TCF Bank Stadium, which seats 50,805. About 500 tickets were available Monday, and another 500 are expected to be released after student sales are completed, athletic department spokesman Garry Bowman Jr. said.
NDSU was allotted 3,000 tickets, but associate athletic director Troy Goergen said he wouldn't be surprised to see 20,000 Bison fans in the stands. Some thought as many as 30,000 Bison supporters attended the 2007 game in the Metrodome.
"People have had this game on their calendar for a long time," Goergen said. "They're looking forward to being on a Big Ten college campus on game day."
The Bison are ranked No. 12 in this week's FCS coaches' poll. They fell six spots after a bye week that followed two easy wins over Lafayette and St. Francis, Pa.
Bohl acknowledged that the early level of competition might have influenced the voters. He does not vote.
"We scheduled the people that we could schedule," he said. "The thing that I appreciated about our football team is that we played that people that we could play and went out and played as well as we could play."
-- Dave Kolpack
Hilltoppers lose QB, WR to season-ending injuries
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Western Kentucky has lost quarterback Brandon Doughty and leading receiver Marcus Vasquez to what likely are season-ending injuries.
Coach Willie Taggart announced Monday that Doughty, a redshirt freshman, and Vasquez, a junior, both suffered knee ligament injuries.
"Chances are they are done for the year," Taggart said on the Sun Belt's weekly league teleconference.
The duo will undergo MRIs, Taggart said, and the expectation is the results will be torn anterior cruciate ligaments.
Doughty, who on Saturday made his first start in place of quarterback Kawaun Jakes in Saturday's loss to Indiana State, was injured on the third play of the game when he scrambled and came up limping.
"I was planning on Brandon playing the whole game, and it was unfortunate he went down," Taggart said Saturday. "That's the kind of luck we've been having lately."
Jakes entered for the Hilltoppers' second series to a smattering of boos but ended up 22 of 30 for 237 yards against Indiana State.
Vasquez's injury came during WKU's last offensive play in the fourth quarter on a 12-yard reception over the middle of the field. He was tackled awkwardly, fumbled, and needed help making it back to the sideline.
WKU's leading receiver with 134 yards on 11 receptions, Vasquez also sat out the end of last season with a broken collarbone.
No other WKU wideout has more than 100 yards receiving this season through three games.
"It's football," Taggart said. "It's time for the other guys to step up."
The Hilltoppers (0-3) have this weekend off before hosting Arkansas State on Oct. 1 in their Sun Belt opener.
News & Notes
McNeill helps East Carolina focus on itself
GREENVILLE, N.C. (AP) — East Carolina coach Ruffin McNeill hopes a week off is what his team needed now that it's finally facing a more manageable opponent.
"The biggest thing now is getting our rhythm back, and I think we'll accomplish that," McNeill said Monday.
That could be possible against a winless UAB team this Saturday that was routed last week by Tulane. East Carolina also lost its first two games, but those came against nationally ranked South Carolina and Virginia Tech. The Pirates had last week off to recover.
"During the off week we really focused on ourselves, which we always do, but more this week than ever before," McNeill said.
The Pirates next week play host to instate rival North Carolina. And for McNeill and the Pirates, that means even more emphasis on themselves and less on the opponent.
"We need to make sure we're playing with great fundamentals and technique, and that involves us only," McNeill said.
The Pirates have struggled after bye weeks, going just 3-8 after open dates since 2003.
Iowa QB Vandenberg earns Big Ten honor
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg is the Big Ten's offensive player of the week after leading the Hawkeyes on an historic comeback against Pittsburgh.
Vandenberg threw for 399 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns as Iowa rallied from a 21-point deficit to beat the Panthers 31-27. The comeback was the largest in Hawkeyes history.
Vandenberg completed 17 of his last 20 attempts — including 10 straight at one point — while posting career bests in completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdowns.
The Hawkeyes (2-1) close out non-conference play on Saturday when they host Louisiana Monroe.
Montana linebacker honored by Big Sky Conference
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana linebacker John Kanongata'a has been named the Big Sky Conference defensive player of the week. The sophomore from Bellevue, Wash., tallied a career-high 12 tackles and had a game-clinching interception with 25 seconds remaining in Montana's 17-14 win over defending FCS national champion Eastern Washington. He also posted a key fourth-quarter sack that pushed the Eagles out of field goal range.
Idaho State quarterback Kevin Yost and Portland State running back Cory McCaffrey shared the award on offense, while PSU's Myles Wade was honored on special teams.
Yost passed for 508 yards and four touchdowns in ISU's 50-20 win over Northern Colorado, which snapped an 11-game losing streak to Division I teams. McCaffrey rushed for 222 yards and scored four touchdowns in Portland State's 31-29 win over Northern Arizona, which snapped PSU's seven-game league losing streak. Wade blocked Northern Arizona's potentially game-winning field goal with seven seconds to play.
Frontier Conf. names football players of the week
WHITEFISH, Mont. (AP) — Athletes from Carroll College, Eastern Oregon and Rocky Mountain College have been named Frontier Conference football players of the week.
Kevin Sampson received offensive player of the week honors for his role in Eastern Oregon's 48-29 win over Montana State-Northern. The running back rushed 21 times for 179 yards and three touchdowns. He caught three passes for 37 yards and one touchdown.
Rocky defensive back J.T. Fitzgerald was named defensive player of the week. He had five solo tackles, four assisted tackles and one interception in Rocky's 44-37 win over Montana Tech. With 2:23 remaining in the game and the score tied at 37, he returned his interception 52 yards for the winning touchdown.
Meanwhile, Matt Ritter received special teams honors after returning punts for 32 and 28 yards in Carroll's 31-13 win over Montana Western.
Biezuns earns MWC defensive player honor
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — Wyoming senior defensive lineman Josh Biezuns has been named the Mountain West Conference co-defensive player of the week.
Biezuns forced one fumble, recovered one fumble, had two sacks and five total tackles in a 28-27 win at Bowling Green last Saturday. His biggest play of the day came with only three seconds remaining in the game when he helped block a potential game-tying extra point.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Biezuns sacked the Bowling Green quarterback and forced a fumble at the same time. He then recovered the fumble. The turnover set up Wyoming's final touchdown of the game to put the Cowboys up 28-14. Biezuns shares this week's award with San Diego State defensive back Larry Parker.
MSU football recruit pleads guilty in pot case
KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A former Montana State University football recruit has acknowledged selling marijuana-laced brownies to fellow high school graduates, several of whom became sick at what was supposed to be a drug- and alcohol-free graduation party in Kalispell.
The Daily Inter Lake reports 18-year-old Connor Thomas entered the pleas in Youth Court Friday to two felony charges of distributing drugs in early June. Thomas was initially charged in District Court, but the case was moved to Youth Court in August.
The court declared Thomas a delinquent youth and a serious juvenile offender. A disposition hearing is set for Sept. 23. Thomas, who had a 4.0 grade point average at Flathead High, was suspended for two games last fall after police stopped a car he was driving and discovered marijuana and paraphernalia.
UCA QB out for Arkansas State game
CONWAY, Ark. (AP) — University of Central Arkansas will be without starting quarterback Nathan Dick when the Bears take the field against Arkansas State. Coach Clint Conque said Monday Dick suffered a second-quarter concussion on Saturday against Sam Houston State on a late hit that drew a penalty. Dick also had a concussion the week before against Louisiana Tech and didn't practice until last Thursday.
The Log Cabin Democrat reports that Conque says Dick is to get an MRI on Tuesday. Dick's status beyond Saturday will be determined by the team's medical staff. Dick, a senior, has started for the Bears for the last two seasons. Sophomore Wynrick Smothers will be under center Saturday at Jonesboro..
Michigan State's Burkland expected to miss season
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State tackle Skyler Burkland is expected to miss the rest of the season after dislocating his left ankle Saturday against Notre Dame.
The school says Burkland had successful surgery Sunday and will miss approximately three months. He's expected back in time for the winter conditioning program.
Burkland, a redshirt freshman, started the first three games of the season at right tackle. He was hurt in the second quarter of Michigan State's 31-13 loss over the weekend.
Iowa LB Davis leaves team
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa reserve linebacker Bruce Davis has left the team, citing personal reasons. Davis, a senior from Cleveland, suffered a season-ending knee injury last September and had played sparingly this season.
Davis, who finishes his career with 20 total tackles, is set to graduate in December. Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz says he and his staff appreciate Davis's contributions to the program. Iowa (2-1) hosts Louisiana-Monroe (1-2) on Saturday.
Buffalo-Tennessee set for 12:30 p.m. kickoff
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's Oct. 1 home meeting with Buffalo has been scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. Eastern kickoff. The game will be televised regionally on CSS.
The Volunteers (2-1) are 5-0 against current members of the Mid-American Conference but have never faced the Bulls (1-2).
