Predictions 101 — Week 7

Last week on “Shakeup Saturday,” we went 3-4 straight up and versus “the number.” That was typical of our mediocre season so far. It’s amazing to think that John L. Smith had a better weekend than us.

Let’s see if we can at least get into a 4-3 alignment or better this week, which features an intriguing slate of games.

TOP 5 GAMES OF THE WEEK (Thurs., Oct. 11, thru Sat., Oct. 13)

1) No. 3 South Carolina at No. 9 LSU
Sat., Oct. 13 — 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

The Gamecocks certainly looked like BCS material last Saturday as they dismantled Georgia, 35-7. Impressive in every phase of the game, this “USC” is the one that could make a run at the crystal football.

What remains to be seen is South Carolina’s ability to display that same sort of assertiveness and efficiency in Death Valley. If it can, will it be enough to get past LSU?

The Tigers had a far different experience last Saturday, losing their first regular-season game since Nov. 27, 2010. But let’s not jump to too many conclusions based on Florida’s 14-6 victory. LSU’s offensive limitations can be a sticking point, but its defensive prowess makes up for that.

If not for the crucial Gator drive in which Tiger linebackers Kevin Minter (leg cramps) and Kwon Alexander (broken ankle) were both sidelined, LSU very well could still be undefeated. Holding the Gators to 237 total yards — 85 of which came during the third-quarter drive mentioned above — is typically going to get it done.

No disrespect to South Carolina’s offense, but it will experience far more three-and-outs than usual in Baton Rouge. This will be tailback Marcus Lattimore’s first game against LSU and we don’t expect him to move the chains with his normal regularity.

That’ll put quarterback Connor Shaw in more obvious passing situations and the Tiger defense has the discipline to keep him in the pocket and force tough throws under duress. Not leaving lanes for Shaw to leak out into and run for the sticks is crucial.

The Gamecock defense is stout, as well, but in its only two road games this year both Vanderbilt and Kentucky held third-quarter leads over South Carolina, scoring a total of 30 points.

Opening point spread: LSU by 4

The pick: LSU 21-20

2) No. 17 Stanford at No. 7 Notre Dame
Sat., Oct. 13 — 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC

This prediction comes courtesy of Shane Hedani from the P101 satellite office in Maunawili, Hawai‘i. He’s been the star of our team so far.

The last time they left “The Farm,” running back Stepfan Taylor had only 75 yards on 21 attempts, inexperienced quarterback Josh Nunes misfired all day and the Cardinal did not score an offensive touchdown. Washington’s defense dominated and took away the Stanford running game in that 17-13 victory.

Let’s not forget that Husky defense is the same one that Oregon lit up for 52 points and 497 yards, 299 of which came on the ground. Since the Cardinal could not get things going in Seattle, expect a nightmare in South Bend.

Led by All-America linebacker Manti Te‘o, the Fighting Irish defense ranks second in points allowed, 10th in passing efficiency defense, 13th in total defense and 17th in rushing defense. To top it all off, Notre Dame is also seventh best in the country in turnover margin.

That kind of buzz saw is made to dissect trees.

The Irish offense took a little while to get things rolling earlier in the season, putting up just enough points to beat three Big Ten teams. Of course, that defense which has held opponents to less than a touchdown over the last three games takes a lot of the pressure off.

Last Saturday at Soldier Field, following a bye week, the Notre Dame offense blossomed and dropped 41 points on Miami (Fla.). With that attack catching up to the dominant defense, Stanford won’t get close, as the Irish continue to build their case for not just the BCS, but the whole enchilada.

Opening point spread: Notre Dame by 7

The pick: Notre Dame 37-13

3) No. 15 Texas vs. No. 13 Oklahoma (at Dallas)
Sat., Oct. 13 — noon ET, ABC

Longhorn quarterback David Ash doesn’t remotely resemble the nervous wreck that alternated with Case McCoy in last year’s mistake-filled nightmare in the Red River Rivalry.

Ash was machinelike last Saturday, completing 22-of-29 for 269 yards and a touchdown in a 48-45 loss to West Virginia. If his counterpart was anyone but Geno Smith, Ash would have been on the winning side.

As is always the case, taking care of the football is paramount. Oklahoma has won the last two in the series by taking advantage of seven takeaways.

The Texas defense needs to do a much better job of stopping the run. Smith’s passing was impressive as usual, but the Mountaineers’ 192 yards on the ground is what really hurt.

Longhorn fans are happy their team doesn’t have to deal with the sort of spread offense that Oklahoma State and West Virginia used to engineer 36- and 48-point outbursts.

But let’s not forget that the Sooners dropped 55 on the Longhorns last year, despite having the ball for only 22 of the 60 minutes. So proceed with caution.

Opening point spread: Oklahoma by 2 1/2

The pick: Texas 28-27

4) No. 10 Oregon State at Brigham Young
Sat., Oct. 13 — 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Could we possibly see a shutout here? Sure the Cougars roughed up Hawai‘i, 47-0, on Sept. 28, but what does that really mean these days? It’s more illuminating that in games on either side of that blowout BYU scored just six points in each contest.

The six-point output wasn’t enough in a 7-6 loss at Boise State on Sept. 20, but it did allow the Cougars to get past Utah State, 6-3, last Friday.

That limited amount of firepower, directed by rusty quarterback Riley Nelson (sat out last two weeks with a back injury and now his fill-in is out for the season), could get completely doused by a Beaver defense that kept Washington State out of the end zone last Saturday in a 19-6 win in Corvallis. And don’t forget about the stonewall that Oregon State put up in its 10-7 victory over Wisconsin on Sept. 8.

The chance of BYU’s defense finding success increases with backup quarterback Cody Vaz doing the pitching instead of injured starter Sean Mannion (knee). But the aerial assault will be a shock to the Cougars’ system nonetheless. This is likely to be the first time this season that BYU will be faced with 30 or more pass attempts.

Even with the change behind center, the Beavers will improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1939. But this is more “under” than Oregon State.

Opening point spread: BYU by 5

The pick: Oregon State 20-6

5) No. 5 West Virginia at Texas Tech
Sat., Oct. 13 — 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN

Aside from all the highlights and astounding statistics, you’ve got to wonder about how long the Mountaineers can survive on the tightrope they’ve been teetering on.

Giving up a total of 108 in its last two games put West Virginia on the brink each time. The Mountaineers beat Baylor and Texas by just seven and three points, respectively. Before that, they only defeated Maryland by 10 in Morgantown.

Geno Smith and Co. will likely do what they do once again, but something tells us that this trip to Lubbock will be tricky. The Red Raiders will certainly be ornery after their face-plant last week against Oklahoma.

We can’t really pull the trigger on the upset here (the Burbank office used its veto power), but we’d be very happy to take some free points.

Opening point spread: West Virginia by 4

The pick: West Virginia 37-34

UPSET SPECIAL OF THE WEEK

California at Washington State
Sat., Oct. 13 — 10:30 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks

Once again, the USOTW prediction comes courtesy of Marc Doche (@MDoche) from the P101 satellite office in Burbank, Calif.

The corporate squabbles involving the Pac-12 Networks have reached the halfway mark of the season. That means many households continue to be blacked out from some exciting Pac-12 action, but we doubt many fans will be making angry calls late into the night to watch these two cellar dwellers.

That is, unless they’re on board with us cheering for the Washington State upset on the heels of a trio of conference losses, the last two coming in better-than-looked efforts against the ranked Oregon schools.

We expected Mike Leach to do good things on the Palouse, and while that hasn’t brought much winning in his first year, the Cougars do feature a potent aerial attack that ranks 14th in the nation, averaging 312 yards per game. That unit will have to find success against a Cal defense that allows more than 250 passing yards per game, if the men in maroon are to defeat the Golden Bears for the first time in eight years.

We always like to remind everyone that Cal is Cal. Therefore, after an impressive first conference win in Berkeley at the expense of UCLA, a misstep on the road is in order.

Quarterback Zach Maynard was allowed to stand upright and pick apart the Bruin defense last week, but he will feel the pressure of the Cougars’ new 3-4 alignment, which has generated the ninth most sacks in the country with 19.

Opening point spread: California by 4 1/2

The pick: Washington State 28-20

RIVALRY GAME OF THE WEEK

Nevada at UNLV
Sat., Oct. 13 — 3 p.m. ET

This fight decides if the Silver State is a red state or a blue state.

The winner gets to paint the Fremont Cannon in its school color and for the past seven years, it’s been bathed in the blue of the Wolf Pack.

The Fremont Cannon holds the distinction of being the largest and most expensive trophy in collegiate sports. It’s a massive 545-pound replica of the mountain howitzer that accompanied Captain John C. Fremont on his expedition through Oregon, Nevada and California in 1843-44. It cost $10,000 to create in 1970.

Speaking of impressive weaponry, Nevada’s pistol offense is one of just two units in the nation averaging more than 275 yards through the air and on the ground. (Oklahoma State is the other.)

However, with the status of Wolf Pack starting quarterback Cody Fajardo in question, those numbers might not be attained versus the Rebels. Fajardo aggravated a nagging back injury last week against Wyoming. Nevada led 21-7 when he was sidelined in the second quarter. Backup Devin Combs struggled initially, allowing the Cowboys to take a 28-35 lead. But the sophomore rallied to lead the Wolf Pack to victory in overtime.

If Combs has to make his first start on the road in this rivalry game, don’t expect the pistol to fire smoothly. But whatever Nevada is able to muster should be enough.

UNLV’s only advantage is playing at home in Sam Boyd Stadium, but that’s where they lost to Northern Arizona last month, so what’s that worth?

It won’t be as gruesome as last year’s 37-0 blanking, in which the Rebels were held to just 110 total yards, but the Wolf Pack should have fun in Vegas.

Opening point spread: Nevada by 9 1/2

The pick: Nevada 32-24

AP

And there you have it.

Shortly after posting on Mike Gundy (eventually) lifting some of the transfer restrictions off Wes Lunt, Illinois announced what had previously been reported, that the quarterback has signed a tender of financial aid and will play football for the Illini.  Again, Lunt will have to sit out the 2013 season to satisfy NCAA transfer rules and will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2014.

“We’re thrilled that Wes has decided to come back home to the state of Illinois to play for the Fighting Illini,” head coach Tim Beckman said in a statement. “As he showed last season starting as a true-freshman for Oklahoma State, he’s an exceptional talent and an exceptional person. He’ll have a year to work with offensive coordinator Bill Cubit, our coaching staff and his teammates learning the offense before competing for the starting job in 2014.”

Lunt was named Oklahoma State’s starting quarterback after spring practice last year as an early enrollee true freshman and started the first three games of the season before being sidelined with an injury.  He came back to start two more games before another injury sidelined him again.

Following a spring practice this year when he had apparently slipped down the depth chart, Lunt decided to transfer from the Cowboys.

AP

Quite the public pot was stirred when, shortly after Wes Lunt announced he was transferring from Oklahoma State, word surfaced that head coach Mike Gundy had severe restrictions on where the quarterback could move.

In addition to the Big 12, Lunt was not permitted, without paying his own way the first year, to transfer to a Pac-12 or SEC school (possibility of meeting in a bowl game); Southern Miss (former OSU offensive coordinator Todd Monken is now the head coach there); and Central Michigan (a future opponent in 2015 and 2016).  As it turns out, though, Gundy had a change of heart, albeit a little too little, too late.

Lunt told Channel 1450 in Illinois Monday that Gundy had called his former high school coach to inform him that some of the restrictions — likely not the Big 12, however — had been lifted.  Originally embarking on the search for a new collegiate destination with a list of five preferred schools, Gundy’s restrictions prevented Lunt from pursuing Southern Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, ultimately settling for a final two of Illinois and Louisville.

According to Lunt, by the time Gundy lifted the restrictions “he’d already lost contact with coaches at other schools in his top five.”

Monday, it was reported that Lunt would be transferring to his home-state Illini.  That school has yet to officially announce the player being added to the program.

Despite ending up where he likely would’ve landed sans the restrictions, Lunt still — and justifiably — appears slightly upset over Gundy’s actions in the immediate aftermath of his departure.

“It was difficult. I didn’t understand the process, so when they were blocked, I knew I could appeal but it was going to take awhile,” Lunt said. “It was frustrating. I understand the Big 12 . That’s obvious. The others, it was a little frustrating, but that’s part of it and I understand it. It’s all good.”

After sitting out the 2013 season, Lunt will have three years of eligibility remaining.

(Tip O’ the Cap: ESPN.com’s Big 12 blog)

Getty Images

Meandering our way through the offseason, a single one-liner at a time…

– A waterfall (not pictured) is coming to the football locker rooms of the Mal Moore Athletic Facility as part of a $9 million renovation.

– The Anderson Independent Mail writes that Clemson wide receiver Sammy Watkins is poised for a record-breaking season.

– The Daily Oklahoman takes a look at the players who have benefited from the graduation exception to the NCAA transfer rule.

– The Gainesville Sun lists the five freshman who could emerge for Florida in 2013.

– Rich Rodriguez and his Arizona coaching staff dressed up in Western gear?  Rich Rodriguez and his Arizona coaching staff dressed up in Western gear.

– As is the case with most major college football programs, vacations are over for Colorado State players.

– Michigan’s Allen Grant has been moved from defensive back to strongside linebacker.

– In coaching weight loss news, Texas head coach Mack Brown has lost 20 pounds this offseason.

– The Big Ten Network‘s Tom Dienhart has Ohio Stadium as the best football venue in the conference.

– The installation of a new playing surface at Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium has begun.

– Wisconsin sells out its allotment of student tickets for the 2013 season in less than two hours.

Getty Images

With little hope of moving any further up the depth chart, an Oregon State quarterback has decided to ply his football wares at a lower level.

In a tweet posted to his Twitter account, Richie Harrington announced that he is leaving the Beavers football program.  Harrington will be transferring to Southern Utah, an FCS-level program.

As he’s transferring down a level, Harrington will be eligible to play in 2013 and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

“Ready for a new chapter,” the player wrote in the tweet.

Coming out of Oaks Christian (Calif.), the 6-1, 224-pound Harrington walked on to the Beavers in 2011 and appeared in three games in 2012.  He completed six-of-nine passes for 66 yards last season.

Following practice this spring, Harrington remained behind the well-seasoned Sean Mannion and Cody Vaz at the quarterback position.

Getty Images

On the same day he “parted ways” with Missouri, it appears Torey Boozer already has another collegiate destination in mind.

First, the negative: according to Terez Paylor (no relation) of the Kansas City Star, the linebacker has been dismissed from the Tigers football program by head coach Gary Pinkel.  ”Undisclosed disciplinary reasons” was all that was said in regards to the dismissal.

Boozer subsequently tweeted that he will be moving on to SMU, although that school has yet to confirm the addition.

Boozer, who exited spring this year No. 3 on the depth chart, was arrested and charged in early October for marijuana possession.  Even as he took a redshirt for his true freshman season, Boozer was “suspended” for one game because of the off-field incident.

A three-star member of Mizzou’s 2012 recruiting class, Boozer was rated as the No. 46 safety in the country.

An alleged sexual assault last year will leave the playing careers — and freedom — of two Navy football players very much up in the air.

In a statement Monday afternoon, the U.S. Naval Academy announced that three unnamed Navy current and former football players will be charged with rape.  The military academy’s superintendent, Michael Miller, “has chosen to send the case to Article 32 proceedings” wrote Military.com.

An official charge sheet has yet to be completed, which is why the names of the three suspects have not been released.  Two of the suspects are current Navy football players, while the third was set to graduate in May but was denied the opportunity because of the criminal case.

All three players were permitted to play football for the Midshipmen as the investigation into the alleged rape continued.

From the website, here’s a description of the alleged attack:

The female midshipman who reported the sexual assault attended a party at an off-campus property known as the “football house” in Annapolis in April 2012, according to a statement from her lawyer, Susan Burke. …

The midshipman woke up at the football house the next morning “with little recall of what had occurred,” according to the statement. She later found out through friends and social media that three football players had “sexual intercourse with her while she was incapacitated,” according to the statement.

The female midshipman reported the incident to NCIS, saying she was intoxicated and didn’t remember much from the night. NCIS started an investigation in April 2012 that continued throughout the summer and into the fall.

The investigation was closed in November, but was reopened two months later after the alleged victim’s attorney spoke to NCIS.  In February, the investigation was reopened.

(Photo credit: MilitaryTimes.com)

AP

For the third time in less than three years, Chris Martin‘s time at an FBS football program has come to an early and abrupt end.

Kansas head coach Charlie Weis announced Monday that the defensive end has been dismissed from the Jayhawks.  The decision comes three weeks after Martin was one of three men arrested in connection to an armed robbery.  Martin and two former KU players were charged after allegedly robbing cash and marijuana from victims at gunpoint at a house on May 13.

Despite the serious nature of the charges, the door was still open for Martin’s return to the Jayhawks.  Weis, though, intimated in his statement on the dismissal that another misstep may have been involved.

“Due to recent incidents Chris Martin was involved with, he was given a list of stipulations he was required to meet for him to remain a member of the Kansas Football team,” Weis said in the release. “Because he did not follow some of those stipulations we have dismissed him from the team.”

Martin was a five-star member of Cal’s 2010′s recruiting class, but transferred to Florida five months later.  Less than a year later, he left Florida following an arrest for marijuana possession.

He spent 2011 and 2012 at the JUCO level before transferring to the Jayhawks and Weis, who Martin had committed to when he was the head coach at Notre Dame.

AP

One of the more gruesome injuries in recent memory occurred in late October, with South Carolina running back suffering a severe and devastating knee injury.

The Gamecocks reaction to their fallen teammate was typical as the entire squad gathered around the running back, who had just suffered the second serious knee injury of his career.  The reaction of the Gamecocks’ opponents, the Tennessee Volunteers, was somewhat atypical, though; the Vols, like their SEC foes, gathered around Lattimore as well as the back was being tended to by USC medical personnel and loaded onto a cart for further treatment.

For the reaction on both fronts, the SEC announced Monday, the Vols and Gamecocks were named, along with Georgia tennis player Maho Kowase, the recipients of the conference’s 2013 Sportsmanship Award.

“Sportsmanship, civility and societal responsibility are things that will lead to victories throughout the course of life,” SEC commissioner Mike Slive said in a statement. “I congratulate Maho and the University of South Carolina and University of Tennessee football teams for this prestigious honor, and for being committed to athletic excellence and overall excellence.”

The release went on to state that “[d]espite being engaged in a heated conference game, both teams set aside their battle to show support for a football player, regardless of which uniform he wore. The act displayed both great sportsmanship by the teams gathered as one support unit as well as the impact that Lattimore had on his sport.”

Below is a well-produced UT video of the immediate aftermath of Lattimore’s injury:

Getty Images

Nearly six weeks after moving on from Oklahoma State, Wes Lunt is moving back to an area with which he’s very familiar.  Reportedly.

While the school has yet to officially announce it, Channel1450.com sports director Zach Kerker and ESPN.com’s Joe Schad, among others, are both reporting that the quarterback will transfer to Illinois to continue his playing career.  Lunt chose the Illini over Louisville, two of the five schools on his original transfer wish list.

The other three schools — Southern Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt — were infamously blocked by Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy.  In a controversial move, Gundy barred Lunt from attending — at least on scholarship — schools from the Big 12, the Pac-12, SEC along with Central Michigan (on OSU’s schedule in 2015 & 2016).

The reason for the latter two conferences being on the no-no list?  Oklahoma State might face a school from those leagues in a bowl game, Lunt’s Illinois high school coach said in mid-May.

Lunt will be forced to sit out the 2013 season and will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2014.

AP

Earlier this month, Syracuse received good news on the injury front regarding one of its defensive starters.  A couple weeks later, there’s additional good news on that side of the ball as well.

Clark Lea, the Orange’s linebackers coach, confirmed to the Syracuse Post-Standard that Dyshawn Davis is healthy and will be ready for the start of summer camp in early August.  Davis underwent shoulder surgery this past January and, as a result, did not participate in spring practice.

Despite that, Davis exited spring atop the depth chart, and left the first-year position coach anxious to see what the linebacker is capable of in Scott Shafer’s defense.

“I’ve got high expectations for Dyshawn when you see what he’s done in the past,” Lea said. “I got to see a little bit of his athleticism just in some of the movement work we did and was impressed by that.”

In 2012, Davis was second in tackles for loss (14) and third in tackles (69).  He added two fumble recoveries, one sack and one interception as a sophomore.

AP

Meandering our way through the offseason, a single one-liner at a time…

– Gina Mizell of the Daily Oklahoman takes a look at what Mike Gundy looks for when filling coaching vacancies.

– In a rather significant move for Vol Nation, ex-Tennessee great Eric Berry signs off on Butch Jones‘ approach on Rocky Top.

– The Anderson Independent Mail sizes up the state of the quarterback position in the ACC.

– In the ever-changing world of college football, BYU must find some way to secure bowl alliances on its own.

– The Dallas Morning News looks at TCU’s five biggest departures, and the players who should replace them.

– Daily Oklahoman: New assistant Bill Bedenbaugh discusses the state of Oklahoma’s offensive line

AP

Allegedly.

Following an incident early Sunday, and according to multiple media outlets, Florida’s Antonio Morrison was arrested and charged with first-degree simple battery (a misdemeanor) after allegedly punching a bouncing at a Gainesville drinking establishment.  The incident that landed the linebacker in legal hot water occurred after said drinking establishment had the audacity to ask Morrison to pay the cover charge.

To punctuate the incident, Morrison pulled the tried and true “Do you know who I am? I am a UF football player” card before allegedly punching the bouncer and leaving the scene.  GatorCountry.com, citing a police report on the incident, writes that didn’t remember much of the incident because he was intoxicated at the time.

UF has yet to comment on the situation and what if any punishment Morrison may be facing.

Morrison started three games last season as a true freshman and will be the starting middle linebacker entering summer camp.  He was a four-star member of the Gators’ 2012 recruiting class.

Getty Images

Meandering our way through the offseason, a single one-liner at a time…

– Urban Meyer understands his Ohio State offense must change and adapt to stay ahead of today’s defenses.

– PennLive.com: Fatherhood adds perspective, strengthens drive for Penn State’s Malcolm Willis.

– Arizona State’s Todd Graham making an impact on the lives of his fatherless players.

– Charleston Post & Courier: Clemson, Carolina fans alike hope Howard’s Rock vandal wasn’t taking rivalry a step too far.

– The State takes a look at the quarterbacks South Carolina will face this fall.

– Iowa’s opener against Northern Illinois will set the tone for the 2013 season, the Iowa City Press-Citizen writes.

– Tennessee following a national trend of NFL-style recruiting focus.

– Jackson Clarion-Ledger: ‘Nkemdiche effect’ still pushes Ole Miss on recruiting trail.

– Arizona’s new $74 million practice facility is nearing completion.

Getty Images

Oh, Johnny Football.

Back in March, amidst yet another social media-fueled stir, Johnny Manziel confirmed to a reporter that he had gone on a self-imposed sabbatical from Twitter.  While the Heisman-winning Texas A&M quarterback returned to Twitter in short order, it might be time for him to take yet another brief respite from tweeting.

By way of LarryBrownSports.com, Manziel tweeted the following late Saturday night:

“Bull**** like tonight is a reason why I can’t wait to leave college station…whenever it may be.”

It’s unclear what and where said bullspit transpired, although Manziel quickly deleted the tweet shortly after it was posted.  In its place, Manziel tweeted, “Don’t ever forget that I love A&M with all of my heart, but please please walk a day in my shoes.”

(Tip O’ the Cap: MrSEC.com)

AP

Friday, it was announced by the city of Tucson that all charges had been dropped against Ka’Deem Carey, which stemmed from a domestic violence incident last December involving his pregnant ex-girlfriend.

In announcing that the charges had been dropped against the Arizona running back, the city stated that “[a] key witness for the prosecution is unavailable, and even if the witness were available, there is no substantial likelihood that a judge would convict Mr. Carey.”

In their own statement following the city’s decision, Carey’s attorneys said the following:

“We are very pleased with the City Attorney’s decision to unilaterally dismiss the charges against Ka’Deem. Ka’Deem did nothing wrong and the City Attorney’s determination to drop the case is an acknowledgement of that fact. It is unfortunate that this proper and obvious conclusion was not reached prior to the filing of the unjustified charges.

“With great humility, Ka’Deem thanks God for this correct outcome and extends his utmost gratitude to his family, friends, teammates, coaches and the entire Wildcat Nation for their unwavering support during this very difficult time. While Ka’Deem is thankful to be so thoroughly vindicated, he remains steadfastly focused on earning his degree and a successful 2013 football season.”

Carey led the nation in rushing in 2012 with 1,929 yards and participated in spring practice despite the legal situation.