College football roundup

College football roundup

Monday’s news, notes

Michigan: Michigan athletic director Bill Martin pushed a student and grabbed the wind breaker of another student during two football games, according to a department of public safety report. Michigan student Jackie Turner says she told Martin he needed a pass to enter the regents guest area of the press box on Sept. 12 during a game against Notre Dame. She said he pushed her shoulder and walked past her. “Honey, I am the athletic director,” Turner quoted him as saying, according to a university report on the incident. On Oct. 17, Eastern Michigan student Arif Khan said he told Martin and a female companion they needed passes to enter the area after a game against Delaware State. Khan said Martin grabbed his jacket. “I am the athletic director, I can go in,” Khan quoted Martin as telling him. Turner and Khan were interviewed on Oct. 18, three days before Martin announced he would retire in September. The students said they were uninjured and did not want to press charges. “I contacted those involved to discuss the situation and express my regret,” Martin said in a statement released by the school. “I know they were just doing their jobs.”

Syracuse: He’s lost 20 scholarship players and five others to season-ending injuries. Yet Syracuse coach Doug Marrone remains steadfast as the Orange face daunting odds in the final three games of the season. “Our goal is still ahead of us,” Marrone said. “We can still win six games. It starts off with concentrating on Louisville. That’s where our character has to come out. “That’s what I challenged the team,” he said. “The team that practices well, the team that executes well, the team that has the right mental attitude will probably win this game on Saturday.” It is true that Syracuse (3-6, 0-4 Big East) still has a chance to achieve six victories, which would make the Orange eligible to play in a bowl game. But the depleted roster is making that task ever more difficult. Mike Williams quit the team a week ago in the midst of a season that seemed destined to be a record-breaker for the senior wideout. Almost in the same breath, Marrone added that he had suspended tailback Antwon Bailey, defensive end Torrey Ball and offensive guard Andrew Tiller for violating team rules. Marrone announced that he had reinstated Ball, Bailey and Tiller, who were involved in a minor traffic accident on the New York State Thruway just before dawn a week ago. Williams also was a passenger in the car. Syracuse brought only 55 players on the road for Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh and during the game lost starting safety Max Suter and tight end Cody Catalina to season-ending injuries.

UCLA: UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince has been cleared to practice and is expected to play Saturday after showing no complications from a concussion. The freshman was hurt on a helmet-to-helmet hit from Washington’s Donald Butler while Prince scrambled downfield in the Bruins’ 24-23 win over the Huskies last weekend. Prince sat out the second half, and said he didn’t remember the hit after the game.

Associated Press