3rd Notre Dame player suspended
No. 14 Notre Dame has suspended a third player for the Citrus Bowl against No. 16 LSU.
Junior tight end Alize Mack, who received considerable playing time this year after missing the 2016 season because of academic issues, will miss the Jan. 1 game against the Tigers (9-3) because of “an internal team matter,” head coach Brian Kelly said Thursday. He did not disclose details but said the punishment is limited to the game in Orlando.
Already indefinitely suspended for the Fighting Irish (9-3) are sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson and freshman running back C.J. Holmes, who were arrested on shoplifting charges last week.
LSU has its own issues: The Tigers will be missing injured linebackers Arden Key, Donnie Alexander and Corey Thompson. Head coach Ed Orgeron also said kicker Cameron Gamble was ineligible for the game. Gasparilla Bowl: In St. Petersburg, Fla., Frank Nutile threw for 254 yards and a touchdown to lead Temple to a 28-3 victory over Florida International.
Nutile teamed with Isaiah Wright on 45-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and also scored on a 4-yard run to give the Owls (7-6) an early lead.
Florida International (8-5) matched a school record for victories in its first year under Butch Davis, the former Miami, North Carolina and Cleveland Browns head coach. Briefly: Kent State hired Syracuse assistant Sean Lewis as its head coach. Lewis, 31, who was Syracuse’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the past two seasons, becomes the youngest Football Bowl Subdivision head coach. That distinction previously belonged to Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley, 34. Lewis succeeds Paul Haynes, whose contract was not renewed after he posted a 14-45 record, including 2-10 this season, in five years with the team . ... The NCAA granted additional eligibility for a North Carolina safety Allen Artis, who missed most of the 2016 season amid charges of sexual battery and assault on a female student. Those misdemeanor charges were dismissed in June.