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College football notebook

Ingram will miss opener

Alabama star sidelined because of knee injury

Associated Press / September 1, 2010

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Mark Ingram’s run for a second Heisman Trophy has been put on hold, and possibly even derailed, before the Alabama tailback had a chance to gain a single yard.

Ingram will miss No. 1 Alabama’s opener against San Jose State Saturday after injuring his left knee late in practice Monday, coach Nick Saban said yesterday.

In a statement, Saban said the star tailback had an arthroscopic procedure and should make a full recovery in a “relatively short time.’’

“Mark will definitely be out for this week’s game against San Jose State and we will manage this on a week-to-week basis beyond this week,’’ Saban said.

If the absence proves short-lived, it figures to have more of an impact on Ingram’s bid to join Ohio State running back Archie Griffin as the only two-time Heisman winners than it does on Alabama’s hopes for a repeat national title.

San Jose State went 2-10 last season, but the Crimson Tide face a much stiffer test in the second week. No. 19 Penn State visits Tuscaloosa Sept. 11, then Alabama travels to Duke.

Ingram became Alabama’s first Heisman winner as a sophomore after rushing for a school-record 1,658 yards and catching 32 passes. He’s the first running back since Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett in 1976 to win both a Heisman and a national title in the same season.

BYU going independent
BYU is leaving the Mountain West Conference and will go independent in football while joining the West Coast Conference in all other sports in the 2011-12 school year.

The school said further details would be given at a news conference today.

BYU said its resignation from the Mountain West takes effect June 30, 2011, allowing the Cougars to start West Coast Conference play next fall.

The announcement ended nearly two weeks of speculation since BYU’s original plan to go independent surfaced, then unraveled within hours when the Mountain West Conference made a protective move and invited Nevada and Fresno State to leave the WAC for the MWC.

Masoli waiver denied
The NCAA has denied Mississippi quarterback Jeremiah Masoli’s request for a waiver that would allow him to play immediately, meaning the former Oregon standout won’t be eligible until 2011. Mississippi officials plan to appeal the ruling, with a response expected in less than one week. “I’m just shocked and disappointed,’’ Masoli said. “I’ve done everything I can to follow the rules.’’ Masoli transferred to Mississippi after being kicked off Oregon’s team after two run-ins with police. He pleaded guilty to a January theft at a fraternity house and was suspended for the entire 2010 season by Oregon coach Chip Kelly. Then in June, he was cited for misdemeanor marijuana possession and dismissed and kicked off the squad . . . Houston wide receiver Patrick Edwards, who broke his leg when he ran into a metal service cart in an October 2008 game at Marshall, accused the school in a lawsuit of maintaining an unsafe playing field. Edwards was running full speed for a long pass when his right shin crashed into the cart just beyond the end zone. Edwards suffered a compound fracture and a rod was inserted in his leg during surgery the next day.

© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.