CFB notebook: Texas suspends trio for bowl game

Texas suspended three players for the Dec. 29 Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl, Longhorns coach Tom Herman announced.

True freshman running back Toneil Carter, junior tight end Garrett Gray and sophomore receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey were suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules, according to Herman.

Humphrey caught 37 passes for 431 yards, Carter rushed for 263 yards and three touchdowns and Gray had four receptions for 18 yards.

The suspensions leave Texas (6-6) without at least seven players when it faces Missouri (7-5) in the bowl game at Houston. Junior defense tackle Chris Nelson will miss the contest with an elbow injury, while offensive tackle Connor Williams, safety DeShon Elliott and cornerback Holton Hill are all skipping the contest after declaring for the 2018 draft.

–Notre Dame tight end Alize Mack has been suspended for the team’s Citrus Bowl game against LSU.

Coach Brian Kelly said Mack’s suspension is because of an “internal team matter” and unrelated to academics. The junior was academically ineligible for all of the 2016 season.

Mack has reeled in 19 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown in 10 games this season. With Mack ruled out for the Jan. 1 game as well as freshman Brock Wright (shoulder), the Fighting Irish likely will turn to either Nic Weishar or freshman Cole Kmet at tight end.

Notre Dame will also be without sophomore wide receiver Kevin Stepherson and freshman running back C.J. Holmes, who have been suspended indefinitely after an arrest for shoplifting.

–Louisville junior cornerback Jaire Alexander will not play in next week’s TaxSlayer Bowl and will turn pro.

“I know it was a very difficult decision for Jaire,” Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said in a statement. “I appreciate the contributions he made to the program over the last three seasons, and I wish him all the best in the future.”

Alexander is rated as a late second-round prospect by NFLDraftScout.com. Louisville plays Mississippi State in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Dec. 30 in Jacksonville, Fla.

Alexander (5-foot-11, 192 pounds) suffered through an injury-plagued junior year in which he sustained a knee injury in the season opener against Purdue and a broken hand in practice in late October. He finished with 19 tackles and one interception in six games.