Associated Press
The college football notebook …An Ohio judge has ruled that former Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk can’t play another season with the Bearcats.
Mauk had been denied a sixth season of eligibility by the NCAA so he turned to the courts for help.
A county judge in his hometown of Kenton, Ohio, issued a ruling Tuesday that allows the NCAA to stop Mauk from playing this season.
Mauk testified last week that a foot injury prevented him from playing during his freshman season in 2003 at Wake Forest, where he played before transferring to Cincinnati.
He led the Bearcats to 10 wins last season and a No. 17 final ranking.
OHIO STATE
COLUMBUS, Ohio ó Ohio State will have its Beanie back for Southern California.
Buckeyes tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells has been given the OK to play in the showdown at No. 1 USC on Saturday night.
Wells, who rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago, went down with a foot injury in the second half of the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ opener against Youngstown State and did not suit up when Ohio State struggled to beat Ohio University 26-14 last week.
But coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday that Wells would definitely play against USC.
“You know, Beanie ran well yesterday,” Tressel said. “In fact, he ran better than I thought he might.”
The next test for the 6-foot-1, 237-pound Wells is how he feels after going through his first workouts in 10 days.
SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA, S.C. ó Steve Spurrier’s newest strategy for No. 2 Georgia? Two quarterbacks and a bunch of young receivers.
South Carolina’s coach ended much of the mystery as to which of the quarterbacks would start against the Bulldogs (2-0). He said he would probably play both Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley.
DUKE
DURHAM ó Duke has found a way to lose ’em all over the years, from the ones against lower-division opponents to the games that came down to just a play or two against a favored foe.
One game after another, after another.
But this weekend’s contest against Navy will be telling whether the gloomy culture around the program has changed. Optimism is still high with the arrival of new coach David Cutcliffe, who says neither he or his players are happy being .500 after two games.
“I’ve really pushed the fact that we’re not just trying to win a game, but we’re trying to build a program,” Cutcliffe said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “I believe they’re buying into that 100 percent.”
His players are saying all the right things. They tout the improvement they saw in the game film of Saturday’s 24-20 loss to the Wildcats. They say no one is hanging their heads in the locker room.