College football notebook: OSU's Meyer returns, apologizes

[September 18, 2018]  Ohio State coach Urban Meyer resumed his full-time duties Monday morning, marking the end of his three-game suspension.

And for the first time since an investigation began into his handling over domestic violence allegations tied to former assistant coach Zach Smith, Meyer spoke extensively with the media about the situation and moving forward.

Meyer started by apologizing for comments he made at Big Ten Media Days in July, when he denied knowing about allegations of domestic violence in the Smiths' relationship. He added, "And one of the things I look back now -- I probably should've fired him."

--Arkansas will start junior quarterback Ty Storey when it visits No. 9 Auburn on Saturday, Razorbacks coach Chad Morris announced. The change comes after sophomore Cole Kelley threw four interceptions in last Saturday's 44-17 loss against North Texas.

"Ty Storey will start for us, and as we take this thing forward, we look forward to this challenge," Morris said at a press conference. "The message is that we want to settle on someone."

Storey didn't even play in the setback against the Mean Green as Morris instead used true freshmen Connor Noland and John Jones with the game out of reach. Noland and Jones each threw one interception as Arkansas tossed six overall. Storey passed for 297 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in 30 pass attempts over the previous two games.

--Florida sophomore running back Malik Davis broke his left foot Saturday against Colorado State and will miss "extended time," Gators coach Dan Mullen said.

Davis rushed 13 times for 61 yards and caught three passes for 33 yards during the Gators' first three games. He was injured midway through the second quarter of Florida's 48-10 win against the Rams.

Davis jumped out to a strong start in 2017. He rushed for 526 yards and two touchdowns and averaged 6.7 yards per carry through seven games before tearing a ligament in his right knee against Georgia on Oct. 28. He missed the rest of the season.

--Willie Taggart asked Florida State fans for patience and reiterated his belief in the team despite the Seminoles' 1-2 start in his first year as head coach.

"Our fans have every right to have high expectations of our program," Taggart said while reading a statement to open his weekly press conference. "And I can assure you that no one has higher expectations than I do."

 Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer listens as university president Michael Drake at Longaberger Alumni House speaks on the Ohio State University campus. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

Taggart has come under fire as his team lost its first two FBS games, to Virginia Tech and Syracuse, by a combined score of 54-10, including Saturday's 30-7 loss to the Orange. The Seminoles beat Samford 36-26 in between those contests after trailing 13-0 in the first quarter and 26-21 in the fourth.

--Ohio State standout junior defensive end Nick Bosa will miss Saturday's game against Tulane after being injured against TCU.

Meyer said Bosa was receiving further tests on an abdominal and groin issue. Bosa left the Buckeyes' 40-28 win over TCU on Saturday night early in the third quarter.

Through the first three games of the season, Bosa had four sacks, six tackles for loss, 14 total tackles, a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a forced fumble that led to a touchdown.

--Louisville promoted redshirt freshman quarterback Malik Cunningham to the starting role and demoted sophomore Jawon Pass, Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino announced.

Cunningham replaced Pass in the second quarter Saturday during a 20-17 win over Western Kentucky. He guided two fourth-quarter scoring drives to help the Cardinals (2-1) rally to the victory. He rushed for 129 yards on 21 carries and was 10 of 18 passing for 88 yards against the Hilltoppers.

Pass was the opening-game starter as Louisville attempted to replace former star Lamar Jackson, who is now with the Baltimore Ravens. Pass never found his groove and completed 50 percent of his passes for 341 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.

--Field Level Media

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