Buckeyes’ Holmes, Smith Face Charges

Ohio State starting receiver Santonio Holmes and returner Troy Smith each were charged with disorderly conduct Thursday after a fight early Sunday outside a dorm.

The No. 4 Buckeyes play at No. 5 Michigan on Saturday to determine the Big Ten champion. A victory could give Ohio State a chance to defend its national title in the Sugar Bowl.

Athletic Director Andy Geiger said Coach Jim Tressel had not informed him what team penalties the players could face, or whether they would make the trip to Ann Arbor, Mich.

Tressel could not be reached for comment.

The university said five women also were charged with disorderly conduct.

Holmes and Smith were charged two days after Geiger had said the investigation into the fight had ended and no charges would be filed.

A campus police report said four female students were assaulted about 4 a.m. Sunday, and a window of one woman’s car was broken. The women had minor injuries, the report said.

Walter Madison, an Akron attorney who said he represents two of the third-year female students, said one sustained a broken wrist and another was choked until she lost consciousness.

“The athletic director has declared the investigation over and dubbed [the players’] behavior as if they were acting in some heroic capacity,” Madison said. “Well, the injuries don’t suggest that.”

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Good news and bad news for Notre Dame.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Fighting Irish’s program is the most popular in America, according to the Harris Poll.

The remaining top 10 in order: Florida State, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan, Miami, Texas, Wisconsin and Florida.

However, NBC’s telecasts of Notre Dame games is tied for the worst ratings in the 13 years the network has broadcast the games.

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Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt dismissed senior linebacker Jimarr Gallon from the team after university police charged the player with driving while intoxicated. Gallon is the second Razorback linebacker disciplined this week. Nutt indefinitely suspended Sam Olajubutu on Sunday after Fayetteville, Ark., police charged the sophomore with drunken driving.

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Officials in Kansas are trying to make good with Nebraska fans who had tires slashed on their cars during the Cornhuskers’ Nov. 8 visit to Lawrence, Kan. Police said between 35 and 40 cars with Nebraska plates had slashed tires outside Lawrence hotels. Those fans will be entitled to one football ticket per vehicle for the Cornhuskers’ next visit to Lawrence in 2005.

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Miami quarterback Brock Berlin, who was benched after the Hurricanes’ 10-6 loss to Tennessee on Nov. 8, regained the starting job after Derrick Crudup struggled in a 17-6 victory Saturday over Syracuse.... Pittsburgh running back Brandon Miree will start for the first time in eight games Saturday when the Panthers play at Temple.... Maurice Avery, Memphis’ leading receiver, tore a ligament in his left knee and his season is over.... Prairie View A&M; fired first-year coach C.L. Whittington after a 1-10 season.