Pittsburgh Panthers running back James Conner, the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year last season, will miss the rest of this season after suffering a torn MCL on Saturday, coach Pat Narduzzi announced Monday.
Conner injured his knee in the second quarter of Pitt’s 45-37 win against Youngstown State.
It was not believed to be a significant injury at the time, and Narduzzi said after the game that Conner was “fine.”
However, further tests Sunday revealed a tear, and Conner will have surgery, probably this week.
Conner rushed for 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. He had eight carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than one quarter of playing time on Saturday.
Narduzzi said Monday that Conner had the option of trying to play through the knee injury, but decided it was better to have surgery now.
–UCLA defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes suffered a torn knee ligament in Saturday’s season-opening victory over the Virginia Cavaliers and could miss the remainder of the season.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Vanderdoes is a junior currently projected as a potential mid-round draft pick by NFLDraftScout.com, which had him rated as the No. 11 defensive tackle prospect eligible for the 2016 draft entering the season.
Vanderdoes led the Bruins with eight tackles against the Cavaliers, but coach Jim Mora said his knee “locked up” early in the game. Vanderdoes continued playing before leaving in the third quarter.
–The Atlanta Falcons and SEC reportedly have reached a 10-year agreement for the conference championship football game to be played in the NFL team’s new $1.4 billion stadium.
The Falcons and SEC plan to announce the deal Tuesday for the SEC Championship Game to be held in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.