The Associated Press

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Miami RedHawks defensive coordinator Jon Wauford pleaded innocent Monday to a misdemeanor battery charge that he knocked down a Marshall fan after a game.

Wauford didn't appear in Cabell County Magistrate Court. His lawyer, Paul Farrell of Huntington, filed the plea with Magistrate Patty Spence and requested a trial on the charge. Spence told Farrell it would be a few weeks before a trial date could be set.

After the hearing, Farrell said Wauford's plea was "pretty much a non-event." He declined further comment.

Wauford was charged with knocking down a fan after Marshall's last-second 36-34 win over Miami on Nov. 12.

Thundering Herd quarterback Stan Hill scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 5 seconds left, and Marshall fans stormed the field after the game.

Authorities said as Wauford made his way through the crowd, he knocked Robert A. Flaugher of Pickerington, Ohio, to the ground. Flaugher hit his head on the artificial turf and was taken on a stretcher to a hospital with a concussion. He was treated and released.

Wauford was led off the field in handcuffs.

Flaugher's lawyer, Brett J. Preston of Charleston, was in court Monday to monitor the outcome. Preston said Flaugher was still having headaches.

Miami suspended Wauford following the incident. The school also suspended RedHawks assistant coach Taver Johnson, who admitted he had damaged the visiting coaches' box at Marshall Stadium following the loss.

Johnson has been barred from offseason recruiting by Miami officials and must repay Marshall for the damage to the coaches' box.

NORTH CAROLINA: Police are looking for two suspects in the shooting death of Tar Heels defensive lineman Carl Smalls, who was killed at a fraternity party on Dec. 7.

Smalls, 22, was shot three times at a private club the fraternity had rented for the party.

Jeroid Price, 20, and Ryan Brooks, 19, both of Columbia, S.C., were charged with murder, the Richland County Sheriff's Department said.

NOTRE DAME: Tackle Brennan Curtin isn't working out with the Fighting Irish as they prepare for the Gator Bowl, and coach Tyrone Willingham gave no reason for the absence.

"Curtin isn't with us right now," Willingham said after practice Sunday, without elaborating.

Notre Dame (10-2) plays North Carolina State (10-3) in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1. The Irish began practicing for the game Saturday.

Curtin starts at offensive right tackle..

TRINITY: Quarterback Roy Hampton was arrested and charged with public intoxication hours after the Texas school won a place in the NCAA Division III championship game.

He was arrested early Sunday on San Antonio's River Walk.

Trinity (14-0) confirmed the arrest and said the school had yet to decide Hampton's status for the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl against Mount Union (13-0).

Hampton, a 23-year-old senior, led Trinity (14-0) to a 41-34 victory Saturday over St. John's (Minn.), earning a trip to the bowl game in Salem, Va. Trinity will play Mount Union, which is unbeaten in 13 games and has won 95 of its last 96 games.

Hampton leads NCAA Division III in pass efficiency (184.86). He has 43 touchdown passes and has thrown for more than 4,000 yards.