Staff and wire reports

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has suspended tight end Louis Irizarry indefinitely following an altercation Monday night that resulted in assault charges being filed against the freshman.

"Louis will not be allowed to travel or compete in any games until this matter has gone through the legal process and been resolved at the university level," Tressel said.

Athletic director Andy Geiger said Irizarry would be required to undergo counseling before being allowed to return to game competition. It has not yet been determined if he'll continue to practice with the team.

Irizarry has appeared in several games this season but not recorded a reception or special-teams tackle.

KRENZEL HONORED: Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel was named Wednesday as a member of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame's 2003 National Scholar-Athlete Class. Krenzel, a molecular genetics major, is one of just 15 players honored, eight of them in Division I-A.

Honorees receive an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, and one player will be presented the Draddy Trophy - awarded to the top scholar-athlete in the nation - at the Dec. 9 awards dinner in New York City. The award increases the winner's scholarship to $25,000.

Nominees must be in their final year of eligibility, have a minimum 3.0 GPA, have shown superior academic performance, have outstanding football ability and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.

Neil Schmidt

ARIZONA: Former Pac-10 Conference rushing champ Clarence Farmer was dismissed from Arizona's football team Tuesday for undisclosed reasons, a school spokesman said.

Farmer, who led the Pac-10 in rushing in 2001 and ranks sixth in career yards rushing at Arizona, will not return, sports information director Tom Duddleston said.

The Tucson Citizen reported that Farmer was dismissed after reporting late for practice.

ILLINOIS: Freshman running back Pierre Thomas had surgery to relieve swelling on his bruised left leg.

Thomas had the surgery Monday, coach Ron Turner said.

Thomas' leg was bruised when it was hit by an opponent's helmet in last Saturday's 36-10 loss to Minnesota.

BCS: The Bowl Championship Series shuts out too many schools in its goal of crowning a college football champion and needs to be repaired, senators told representatives of the bowl system Wednesday.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a BYU graduate, said the current system raises enough questions of fairness that it is in college football's best interest to fix it instead of forcing Congress to intervene.

NCAA President Myles Brand said he is open to a system that would be more inclusive but does not believe there is a need for radical changes or adoption of a playoff system.

Congress has limited options. It could ask the Justice Department to investigate whether the system violates antitrust laws, or it could try to craft legislation to fix perceived flaws - although how it would do that is unclear.