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Sunday, August 26, 2012

Notre Dame Fighting Irish RB Cierre Wood suspended two games - SportingNews.com

Notre Dame running back Cierre Wood has been suspended for two games, joining quarterback Tommy Rees among those who won’t make the trip to Dublin, Ireland, where the Fighting Irish play Navy on Saturday, the school confirmed Sunday.

Also, Notre Dame junior defensive end Justin Utupo was also suspended for two games.

Cierre Wood, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season, will not make the trip to Dublin to play Navy. (AP Photo)

"Our players are aware of the standards I set for our program and that failure to meet my expectations will result in consequences," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said in a statement. "Justin and Cierre violated our team rules so I've suspended them for the first two games of the season."

Wood and Utupo, who played in 12 games last season mostly on special teams, will also sit out the Irish's Sept. 8 game at home against Purdue.

Wood's suspension was first reported by NBCSports.com.

The 6-foot, 215-pound senior running back was one of the Irish's most productive players last season. He ran for 1,102 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011. Theo Riddick (14 carries, 63 yards in 2011) will replace Wood in the starting lineup, NBCSports.com reported.

Wood is the most recent Irish player to be removed from the trip to Dubin. Rees and linebacker Carlo Calabrese were both suspended for the game in late July. Everett Golson won a battle against Andrew Hendrix to become Notre Dame's starting quarterback.

Last season, Rees started 12 games, completed 65.5 percent of his passes for 2,871 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

Calabrese played in all 13 games and had 37 tackles and one sack.

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