COLLEGE FOOTBALL REPORT : WEEKDAY UPDATE : AROUND THE NATION : Clemson Seems Set for Hall of Fame

Clemson, ranked 18th in the nation, is expected to accept an invitation to play in the Hall of Fame Bowl, two newspapers reported.

Coach Ken Hatfield’s Tigers (8-2) probably will take on either Michigan or Illinois in the bowl. Clemson closes out its regular season in two weeks against South Carolina.

Georgia linebacker Bryant Gantt has been cleared of wrongdoing in an alleged 1988 payoff of $2,000 by a sports agent to then-teammate Keith Henderson, Athletic Director Vince Dooley said.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the $2,000 was sent to Henderson, now a running back with the San Francisco 49ers, via Gantt’s checking account at a bank in Athens, Ga.

Dooley said in a statement that Gantt, a fifth-year senior, will remain eligible after an investigation of the matter.

“We have found that Bryant Gantt is innocent of the charges,” Dooley said in a statement.

“The charge was that his bank account was used to funnel money through a sports agent financial planner, that being a certain Jerry Schwartz.”

Dooley said the matter was investigated by Ed Tolley, an attorney for the school, whose report included a letter from the bank’s president “confirming that there were no records of a wire transfer, specifically in the sum of $2,000, into Mr. Gantt’s account on any of the dates that were alleged.”

“These records are true and correct copies of his statement,” Dooley said. “The point is the bank record tells the story.”