Aztecs postpone game

The Brigham Young-San Diego State game scheduled for Saturday night has been postponed until Dec. 1 because Qualcomm Stadium is being used as an evacuation center for residents displaced by wildfires.

“There is a far greater priority than sporting events in the San Diego area at this time,” Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson said in a statement.

“The focus should be on emergency response and resources, and getting the community back on its feet.

“Our thoughts are with our colleagues at San Diego State University, as well as everyone who has been affected by this disaster.”

Other factors that led to the decision were air quality, fan safety and transportation considerations.

Alabama is investigating the distribution of textbooks to athletes on scholarship in all sports after five football players were suspended for violating rules covering free books for course work.

The internal probe is to determine if any scholarship athletes violated NCAA rules by obtaining more textbooks than they were allotted for their own classes.

The Alabama case surfaced days after the NCAA put Ball State on probation for two years because of misuse by athletes in several sports of a textbook loan program.

Alabama starting offensive linemen Antoine Caldwell and Marlon Davis, tailback Glen Coffee and defensive backs Marquis Johnson and Chris Rogers were suspended for Alabama’s 41-17 victory over Tennessee on Saturday.

University officials said the suspensions involved impermissible receipt of textbooks.

Coach Nick Saban said the players used “poor judgment,” but that the university’s textbook distribution system for athletes also failed the players.

“No one at the university wants me to say it, but it’s true,” he said.

Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor, nursing a right ankle sprain, is questionable for Thursday night’s game against No. 2 Boston College.

Taylor, a freshman, has started in five consecutive victories for the Hokies since being elevated to No. 1 after a 48-7 loss at Louisiana State. The theory then was that Taylor’s mobility would help mask deficiencies in an offensive line hampered because of injuries and inexperience.

When Taylor injured his ankle early in the second quarter of a victory against Duke on Oct. 13, former starter Sean Glennon led the Hokies on three straight touchdown drives.

Initial fears that Georgia Tech tailback Tashard Choice may have suffered a season-ending injury disappeared when arthroscopic surgery revealed no serious damage to the cartilage in his right knee.

The Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading rusher is not expected to play Nov. 1 against Virginia Tech, but that may be the only game he misses, according to Coach Chan Gailey.

Three former Coastal Carolina players kicked off the team a week ago after they were arrested on drugs and weapons charges face new charges for first-degree burglary and armed robbery.

Mario Tynes, Eric Brown Jr. and Rickey Johnson were involved in an assault and armed robbery at an apartment complex near Myrtle Beach, S.C., according to the Horry County Police Department.