College Football: NDSU starting QB Carson Wentz out 6-8 weeks with broken wrist

North Dakota State starting quarterback Carson Wentz will miss the rest of the regular season after breaking a bone in his throwing wrist, the school announced Tuesday in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Wentz will have surgery Wednesday on the wrist he hurt Saturday during the team’s 24-21 loss to South Dakota, Bison athletic department spokesman Ryan Perreault said. Wentz has a “non-displaced fracture” and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. The team hasn’t ruled out a possible return in the postseason.

“Carson means a lot to this program both on and off the field, and nobody on this team is more disappointed about this setback than he is,” said coach Chris Klieman. “We’re still going to count on him to help lead this team and mentor our younger players.”

Initially thought to be a sprain, further tests Monday and Tuesday confirmed the fracture.

NDSU is the four-time defending Football Championship Subdivision champion. The Bison are 4-2 this season and ranked No. 8 in both national polls after the upset loss to the Coyotes ended their 26-game home winning streak.

Wentz, a 6-foot-6, 235-pound senior from Bismarck, is a two-year starter. His backup is redshirt freshman Easton Stick, of Omaha, Nebraska.

In six games this season, Wentz has thrown for 1,454 yards – an average of about 242 per game – with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also has rushed for 215 yards and four scores.

Last season, he threw for 3,111 yards and 25 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions, and set NDSU single-season records for passing attempts, completions, yards and total offense. He scored the winning touchdown in last season’s FCS championship game in which the Bison downed Illinois State 29-27 and was named most valuable player.

NDSU travels to Indiana State (4-2) on Saturday. The Sycamores are ranked No. 18 and No. 21 in the two national polls.

Kansas QB Cummings unlikely to get 6th year of eligibility

Kansas quarterback Michael Cummings might have played his final snap in college.

“I don’t think we’re going to be able to get that sixth year” of eligibility, coach David Beaty said Tuesday in Lawrence, Kansas. “We don’t know for sure, but it’s not looking good right now.”

Cummings has seen it all. He’s played under four head coaches. His true freshman season was in 2011, Turner Gill’s second and final season at Kansas. Cummings redshirted that season, as quarterback Jordan Webb started every game.

The following year, he took over halfway through the season for Dayne Crist. Then it was back to the bench until Charlie Weis was fired. When Beaty came to town, Cummings tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the spring game after being hit by Kansas safety Michael Glatczak.

Beaty, at the time, called the injury a “complete freak accident.” Cummings underwent surgery in June.

“You just feel for the kid,” offensive coordinator Rob Likens said. “He’s been through coaching changes, he’s been through multiple injuries. He’s been beat out, then brought back in, started, benched, brought back in. He’s been through everything you can go through as a starting quarterback and he’s never flinched.”

Even though Cummings is out for the season and most likely won’t suit up in a Kansas uniform again, he still has a major role with the team.

“He’s very actively involved,” Beaty said. “He’s at every meeting. He’s at every practice. He communicates directly with some of our players on game day. We trust him almost as if he’s a member of our coaching staff. That’s what type of a mature kid he is.”

Cummings graduated last year with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. He is finishing up a bachelor’s degree in communications and starting work on a master’s degree in business administration.

But he still finds time to be around the football team.

“It’s almost like he’s not hurt,” Beaty said. “He’s that much a part of our team. He travels with us. He does everything with us. He’s in every quarterback meeting. … I just kind of felt bad for him that he didn’t get his opportunity this year. Man, it just broke my heart. But man, just watching how he’s handled himself has been really kind of inspiring, for a young man to be able to be that mature.”