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EUGENE, Ore. — A day after Oregon’s college football season opened, it ended for running back LeGarrette Blount.
Blount was suspended for all remaining games on Friday for punching Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the jaw following the 16th-ranked Ducks’ 19-8 loss to the 14th-ranked Broncos the night before.
Because he is a senior, Blount’s playing days in Eugene are over.
Oregon’s first-year coach, Chip Kelly, told a sobbing Blount about his decision after reviewing tape of the altercation.
Celebrating the victory on the Broncos’ trademark blue turf, Hout yelled in Blount’s face and tapped him on the shoulder pad. Before Boise State coach Chris Petersen could pull Hout away, Blount landed a right to Hout’s jaw, knocking him to his knees.
Blount also had to be restrained by police from fans heckling him on the way to the locker room.
Later he apologized saying, “It was just something that I shouldn’t have done. I lost my head.”
Still, Kelly was taken aback when he saw the punch on tape.
“That’s not what we’re all about. That’s not what we coach. That’s not what we stand for and it’s unacceptable,” he said.