According to VegasInsider.com's Christian Alexander, North Carolina will suspend at least four defensive starters for next week's Week 1 showdown against LSU. The suspensions will likely be for more than one game and possibly the entire season.

In fact, Alexander says that senior cornerback Charles Brown has already been kicked off the team.

The three other players are DE Marvin Austin, LB Bruce Carter and DE Robert Quinn.

On Thursday night, UNC chancellor Holden Thorp announced a school investigation into “possible academic misconduct involving a former undergraduate tutor and student-athletes on the football team.” According to multiple reports, there are allegations that a tutor wrote papers for players and that tutor was also the nanny for head coach Butch Davis.

North Carolina AD Dick Baddour addressed the media at a 7:30 p.m. Eastern press conference in Chapel Hill. He denied that any decisions have been made on the suspensions of players.

For most of the summer, the line for this game has wavered from pick 'em to one team or the other favored by one. On Thursday, a number of books moved LSU to a two-point favorite, while other betting shops pulled the game off the board.

For bettors that can still get down on LSU at anything south of three, this space is highly recommending making a wager on the Tigers right now. When this news becomes official, the line will likely move north of three, possibly to as high as four or more.

UNC and LSU will collide next Saturday night at the Ga. Dome in Atlanta. ESPN will have television coverage at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Also on Thursday, Missouri suspended RB Derrick Washington indefinitely. Washington rushed for 865 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. The Tigers open against Illinois.

UPDATE on Tuesday, Aug. 31: UNC still hasn't officially made any announcements on suspensions. However, multiple media outlets are now speculating that seven, and possibly as many as nine, players will not play against LSU (and perhaps beyond), while the school and the NCAA conduct investigations into whether or not a tutor wrote papers for players.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

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