COLLEGE FOOTBALL / BOWL REPORT : COTTON : Thomas Now Top Aggie Running Back

Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz said that No. 4 Texas A&M;’s loss of star running back Greg Hill and three other players shortly before the Cotton Bowl game won’t necessarily hurt the Aggies.

“I don’t think this weakens their team whatsoever,” said Holtz, whose No. 5 Fighting Irish (9-1-1) will play the Aggies (12-0) Friday in Dallas.

“Let me tell you what happens: Everybody picks their game up to another level. And Rodney Thomas, you know, becomes a lot more effective.”

Hill, who rushed for 1,339 yards and 15 touchdowns in 267 carries, and three other Aggies were ruled ineligible Thursday after an in-house investigation into published accusations that a booster made payments to several players using federal money.

Three freshmen backup players--offensive linemen James Brooks and Darius Smith, and receiver Percy Singleton--also were dismissed after the school discovered the NCAA rules violations.

So the focus of the oft-stumbling A&M; offense becomes Thomas, a sophomore who gained 856 yards and scored 13 touchdowns in 154 carries this year, and freshman quarterback Corey Pullig, who withdrew a verbal commitment to Notre Dame to become an Aggie.