On September 19th of this year, Dez Bryant was eligible to return from the year long suspension the NCAA levied on him for the egregious crime of perjury. When asked if he had been on the property of former NFL superstar Deion Sanders, Bryant lied. He admitted the lie in hopes of leniency and Mike Gundy, not wanting to jeopardize what was projected to be one of the best seasons in the school's history preemptively took his best player out of the line up expecting to get him back a few games later.
On the date that Bryant's suspension was lifted, Dez was being paid to play football for the Dallas Cowboys. It was the second game in his life for which he earned money. Five days after playing his twelfth game as a professional, the association regulating collegiate amateurs ruled that Auburn quarterback Cam Newton was eligible to play in the SEC championship.