Making the morning rounds.

• It’s been real. Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier has been repeatedly denying transfer rumors for almost a solid year. But with his apparent demotion to third-string in favor of opening-day star Denard Robinson and true freshman Devin Gardner – who burned a potential redshirt to take a single snap in Robinson’s place in the third quarter of Saturday’s win over UConn, confirming Gardner as the clear backup out of preseason camp – the writing was on the wall: In contrast to his outgoing enthusiasm last year as a freshman starter, Forcier spent most of the game by himself on the Wolverine bench, left the field and the locker room quickly, didn’t mingle with fans and reportedly told AnnArbor.com’s Michael Rothstein, “All you need to know is I’m out.”

Whether he meant merely out of the rotation for the time being or out of Michigan altogether wasn’t clear; his dad said Sunday (again) it’s a “150-percent fact” Forcier isn’t going anywhere. Don’t expect that prediction to hold up at the end of the year, though, if anyone still remembers who he is at that point. [AnnArbor.com, ESPN]

• It’s a start. Ratings for Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame debut against Purdue were up 77 percent over last year’s opener against Nevada, though that probably says more about people’s indifference to Nevada than their interest in Kelly’s rebuilding job: The 2.3 rating Saturday was still slightly below average for Irish home games since 2002, and that’s before you adjust for the Taylor Swift factor. [Associated Press]

• OK, this isn’t funny anymore, you guys. At least four starters in the upcoming Georgia-South Carolina tilt – Gamecocks Weslye Saunders, Chris Culliver and Jarriel King and Georgia receiver A.J. Green –