Stephen Garcia was kicked off South Carolina’s football team Tuesday. The State reported that Garcia failed a substance abuse test on October 4th, which is one day after Garcia lost the starting QB job to Connor Shaw. Garcia’s reaction to the failed test?

Garcia told The AP in a text message Tuesday that he was “shocked and completely flabbergasted to be honest” by the dismissal. He said he would have a full statement later in the week.

Interesting. So if his dismissal wasn’t substance-abused related, what was it about? Rumors have been swirling all morning that it allegedly involved point-shaving against Navy. There’s little or no evidence that has surfaced yet, but Steve Fezzik, a moderately famous gambler (he’s won the Hilton Contest twice), tweeted about it, and specifically noted that the South Carolina-Navy line plummeted by 2.5 points on the Saturday morning of the game (from 17 to 14.5).

Against Navy, South Carolina struggled at home – Garcia was 18-for-25 with a pick – but ultimately won, 24-21, due to a late stop by the defense. It seems like a massive reach to connect Garcia to anything (though people really are trying). Perhaps the line went down because Alshon Jeffery, one of the country’s best receivers, was punished for breaking a team rule and didn’t get the start?

As they say in the newsroom, developing …