RPN's suspension was NOT issued for 8 games. At ND ResLife suspends people from all Student Activities for a semester. At the time it was imposed several games had already been played. The games he didn't get to play in may be totaled 8 but he did not get an 8 game suspension.
The semester suspension was the reason why he couldn't play in a bowl game. If you recall back then, Weis at a press conference prior to the bowl game noted that RPN would be available for the bowl game. A day or two later Weis issued a clarification that he had misspoke as he (Weis) had assumed that since school was out prior to the bowl games tjhat the bowl game would be in the following semester. He was advised that was incorrect and that the next semester started AFTER the bowl games so RPN would NOT be available as he would still be serving the ResLife imposed semester suspension.
In Cerasani's case about 10 years earlier his suspension did not go into effect until the NEXT semester after his hearing. Cerasani tried to have the suspension run during the Spring Semester. Had Cerasani's suspension been enforced in the Spring semester he would have been able to play as a Senior and would not have transferred out in anger.
