Associated Press
The college football notebook …
CHAPEL HILL óNorth Carolina receiver Brandon Tate had surgery on his right knee and is expected to make a full recovery.
Dr. Tim Taft repaired the torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his knee.
Tate, a senior, suffered a season-ending injury last week while returning a punt in the first quarter against Notre Dame.
He finished his career with an NCAA-record 3,523 career combined kick-return yards.
BARTH VADER
Casey Barth got the same treatment at UNC that his big brother once enjoyed.
Connor Barth became a celebrity as a freshman in 2004 when he was carried off the field on his teammates’ shoulders following a 42-yard field goal at the buzzer that beat then-No. 4 Miami.
The Tar Heels did the same thing for Casey during their final workout before last week’s Notre Dame game ó and it worked.
The younger Barth tied a school record for freshmen with three field goals in the 29-24 victory, hitting from 41, 32 and 42 yards.
“We ended Friday’s practice with him going out and making the game-winning field goal and the whole team going out and picking him up on their shoulders and carrying him off the field,” coach Butch Davis said. “I think that certainly lessened the stress and the pressure on him. …
“(Kicking is) all or nothing, kind of like being a pinch-hitter in baseball ó you don’t play, you don’t play, and all of a sudden, not only do we need you for this, we need a miracle. We need you to go do this. Kickers have a tougher job than a lot of people give them credit for.”
CLEMSON’S NEW TRADITION
Clemson will add a new tradition along with a new coach this Saturday.
The players will hold a “Tiger Walk” about two hours before kickoff with Georgia Tech. All players and coaches will walk through the parking lot outside Memorial Stadium before heading inside.
Clemson coach Tommy Bowden stepped down Monday. Receivers coach Dabo Swinney was named interim head coach. Swinney said he wants the players to feel the fans’ support.
Swinney has spent much of the week trying to inflate the team’s spirit after two losses in a row and the departure of their longtime head coach.
OHIO STATE
Todd Boeckman is trying hard to take the high road.
The sixth-year senior is clearly heartbroken and humiliated that he no longer has a role other than non-playing captain on the No. 12 Ohio State football team. A star a year ago who was first team All-Big Ten at quarterback, he now stands on the sideline wondering what went wrong as freshman Terrell Pryor has taken over.
“I guess this hasn’t worked out the way I planned it,” he said. “But if we’re still winning, I’m all for it.”
The Buckeyes (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) have won four in a row since the switch, against teams with a combined record of 14-10. Pryor has been just OK, passing for less than 100 yards in two of those games and under 150 in the other two.