With season unraveling, Bowden steps down at Clemson

Tommy Bowden decided he'd done all he could do for Clemson football, telling his athletic director yesterday he'd step aside for the future of the program.

AD Terry Don Phillips said his intent yesterday morning was to have a candid, heart-to-heart with Bowden about the football team. So Phillips was surprised when Bowden offered to walk away in midseason.

"There wasn't a gun to his head," Phillips said. "He put it on the table for the sake of the program. I agreed."

Bowden will be paid through the end of the season, then get $3.5 million as a buyout negotiated in the contract extension both sides agreed to last December.

Bowden sat next to Phillips in McFadden Auditorium, where he's held meetings and press conferences the past 10 seasons. He thanked the school and his latest group of players.

"I wish them nothing but success and I will be their biggest fan on Saturday," against Georgia Tech, Bowden said.

Assistant head coach and receivers coach Dabo Swinney will take over the club.

The season began with the Tigers ranked No. 9 and picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference. But an opening 34-10 rout by Alabama and losses to Maryland and Wake Forest raised calls again for Bowden's ouster despite a contract that tied him to the school through 2014.

Clemson went 72-45 (43-32 ACC) and made eight bowl appearances under Bowden, who was honored as ACC coach of the year in 1999 and 2003.

HC assault alleged

A Holy Cross player has been accused of attacking his teammate Sunday morning inside a Worcester apartment, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported.

Michael McCabe, a 6-foot-5-inch, 300-pound offensive lineman, and another man allegedly assaulted teammate Luke Chmielinski, leaving the wide receiver bleeding from the back and chest, police said. Detective Captain Edward J. McGinn Jr., said Chmielinski told police he had been stabbed but later declined to be interviewed by detectives.

Coach Tom Gilmore said the allegations detailed by police are wrong.

"From what I understand at this point, [the allegation] is inaccurate," Gilmore said, adding that he has spoken to both players, whom he described as best friends and roommates.

Police said McCabe, 19, of Watertown, Conn., and Stephen Kiely, 24, a Boston College High School social studies teacher, were arrested in connection with the fight. Chmielinski, 19, of Walpole, was treated at a city hospital for what appeared to be a stab wound to the back and slash wound.

UNC's Tate out for year

North Carolina receiver Brandon Tate is out for the season because of a knee injury, ending his college career and leaving the No. 18 Tar Heels without a big-play threat and kick returner. Tate scored five touchdowns this season and was leading the Atlantic Coast Conference with 163.7 all-purpose yards per game . . . Senior receiver Dicky Lyons Jr. tore two ligaments in his right knee while making a catch during Kentucky's loss to South Carolina Saturday, ending his season and collegiate career. Lyons, son of former Kentucky star Dicky Lyons Sr., finished his career with 141 catches for 1,752 yards and 18 touchdowns . . . Quarterback Mackenzi Adams, who came off the bench and rallied No. 22 Vanderbilt to a win over Auburn Oct. 4, will likely start Saturday at No. 10 Georgia, taking over for an ineffective Chris Nickson . . . The University of Massachusetts climbed three spots to No. 10 in the Sports Network's Football Championship Subdivision poll after its 28-24 win Saturday over Northeastern. New Hampshire fell from No. 4 to 11th after losing to William & Mary, 38-34.