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College-Football Notebook: Texas senior approves of dismissal of player
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Published: November 11, 2008
■ A Texas Longhorns team leader yesterday praised the way coaches handled the dismissal of a player who posted a racial slur on his Facebook page about President-elect Barack Obama.
Backup center Buck Burnette left No. 4 Texas last week for what was announced as an unspecified violation of team rules. Burnette, a sophomore, played in seven games this season.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Burnette apologized and said he made a "terrible decision" to post a text message he received about Obama's victory that contained a racial slur.
Senior defensive end Brian Orakpo said he considered the dismissal "appropriate."
"I thought the coaches did a good job on handling the situation," Orakpo said. "My prayers are for him, but we've got to move on. Guys got to make better decisions for their future."
Orakpo said that players should know their personal Web pages such as MySpace and Facebook can be sources of controversy.
"With the way the media and the Internet is evolving, everything you say can get you in trouble," Orakpo said.
Quarterback Colt McCoy, who counted Burnette among his good friends on the team, said that it was an emotional decision for the coaches.
"I don't really want to talk about it that much but I feel super sorry for him and I think the team does, too," McCoy said. "I just told him to keep his head up. Things will blow over, things will get better. That's a situation that's tough."
■ No. 1 Alabama's road to a perfect regular season seems paved in crimson and white.
The next two opponents are Auburn and Mississippi State, after all, two teams mired in disappointing seasons who are a combined 3-8 in Southeastern Conference games. Time to start gearing up for that matchup with No. 3 Florida in the league title game, right?
Not for a team that has lost two straight to Mississippi State, Saturday's opponent, and an excruciating six in a row to chief rival Auburn.
"If somebody were to say that to me, I'd believe they haven't seen them," Crimson Tide offensive tackle Drew Davis said. "Because it doesn't matter what your record is right now; everybody's going to play you tough, especially Mississippi State and especially Auburn."
The Tide (10-0, 6-0) secured a spot in the SEC title game with Saturday's overtime win at LSU, ending a five-year losing streak to one Western Division rival. Now, what defensive end Brandon Deaderick jokingly calls Alabama's "revenge tour" resumes.
Two Alabama offensive players are questionable for Saturday night's game against Mississippi State.
Coach Nick Saban said yesterday that tailback Roy Upchurch and receiver Earl Alexander are both questionable. Upchurch missed the LSU game with a neck injury, and Alexander hurt his shoulder in the game.
■ After poor quarterback play contributed heavily to Tennessee's seventh loss of the season against Wyoming on Saturday, Coach Phillip Fulmer plans to give a closer look to third-string freshman B.J. Coleman and even sophomore safety Eric Berry during the Vols' off week.
"Right now we'll look at everything," Fulmer said.
A homecoming matchup with the Football Bowl Subdivision's lowest scoring team in Wyoming appeared to be a solid opportunity for starter Nick Stephens to regain some confidence after throwing his first career interception at South Carolina.
But Stephens threw two interceptions to Cowboys players, one which was returned for a touchdown and the other which set up a second touchdown. That was all that the Cowboys, 261/2-point underdogs, needed to pull out a 13-7 win.
Fulmer and offensive coordinator Dave Clawson benched Stephens after the second pick midway through the second quarter and put in Jonathan Crompton, who started the first four games of the season.
Crompton's attempt to mount a comeback fell short as he and receivers struggled to make connections.
■ Wake Forest's home game against Boston College on Nov. 22 will start at 3:30 and will be televised regionally on ABC and elsewhere throughout the country on ESPN or ESPN2.
The ACC also announced starting times for four other Nov. 22 games yesterday. N.C. State will play at North Carolina (Raycom), and Clemson will play at Virginia at noon. Duke will play at Virginia Tech at 5:30 (ESPNU), and Florida State will play at Maryland at 7:45 (ESPN).
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