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College-Football Notebook: UNC's Draughn out for season
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Published: November 9, 2009
Tailback Shaun Draughn of North Carolina fractured his left shoulder blade in Saturday's 19-6 win over Duke and will not play again this season.
Draughn is UNC's leading rusher with 567 yards on 124 carries. He was injured on the first play of the game after carrying the ball for nine yards.
Junior Ryan Houston will take over in Draughn's absence. He rushed 164 yards on 37 carries against Duke.
"I was hoping to get the ball on every play," Houston said. "Every time I get the ball I try and make things happen. I put it all into every run."
Draughn is the third UNC running back out with injury. Jamal Womble, a redshirt freshman, and A.J. Blue, a freshman, are recovering from surgery for injuries sustained Oct. 10 in a win over Georgia Southern.
—Bill Cole
Quarterback Christian Ponder of Florida State has a separated right shoulder and will miss Saturday's game against Wake Forest.
Ponder injured the shoulder of his throwing arm while making a tackle in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 40-24 loss to Clemson. Florida State is 4-5.
Redshirt freshman E.J. Manuel is expected to replace Ponder and would be making his first career start. Manuel has played in two games this season, completing 1 of 2 passes for 4 yards.
Wake Forest's final home game of the season with Florida State on Saturday will start at noon. The game will be televised by ESPNU.
In other ACC games Saturday, Clemson will play at N.C. State (Raycom) at noon and Georgia Tech at Duke (ESPN2) will also be at noon.
Miami will play at North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised by ABC.
Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney wasn't wowed by his first appearance in the national rankings.
Swinney is much more interested in his Tigers continuing to show the mental and physical toughness that's gotten them four straight victories and the Associated Press No. 24 spot.
"It's good that these kids are getting some recognition," Swinney said. "Hopefully, we can finish this the way we want."
Swinney was proud Clemson (6-3, 4-2 ACC) overcame mistakes and Florida State's 11-point lead in a 40-24 win Saturday night that may have gone as far to show the 77,000 at Death Valley that these aren't the Tigers of old.
"We're just a football team that believes in each other, expects to win and is getting tougher," Swinney said. "That's what I worry about instead of that other stuff."
After his first season as Notre Dame coach, Charlie Weis hung a banner in the weight room that read: "9-3 is not good enough."
Those words may prove prophetic.
That record is the best the Fighting Irish (6-3) can finish the regular season following their stunning 23-21 loss to Navy on Saturday.
The loss was reminiscent of last season when it seemed Weis had done just enough to get off the hot seat, before the Irish inexplicably blew a double-digit lead in a loss to unranked Syracuse.
Until the Navy loss, the Irish were aiming for a Bowl Championship Series game.
A loss at No. 8 Pittsburgh would leave Weis with a 35-25 record, the same record that got Bob Davie fired in 2001.
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