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.

Athletic director Terry Don Phillips said his intent yesterday 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 in December.

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

Assistant head coach and receivers coach Dabo Swinney will take over the club. Phillips urged him to act like the team's head coach and make difficult decisions knowing he had the administration's full backing.

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. But the son of storied football coach Bobby Bowden never brought Clemson fans what they wanted most -- a championship.

Quarterbacks were all the rage yesterday at West Virginia, where coach Bill Stewart defended the backup who struggled Saturday in his second career and where leading recruit Tajh Boyd not only recanted his springtime verbal commitment but also scratched the Mountaineers off his candidates list. Stewart said junior Jarrett Brown, subbing for Patrick White whom the coach simply described as "fine," passed with a bruised right biceps and ran with a bruised right thigh in a 17-6 defeat of Syracuse.

Quarterback Daryll Clark today was named the Big Ten's offensive player of the week and defensive end Aaron Maybin shared the award on defense. Clark, a junior, compiled a career-best 244 passing yards in a 48-7 victory at Wisconsin Saturday. He completed 16-of-25 passes with one touchdown and also tallied two rushing scores for the first time in his career.

Wide receiver Brandon Tate is out for the season with a knee injury, ending his college career and leaving the No. 18 Tar Heels without a big-play threat and kick returner. Tate injured his right knee in the first quarter of the 29-24 win against Notre Dame Saturday and did not return.

The college career of wide receiver Dicky Lyons Jr. has come to an end. An MRI showed Lyons tore two ligaments in his right knee while making a catch during the Wildcats' 24-17 loss to South Carolina.