Boise State QB denies urinating from hotel balcony
Joe Southwick says he passed a polygraph after being accused of the incident in Hawaii, where team is playing in Hawaii Bowl.
BOISE STATE quarterback Joe Southwick said he was unfairly dismissed from the Hawaii Bowl, arguing he was falsely accused of urinating from a hotel balcony.
Southwick, a senior who was sent home Friday by interim head coach Bob Gregory shortly after the team arrived in Hawaii, took a polygraph test after arriving in Boise in his bid to prove his innocence, KTVB reported Sunday.
The Broncs play Oregon State tonight.
Initially, Southwick and backup quarterback Nick Patti were suspended for violating team rules, with BSU not providing details of what happened. Eventually, Patti was reinstated, but Southwick was taken to the airport, where he says he waited 9 hours before his flight.
Southwick said the results of the polygraph indicate he was telling the truth: He witnessed another player urinate off the balcony, but didn't do it himself.
Max Corbet, the sports information director who was in Hawaii with the team, said in an email that the issue was investigated at the time and a decision was made. There will be no further comment from Boise State, he said.
Southwick, who described the evening preceding the incident that led to his dismissal as one fueled by alcohol but didn't say if he'd been drinking, declined during the TV interview to name the player he says urinated from the hotel balcony.
He said at least three other players testified against him.
Noteworthy
* Gus Malzahn, who inherited a demoralized Auburn team that had just gone through the program's worst season in decades, was named Associated Press coach of the year for turning around the team and leading the No. 2 Tigers to the Jan. 6 national championship game against No. 1 Florida State.
Among the highlights of the team's 12-1 season was a 45-41 road upset of Johnny Manziel then-No. 7 Texas A&M and defeats of defending national champion Alabama and, then, Missouri in the SEC championship game.
* Colorado State defensive-line coach Greg Lupfer was suspended without pay for 2 weeks for using a gay slur when yelling at Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday in the New Mexico Bowl last weekend.
In a bowl game
* Beef 'O' Grady Bowl: At St. Petersburg, Fla., Vinatavious Cooper rushed for 198 yards, setting a bowl record and leading East Carolina (10-3) to a 37-20 victory over Ohio (7-6).