M15directed Hate

Before we start put this on in the background.

In the past few years the coverage of Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has reached epic proportions. Prompting a backlash from many that consider him overrated. However, Tebow isn't to blame for the hype that surrounds him. He doesn't claim to be the greatest of all time. He shares praise with his teammates and coaches after a win, and takes the blame when the team falters. No, the focus of the hate directed at Tebow should instead be directed at the ESPN's, Fox's and other major sports media outlets that have bombarded everyone with wall-to-wall coverage. However, to their credit they have to make money, and they know that anything concerning Tebow will generate page views, clickthroughs, comments and ad revenue.

They've done a great job at monetizing the aura of Tebow, and both the love and hate that comes with it. For the Tebow fans they see a college athlete that seems to be genuinely grateful for the opportunity that he's been given. One that loves donning the orange and blue, especially on game day. For the haters, they're tired of the stories about a quarterback they've deemed "overrated", and some can't stand that he's so open about his religious beliefs both on and off the field. Ironically, those people probably stand up at sporting events and proudly recite the Pledge of Allegiance that includes "one nation under God" then bash Tebow with a hearty "keep your religion out of my sports".

In any case, Tebow isn't his own biggest cheerleader. Yes, he does play the game with a lot of passion(sometimes leading to tearful endings when he feels as if he's let every Gator in the world down), but isn't that what we want from our team leaders? And maybe that's the bigger problem. Maybe the hate doesn't come from the overexposure, but from the fact that Tebow doesn't play for your team. The inability to see talent because of team affiliation is probably even greater when the athlete in question is seemingly everywhere. Tebow's not campaigning to be called the best college football player of all time, but some people seem to be convinced that he is. Sadly, those people would probably still denigrate Tebow even if he had won four Heismans and four BCS titles. Fortunately, one Heisman(as a sophomore), two BCS titles, and 140+ total touchdowns should be good enough statistics for anyone that's not an outright hater to see just how talented Tebow has been at the college level.

There Is Nothing to Second Guess

If you're a college football fan, then you've probably heard that Tim Tebow was injured during yesterday's win over Kentucky and likely suffered a concussion. You might have also heard columnists, fans, "haters" and experts second guessing Urban Meyer's decision to have Tebow in the game at that point in the third quarter with Florida leading 31-7. Though, to me that shows how little they watch the game, and renders their opinion just about worthless.

It's common practice to give your starters two to three sets of plays in the third quarter of a game that was a blowout by halftime. The game has a different feel after the break, and you want them to be used to playing after sitting in the locker room between the second and third quarters. If Urban Meyer sat his starters in the games that became blowouts by halftime, then they would have had eight quarters of football under the belts leading into yesterday's game. They then would have played 10 quarters of football(through four games) as they take two weeks off in preparation for traveling to LSU. To me, that sounds like the perfect recipe for not having a team that's game tested as they head into an extremely hostile playing environment. After all, you can only simulate so much in practice.

What about the other coaches that kept their starters in the game when it seemed like they had it in hand? Colt McCoy was still on the field in the third quarter after Texas had run out to a halftime score of 47-7 against UTEP. Terrelle Pryor played all four quarters of the 30-0 Ohio State blowout of Illinois(the score was 23-0 heading into the fourth quarter). Greg McElroy was still taking snaps for Alabama as the Crimson Tide was up 35-7 in the fourth quarter against Arkansas. Yet, you don't hear anyone criticizing Mack Brown, Jim Tressel or Nick Saban for keeping their starting quarterback(or any other starters) on the field too late in the game. Though, that's probably because none of them suffered a freak concussion by taking a knee to the back of the head by an offensive lineman. Which is exactly what happened.

Though, if you are one of those people bashing Urban Meyer and not one of the other coaches that did something similar yesterday I'm curious to know if it's because you don't follow football closely, you hate the Florida Gators and Urban Meyer or both.

Superman Returns

At the BCS celebration in Gainesville today Tim Tebow let the college football world know what his NFL decision was, and he's decided to return for his senior season.

Florida junior quarterback Tim Tebow made the announcement all
Gator fans wanted to hear on Sunday. After his speech he turned around and said,
"Oh and one more thing, let's do it again. I'm coming back!"

Personally, I am a little surprised because he doesn't really have anything left to prove at the college level. Two BCS titles and a Heisman really speak for themselves. Hopefully he doesn't take too much punishment next season because I would hate to see him get injured. Though, it is going to be great to see him donning the orange and blue for one more year.

I haven't heard any word on if Harvin and Spikes will return or not.

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Tebow Adds To Trophy Case

The Heisman is still the big one, but being named the SEC Male Athlete of The Year is pretty damn cool too. Today, Tim Tebow added that award to the trophy case.

Florida Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was named the Southeastern Conference's Roy F. Kramer Male Athlete of the Year in a vote of the league's athletic directors, the league announced Wednesday.

He was joined in the honor by Tennessee basketball player Candace Parker, voted as the league's Female Athlete of the Year.

"The SEC is very proud to honor Tim and Candace, as they are outstanding examples of what a student-athlete can accomplish, both on and off the field of competition," SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. "Their hard work and dedication to excellence have made them fine representatives of their universities and this conference. We congratulate them and wish them the best in their future endeavors."

Tebow, the only sophomore to win the Heisman, already owns Gator quarterback records for rushing yards (1,364) and touchdowns (37). In two seasons, he has thrown for 3,644 yards and rushed for another 31 scores. He also was the first quarterback in college football history to pass for 20 touchdowns and run for 20 scores.

It's another achievement that Tebow gets to add to the long list that he's compiled in a relatively short amount of time. Eventhough Tebow can obviously do a lot of things, I would like to know if he can dunk like Candace Parker.

Breaking Down The Heisman Finalists

Yesterday, the finalists for the Heisman Trophy were announced. And they are:


Colt Brennan, quarterback, Hawaii
Chase Daniel, quarterback, Missouri
Darren McFadden, running back, Arkansas
Tim Tebow, quarterback, Florida

I've listed them there in alphabetical order. Now let me list them and their stats in the order that I think they should finish in the Heisman voting.

Fourth
Colt Brennan. The University of Hawaii quarterback only faced one ranked team all season, and while he did put up impressive stats against #17 Boise State, he didn't face the tougher opponents that the others did. Here is his statline from that game:

Vs. #17 Boise State(W): 75.5% comp., 495yds, 5TD/2INT; 18yds rush, 2.0avg, 1TD

Third
Darren McFadden. I imagine that most people probably have McFadden in either the #1 or #2 spot. However, his down games against two of the five ranked opponents that he faced pushes him down in my estimation. In those two games, both losses for his team, he actually failed to score any touchdowns. Overall, McFadden ended with a 2-3 record against the five ranked opponents that he faced. Here are his stats from those five games:

Vs. #21 Kentucky(L): 173yds, 6.0avg, 1TD; 10yds receiving, 0TD
Vs. #22 Auburn(L): 43yds, 2.5avg, 0TD; 5yds rec, 0TD
Vs. #23 South Carolina(W): 323yds, 9.2avg, 1TD; 4yds rec, 0TD; 23yds passing, 1TD
Vs. #22 Tennessee(L): 117yds, 5.3avg, 0TD; 17yds rec, 0TD
vS. #1 LSU(W): 206yds, 6.4avg, 3TD; 34yds passing, 1TD

Average: 172yds, 5.8avg, 1TD; 7.2yds rec, 0TD; 11.4yds passing, .4TD/0INT

Second
Chase Daniel. The Mizzou quarterback was unable to defeat Oklahoma twice, but he's the only one out of the four candidates that has a winning record against ranked opponents. Daniel finished with a 3-2 record against those teams, and scored at least one touchdown in all five of those games. Here are his stats from those contests:

Vs. #25 Nebraska(W): 70.2% comp., 401yds, 2TD/0INT; 72yds rush, 6.5avg, 2TD
Vs. #6 Oklahoma(L): 78.7% comp., 361yds, 1TD/2INT; -1yds rush, -.1avg, 0TD
Vs. #22 Texas Tech(W): 73.7% comp., 210yds, 1TD/2INT; 11yds rush, 1.6avg, 0TD
Vs. #2 Kansas(W): 81.6% comp., 361yds, 3TD/0INT; 6yds rush, .9avg, 0TD
Vs. #9 Oklahoma(L): 59% comp., 219yds, 0TD/1INT; 26yds rush, 2.4avg, 1TD

Average: 72.6% comp., 310yds, 1.4TD/.8INT; 22.8yds rush, 2.2avg, .6TD

First
Tim Tebow. The Florida quarterback faced four ranked teams, and lead the Gators to a 2-2 record against them. In each of those four contests he scored at least three total touchdowns, and was the prime example of a dual threat type of quarterback. Here are his stats:

Vs. #22 Tennessee(W): 73.7% comp., 299yds, 2TD/1INT; 61yds rush, 3.4avg, 2TD
Vs. #1 LSU(L): 46.2% comp., 158yds, 2TD/INT; 67yds rush, 4.2avg, 1TD
Vs. #8 Kentucky(W): 69.2% comp., 256yds, 4TD/0INT; 78yds rush, 3.9avg, 1TD
Vs. #20 Georgia(L): 63.6% comp., 236yds, 1TD/0INT; -15yds rush, -1.2avg, 2TD

Average: 63% comp., 237yds, 2.2TD/.4INT; 47.7yds rush, 2.5avg, 1.5TD

Yes, Tebow's stats in the completion percentage and average passing yards departments are down a little from Daniel's, but Tebow also averaged more passing touchdowns and less interceptions against the ranked opponents that he faced. Overall, Tebow averaged an astonishing 3.7 total touchdowns versus the ranked teams that he faced. Daniel averaged a solid 2.0, and McFadden averaged 1.4.

I believe that these stats show that Tebow was able to perform better overall against his toughest opponents than either Daniel or McFadden. All of the finalists chosen are tremendous athletes, but only one deserves to have his name called for the Heisman. And that's Tim Tebow.