Tebow to NYC
Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 2:15 pm
While watching last night's Oregon-Arizona game with avid interest, I felt a twinge of sadness for my niece Leah. A native of Portland who is an Oregon graduate, I felt bad for the misfortune that hit her team and its star player, quarterback Dennis Dixon.
Actually, I'm stretching the point a bit because I'm practically 100 percent certain that she doesn't care very much about college football. And working for an architecture firm in San Diego, living in the very, extremely cool hang of Pacific Beach, I actually don't feel too badly for her at all.
But for the Ducks, and Dixon, the world crumbled on Thursday night in Tucson. Their offense was buzzing again, moving easily down the field on their opening three possessions, scoring a touchdown (first time I've seen that goofy "swinging gate" extra point deal, or whatever they call it, work for two points), advancing to the Arizona 3-yard line before a Duck receiver turned a touchdown into an interception with a bobbled drop and settling for a short field goal.
Then Dixon, apparently operating on a weak knee, tried to cut without being hit and collapsed late in the first quarter. His knee buckled and he was done, as is Oregon – in the national championship race – and the Heisman Trophy dreams in Eugene.
In terms of the national title race, the major beneficiary of Oregon's fall was the Big 12, which has undefeated Kansas and once-beaten Oklahoma and Missouri sitting 3-4-5 in the current BCS standings (behind No. 1 LSU and of course, Oregon). Since Kansas and Missouri play each other next Saturday in St. Louis (bet Kansas regrets selling its home game now, don't you think?), one of those folks will get eliminated from the picture, setting up a potential major showdown in the Big 12 title game with Oklahoma.
Also waiting in the wings are West Virginia, Ohio State (really) and Arizona State, the last remaining one-loss teams, not counting WAC members Hawaii (9-0) and Boise State (9-1), who clash next Friday in Hawaii. And speaking of Thanksgiving treats, the Arizona State-Southern Cal game on Thanksgiving evening will round out a great day of eating, football and eating some more.
And guess what BCS bashers, I hate to ruin your glee over the system's "luck" running out this year (wonder why when it works, which is does more often than not, it's called "luck" and when it doesn't work, that's the way folks think it always turns out), but it may come out in the wash after all with little beefing by anyone.
Let's say LSU beats Ole Miss, Arkansas and the East champ in the SEC title game, then the Tigers head to New Orleans for the BCS Championship Game. And for grins, let's say Kansas beats Missouri, West Virginia loses to either Cincinnati (on the road) or UConn, Ohio State falls at Michigan and Arizona State gets beaten by USC. All those could easily happen.
Then we're left with the winner of Kansas-Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game facing LSU for the title, and no other one-loss teams in the conversation except possibly the WAC buddies Hawaii and Boise. And lo and behold, the BCS worked again. But that would ruin months of speculative bile from everyone about the need for a playoffs, right?
And what about the Heisman race? It sure looked like Dixon is through for the rest of the season after suffering his knee injury last night and although players shouldn't necessarily be penalized for getting injured, if you miss 25 percent of you team's games, then you can not win the top individual award in college football.
This puts it all back in Tim Tebow's lap. Heading into this weekend's action, the prevailing notion was that the two clear leaders were Dixon and Tebow. Dixon's numbers were tremendous, but again, now that the Ducks have two losses and still have games remaining at UCLA and at home with rival Oregon State, Dixon is pretty much out of the picture.
Tebow's credentials don't need to be stated here, but the numbers are pretty overwhelming – 173 of 255 (67.84) percent passing for 2,532 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions, a 177.1 passer rating, second in the nation, plus 718 yards on 170 carries and an astounding 19 rushing touchdowns. Only two players in the country, Kevin Smith of UCF (22) and Jehuu Caulcrick of Michigan State (20 in 11 games) have rushed for more scores this season than Tebow.
Tebow should be able to ring up some numbers tomorrow against Florida Atlantic and then will have one last chance to make an impression, next Saturday in the regular-season finale against Florida State (sorry to say, don't think there's much chance Kentucky beats red-hot Georgia in Athens tomorrow, which finishes off UF in the SEC East race).
Yes we all know Tebow is a sophomore, and yes, we all know his team lost three games and will likely not win any sort of a championship this season. We all agree the player's class is silly in this discussion if a sophomore, or even a freshman deserves the award, then he gets the award, it's that simple. And yes, being part of a championship team is important, but shouldn't be a sole determinant in the Heisman race.
Instead, to me, the Heisman Trophy is about performance. It's about which player turned in the best season-long performance, a "Heisman Trophy season." It's not necessarily about being the "best player." It's about being the "player who played the best."
There is a subtle distinction. If the award was simply for the "best player," then Herschel Walker should have won three Heisman Trophies. It's about who turned in the best performance. Sometimes, it's the same player, sometimes it's not.
For example, let's say we were awarding a Heisman Trophy for the 2006 Florida national and SEC championship team, giving the player we think deserves it the Gator Heisman Trophy? Who would you choose? It's not totally clear-cut, but my choice could be Chris Leak, for his season-long consistency, for his performance in big games, for leading the team to come-from-behind wins against Tennessee on the road, South Carolina and Arkansas plus a tied game in the fourth quarter at FSU.
But if you asked me who was Florida's best player last season, there would be no hesitation – Reggie Nelson. Perhaps it's a bit unfair, because a free safety maybe only gets a half-dozen chances to impact a game while a quarterback gets maybe 50 or 60, but that's the nature of the beast.
So that is my Heisman Trophy criteria who had the best performance, who played best all season, not who is necessarily the best player. It's why I eliminated Daren McFadden from the conversation. He may be the best player in the nation, but he has not had the best season. In fact, I think he was better last season on a more successful Arkansas team.
For my money, and I don't have a Heisman vote, the only running back who should be in the conversation and make the trip to New York is Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois. He has been the best tailback all season and has set a school record with 1,402 yards on the ground (a 6.4-yard average) and 14 touchdowns with another 26 receptions for 230 yards and two scores. He is eighth in the nation in rushing, but it's not a purely numbers deal – he has turned in the best performance on a team which has been one of the surprises of the year.
It has boggled my mind that Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford barely gets mentioned when it comes to the Heisman. I must be missing something. Yes he's a redshirt freshman, but if you're going to discount class for Tebow, a second-year player, you have to do it for Bradford, a redshirt freshman and therefore also a second-year player. Yes he had a poor game in the Sooners' loss to Colorado, but does one bad game eliminate a player?
Bradford leads the nation in pass efficiency for a team that very well may win the Big 12 and play for the national title. He has completed 185 of 264 passes (70.08 percent) for 2,509 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions, and tops the nation with a 180.5 passer rating. I know it's not simply numbers, but in Oklahoma's two biggest wins, over Missouri and Texas, Bradford was a combined 45 of 66 for 510 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Not saying he should win it, but he deserves a plane ticket to New York.
As does Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. Daniel has been sensational in this terrific season for Missouri, completing 281 of 405 passes (69.38 percent) for 3,306 yards with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His proficiency has allowed Missouri to climb as high as fifth, right now, in the BCS.
But don't mention Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, who has had a terrific season as well. He gets eliminated simply by virtue of playing for a team that faced Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo and FIU in its non-conference schedule and also didn't face Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech, the three top teams from the Big 12 South.
And while we're at it, for all of you who like to scream about the ridiculous nature of having preseason polls, and how rankings shouldn't start until October or November, I have two words for you – shut the heck up. Don't you realize, it all works out in the wash, and that the preseason rankings are essentially for grins and conversation sake? It doesn't prejudice anybody.
Missouri was not even ranked in the AP preseason Top 25, did you know that? And the Tigers sit fifth, sure to move up to fourth, with a chance to knock off the two teams in front of them and play for the national title. And Kansas, undefeated Kansas, which sits No. 3 in the BCS, did not receive a single vote, not one, in the preseason AP Top 25. Sure hurt the Jayhawks' chances, hasn't it?
So where does all of this rambling take us? To the eve of another great college football weekend, with unfortunately just two left after this one. Much will shake out, including the convoluted Heisman Trophy race in which a certain Mr. Tebow just got a huge boost. As crazy as it sounds, the award may be his to lose right now.
AROUND THE SEC
There's only two games of consequence, Kentucky at Georgia and Vandy at Tennessee. As much success as road teams have tasted the past few years, I don't like the chances of either visitor tomorrow. Vandy has practically no chance against a Tennessee team which has played well at home this season, and Georgia is playing too well with too much at stake for Kentucky to pull the upset. The LSU-Florida double-dip just took too much out of the Wildcats.
If this happens, Florida doesn't make it to Atlanta (but may have a better chance of slipping in as a BCS at-large team to the Sugar or Orange, we'll touch on that possibility next week), and Tennessee will head to Lexington next week needing to knock off the Wildcats to claim the East over Georgia. Only fitting if it comes down to the last SEC regular-season game of the season.
MARTY LIKES
You know you're having a tough year when a team you choose scores 74 points, and doesn't cover. That's the definition of tough. After another 1-3 week we fall to 15-22-1 (.408 winning percentage, yikes!) with time running out to get our head back above water. But we're still going to give it a shot, so on to this week's picks:
1) Boise State minus 33.5 over Idaho: We love taking the Broncos, especially on their funky blue turf where they score tons of points. And they are facing a 1-9 Idaho team whose only win is over Division I-AA Cal Poly. Should be a barn-burner when Idaho hosts 0-10 Utah State next Saturday.
2) Virginia Tech minus-17 over Miami: It's usually dangerous to take a Virginia Tech with a healthy spread, because the Hokies don't always score much. But it's their last home game and they are eyeing an ACC title shot, and the Canes have apparently packed it in.
3) Clemson minus 7.5 over Boston College: Clemson is another dangerous up-and-down team, but it is also the Tigers' last home game, on prime time ESPN, and they've won four in a row, while Boston College has hit the skids with two straight losses.
4) Tulsa minus 14.5 at Army: I've missed on Tulsa twice this season, but the Golden Hurricanes put up huge numbers, like 56 last week against a 6-4 Houston team. Army is awful and has lost four straight by a combined 152-49.
5) BYU minus 11.5 at Wyoming: We're living on the edge here. Wyoming is coming off the embarrassing 50-0 loss to Utah and has dropped four of its last five. BYU has won six straight en route to another quiet 10-win season.
Actually, I'm stretching the point a bit because I'm practically 100 percent certain that she doesn't care very much about college football. And working for an architecture firm in San Diego, living in the very, extremely cool hang of Pacific Beach, I actually don't feel too badly for her at all.
But for the Ducks, and Dixon, the world crumbled on Thursday night in Tucson. Their offense was buzzing again, moving easily down the field on their opening three possessions, scoring a touchdown (first time I've seen that goofy "swinging gate" extra point deal, or whatever they call it, work for two points), advancing to the Arizona 3-yard line before a Duck receiver turned a touchdown into an interception with a bobbled drop and settling for a short field goal.
Then Dixon, apparently operating on a weak knee, tried to cut without being hit and collapsed late in the first quarter. His knee buckled and he was done, as is Oregon – in the national championship race – and the Heisman Trophy dreams in Eugene.
In terms of the national title race, the major beneficiary of Oregon's fall was the Big 12, which has undefeated Kansas and once-beaten Oklahoma and Missouri sitting 3-4-5 in the current BCS standings (behind No. 1 LSU and of course, Oregon). Since Kansas and Missouri play each other next Saturday in St. Louis (bet Kansas regrets selling its home game now, don't you think?), one of those folks will get eliminated from the picture, setting up a potential major showdown in the Big 12 title game with Oklahoma.
Also waiting in the wings are West Virginia, Ohio State (really) and Arizona State, the last remaining one-loss teams, not counting WAC members Hawaii (9-0) and Boise State (9-1), who clash next Friday in Hawaii. And speaking of Thanksgiving treats, the Arizona State-Southern Cal game on Thanksgiving evening will round out a great day of eating, football and eating some more.
And guess what BCS bashers, I hate to ruin your glee over the system's "luck" running out this year (wonder why when it works, which is does more often than not, it's called "luck" and when it doesn't work, that's the way folks think it always turns out), but it may come out in the wash after all with little beefing by anyone.
Let's say LSU beats Ole Miss, Arkansas and the East champ in the SEC title game, then the Tigers head to New Orleans for the BCS Championship Game. And for grins, let's say Kansas beats Missouri, West Virginia loses to either Cincinnati (on the road) or UConn, Ohio State falls at Michigan and Arizona State gets beaten by USC. All those could easily happen.
Then we're left with the winner of Kansas-Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game facing LSU for the title, and no other one-loss teams in the conversation except possibly the WAC buddies Hawaii and Boise. And lo and behold, the BCS worked again. But that would ruin months of speculative bile from everyone about the need for a playoffs, right?
And what about the Heisman race? It sure looked like Dixon is through for the rest of the season after suffering his knee injury last night and although players shouldn't necessarily be penalized for getting injured, if you miss 25 percent of you team's games, then you can not win the top individual award in college football.
This puts it all back in Tim Tebow's lap. Heading into this weekend's action, the prevailing notion was that the two clear leaders were Dixon and Tebow. Dixon's numbers were tremendous, but again, now that the Ducks have two losses and still have games remaining at UCLA and at home with rival Oregon State, Dixon is pretty much out of the picture.
Tebow's credentials don't need to be stated here, but the numbers are pretty overwhelming – 173 of 255 (67.84) percent passing for 2,532 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions, a 177.1 passer rating, second in the nation, plus 718 yards on 170 carries and an astounding 19 rushing touchdowns. Only two players in the country, Kevin Smith of UCF (22) and Jehuu Caulcrick of Michigan State (20 in 11 games) have rushed for more scores this season than Tebow.
Tebow should be able to ring up some numbers tomorrow against Florida Atlantic and then will have one last chance to make an impression, next Saturday in the regular-season finale against Florida State (sorry to say, don't think there's much chance Kentucky beats red-hot Georgia in Athens tomorrow, which finishes off UF in the SEC East race).
Yes we all know Tebow is a sophomore, and yes, we all know his team lost three games and will likely not win any sort of a championship this season. We all agree the player's class is silly in this discussion if a sophomore, or even a freshman deserves the award, then he gets the award, it's that simple. And yes, being part of a championship team is important, but shouldn't be a sole determinant in the Heisman race.
Instead, to me, the Heisman Trophy is about performance. It's about which player turned in the best season-long performance, a "Heisman Trophy season." It's not necessarily about being the "best player." It's about being the "player who played the best."
There is a subtle distinction. If the award was simply for the "best player," then Herschel Walker should have won three Heisman Trophies. It's about who turned in the best performance. Sometimes, it's the same player, sometimes it's not.
For example, let's say we were awarding a Heisman Trophy for the 2006 Florida national and SEC championship team, giving the player we think deserves it the Gator Heisman Trophy? Who would you choose? It's not totally clear-cut, but my choice could be Chris Leak, for his season-long consistency, for his performance in big games, for leading the team to come-from-behind wins against Tennessee on the road, South Carolina and Arkansas plus a tied game in the fourth quarter at FSU.
But if you asked me who was Florida's best player last season, there would be no hesitation – Reggie Nelson. Perhaps it's a bit unfair, because a free safety maybe only gets a half-dozen chances to impact a game while a quarterback gets maybe 50 or 60, but that's the nature of the beast.
So that is my Heisman Trophy criteria who had the best performance, who played best all season, not who is necessarily the best player. It's why I eliminated Daren McFadden from the conversation. He may be the best player in the nation, but he has not had the best season. In fact, I think he was better last season on a more successful Arkansas team.
For my money, and I don't have a Heisman vote, the only running back who should be in the conversation and make the trip to New York is Rashard Mendenhall of Illinois. He has been the best tailback all season and has set a school record with 1,402 yards on the ground (a 6.4-yard average) and 14 touchdowns with another 26 receptions for 230 yards and two scores. He is eighth in the nation in rushing, but it's not a purely numbers deal – he has turned in the best performance on a team which has been one of the surprises of the year.
It has boggled my mind that Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford barely gets mentioned when it comes to the Heisman. I must be missing something. Yes he's a redshirt freshman, but if you're going to discount class for Tebow, a second-year player, you have to do it for Bradford, a redshirt freshman and therefore also a second-year player. Yes he had a poor game in the Sooners' loss to Colorado, but does one bad game eliminate a player?
Bradford leads the nation in pass efficiency for a team that very well may win the Big 12 and play for the national title. He has completed 185 of 264 passes (70.08 percent) for 2,509 yards with 28 touchdowns and six interceptions, and tops the nation with a 180.5 passer rating. I know it's not simply numbers, but in Oklahoma's two biggest wins, over Missouri and Texas, Bradford was a combined 45 of 66 for 510 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. Not saying he should win it, but he deserves a plane ticket to New York.
As does Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. Daniel has been sensational in this terrific season for Missouri, completing 281 of 405 passes (69.38 percent) for 3,306 yards with 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His proficiency has allowed Missouri to climb as high as fifth, right now, in the BCS.
But don't mention Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing, who has had a terrific season as well. He gets eliminated simply by virtue of playing for a team that faced Central Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Toledo and FIU in its non-conference schedule and also didn't face Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech, the three top teams from the Big 12 South.
And while we're at it, for all of you who like to scream about the ridiculous nature of having preseason polls, and how rankings shouldn't start until October or November, I have two words for you – shut the heck up. Don't you realize, it all works out in the wash, and that the preseason rankings are essentially for grins and conversation sake? It doesn't prejudice anybody.
Missouri was not even ranked in the AP preseason Top 25, did you know that? And the Tigers sit fifth, sure to move up to fourth, with a chance to knock off the two teams in front of them and play for the national title. And Kansas, undefeated Kansas, which sits No. 3 in the BCS, did not receive a single vote, not one, in the preseason AP Top 25. Sure hurt the Jayhawks' chances, hasn't it?
So where does all of this rambling take us? To the eve of another great college football weekend, with unfortunately just two left after this one. Much will shake out, including the convoluted Heisman Trophy race in which a certain Mr. Tebow just got a huge boost. As crazy as it sounds, the award may be his to lose right now.
AROUND THE SEC
There's only two games of consequence, Kentucky at Georgia and Vandy at Tennessee. As much success as road teams have tasted the past few years, I don't like the chances of either visitor tomorrow. Vandy has practically no chance against a Tennessee team which has played well at home this season, and Georgia is playing too well with too much at stake for Kentucky to pull the upset. The LSU-Florida double-dip just took too much out of the Wildcats.
If this happens, Florida doesn't make it to Atlanta (but may have a better chance of slipping in as a BCS at-large team to the Sugar or Orange, we'll touch on that possibility next week), and Tennessee will head to Lexington next week needing to knock off the Wildcats to claim the East over Georgia. Only fitting if it comes down to the last SEC regular-season game of the season.
MARTY LIKES
You know you're having a tough year when a team you choose scores 74 points, and doesn't cover. That's the definition of tough. After another 1-3 week we fall to 15-22-1 (.408 winning percentage, yikes!) with time running out to get our head back above water. But we're still going to give it a shot, so on to this week's picks:
1) Boise State minus 33.5 over Idaho: We love taking the Broncos, especially on their funky blue turf where they score tons of points. And they are facing a 1-9 Idaho team whose only win is over Division I-AA Cal Poly. Should be a barn-burner when Idaho hosts 0-10 Utah State next Saturday.
2) Virginia Tech minus-17 over Miami: It's usually dangerous to take a Virginia Tech with a healthy spread, because the Hokies don't always score much. But it's their last home game and they are eyeing an ACC title shot, and the Canes have apparently packed it in.
3) Clemson minus 7.5 over Boston College: Clemson is another dangerous up-and-down team, but it is also the Tigers' last home game, on prime time ESPN, and they've won four in a row, while Boston College has hit the skids with two straight losses.
4) Tulsa minus 14.5 at Army: I've missed on Tulsa twice this season, but the Golden Hurricanes put up huge numbers, like 56 last week against a 6-4 Houston team. Army is awful and has lost four straight by a combined 152-49.
5) BYU minus 11.5 at Wyoming: We're living on the edge here. Wyoming is coming off the embarrassing 50-0 loss to Utah and has dropped four of its last five. BYU has won six straight en route to another quiet 10-win season.