11/21/24
December 08, 2007
Tim Tebow, happy to be a Gator. Happy to be the Heisman winner.: The legend of Tim Tebow grows, as he becomes the first under classman to win the prestigious award.
If Brennan had been at any college in our time zone, he would have won hands down.
posted by brownindian at 11:24 PM on December 08, 2007
The Heisman went to the right player this year. I don't know how you can overlook 20+ rushing touchdowns and 20+ passing touchdowns in a single season by a quarterback.
posted by NoMich at 11:51 PM on December 08, 2007
I expected Tebow to win, so no surprise there.
posted by budman13 at 12:59 AM on December 09, 2007
All of them had great years.
posted by rockstar2001 at 02:49 AM on December 09, 2007
Tebow's acceptance speech may have broken the record for people thanked. He played for a high school not far from here, so I've been hearing about his accomplishments since then. He's so earnest and nice it's hard to buy it, but he's becoming to this area what Brett Favre is to Kiln. I caught ESPN's coverage in the last 10 minutes and it was tedious and strange. Making Tebow stand around and respond to his own gauzy documentary was awkward, as was leaving the Heisman athletes onstage in the dark while Kirk Herbstreit and another host vamped at the end. I don't know how any viewer made it through the entire hour.
posted by rcade at 07:34 AM on December 09, 2007
They should just rename it the ESPN trophy. Seemingly every time I turned on ESPN, the college analysts ( and some anchors) were touting Tebow. It seems like they do this in years that there is no clear cut favorite. It doesn't matter to me if Tebow scored 100 td's, a QB shouldn't win college footballs highest honor if he can't translate his good stats into wins. Seeing as how the QB touches that ball on ever down, he should be winning games. Besides that, he is clearly not the most important player on that team.....they won a national title last year in the same system with Leak at QB (only 1 loss, by the way). I feel like McFadden should have won. His number were better than last year, his best game of the year came against the #1 team in the nation, and since he took turns at QB I think it's pretty clear he was the most important ( and best) player at Arkansas.
posted by ksb122 at 08:42 AM on December 09, 2007
ksb122, i agree mcfadden had a great year, but they lost more times than florida this year, 4 to 3 plus, tebow put op great numbers in every game he played in this year, mcfadden had a few off games... 43 yards at auburn, and only 61 at the might powerhouse of florida international. plus when you look at the difference in td's put up by each... tebow destroys mcfadden. all in all the right person won the award.
posted by jlh0837 at 09:04 AM on December 09, 2007
I too was hoping McFadden would win it, but I can't argue with Tebow's selection. I agree that more exposure for Brennan might have helped, but I also think that the strength of schedule worked against him. I caught ESPN's coverage in the last 10 minutes and it was tedious and strange. I almost gagged at Lee Corso's comments at the end of the presentation (shown on Sports Center). His "This is the best thing that ESPN does" certainly sets a very low standard, if true.
posted by Howard_T at 09:40 AM on December 09, 2007
When Tebow won and went and shook Meyer's hand and hugged his mom and Dad he should have gone back and hugged that dim wit from Ole Miss and said thank you for helping me with win this.
posted by hoytie at 10:08 AM on December 09, 2007
Howard: it sets a low bar, but don't worry, ESPN can lower itself to any bar, no matter how low you put it.
posted by tieguy at 11:27 AM on December 09, 2007
The problem I have with ESPN re the Heisman is that the relentless season-long focus on who will win it has devalued the result. Then again, the proliferation of similar awards like the Maxwell and Walter Camp also water down this one so ESPN can't bogart all the blame.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:56 PM on December 09, 2007
If Brennan has a great game and leads Hawaii to victory over Georgia, will anyone here have second thoughts? I think Tebow deserved to win, but a big bowl win by Brennan would likely change my opinion.
posted by drumdance at 01:17 PM on December 09, 2007
Seeing as how the QB touches that ball on ever down, he should be winning games. Besides that, he is clearly not the most important player on that team.....they won a national title last year in the same system with Leak at QB (only 1 loss, by the way). Defense. I watched UF a few times this year, and the clear difference is their defense's a step slower and less physical than last years. As a UGA alum, I hate UF with all my passion and it pains me, but I have to agree Tebow deserved the award this year. Tebow did his job to put his team in positions to win. When he starts playing DB and their defense isn't all that great, let me know.
posted by jmd82 at 01:32 PM on December 09, 2007
How about proving your value by subtraction. I submit as evidence for the Dennis Dixon campaign. Oregon with Dennis Dixon: Oregon scoring 38 ppg, ranked #2, BCS berth likely, talk of Heisman. Oregon without Dixon: 18.3 ppg, unranked, 3 game losing streak, 4th in the PAC-10 (Brut Sun Bowl).
posted by kyrilmitch_76 at 03:48 PM on December 09, 2007
That makes for an interesting idea. The "ESPN rule" where a Heisman hopeful must sit out one game versus a ranked team each year to determine the player's worth to his team.
posted by jmd82 at 04:48 PM on December 09, 2007
kyrlimitch_76, I couldn't agree with you more. If I had had a vote, it would have been for Dixon. Oregon's complete and utter ineptitude offensively was and even bigger endorsement of his value than the gaudy numbers he/they put up before he got hurt.
posted by bender at 06:46 PM on December 09, 2007
My God there's a Brut bowl? Stop the madness!
posted by aerotive at 08:33 PM on December 09, 2007
While I understand the case for Dixon, the Heisman Trophy is not a Most Valuable Player award; it is the award for the best player in college football. Dixon's value to his team notwithstanding, he didn't deserve to win. You've got to finish the season to win that particular hardware.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:49 PM on December 10, 2007
Homer. I say this with tongue in cheek.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:38 PM on December 10, 2007
McFadden came in second, and he took 3 games off. The only difference between him and Dixon was that he actually went on the field in that time and didn't do anything, whereas Dixon was sidelined with an injury, yet Dixon doesn't even get to go to New York.
posted by bender at 11:16 PM on December 10, 2007
It's unfortunate than an injury prevented Dixon from having a shot at the Heisman, but durability factors into the award. Tebow took a massive number of hits from all of the running he did, and he made it to the end. Thems the breaks. How many Heisman hopefuls never got a shot because they play outside the BCS and are thus not taken seriously as candidates, like Kevin Smith at UCF?
posted by rcade at 07:01 AM on December 11, 2007
Tebow took a massive number of hits from all of the running he did, and he made it to the end. Thems the breaks. Tebow's style of play and Florida's reliance on him for its running game did come at a cost, though, as it potentially kept Florida from the national title game. He got banged up in the Kentucky game and was basically unable to run in the Georgia game, which really hampered Florida's offense as it appeared that Meyer didn't trust anyone to run with the ball this season other than Tebow. Had Florida beat Georgia, I believe they would have held the tiebreaker in the SEC East (by virtue of beating Tennessee and Georgia) and I don't think LSU would have beat them in the title game. On the other hand, if Tebow didn't play the style he did, they possibly would have lost some games that they won, so it likely washes out in the end.
posted by holden at 11:46 AM on December 11, 2007
I was a tad surprised that Tebow won. Too bad for McFadden, finishing second two years in a row. He is an incredible player. Oh, and we'll see you next fall, system quarterback and all, Coach Jones.