Ken Davis

This won’t settle well in Gainesville, Fla. I’ve never been there. And it’s not likely I’ll be invited to visit any time soon.

Not after this column.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow didn’t deserve the Heisman Trophy. Not this year. In fact, he didn’t even make the top three picks on my ballot. Let that sink in for a minute and then we can move on to my reasons.

It’s not because Tebow is a sophomore. Even though Tebow was the first sophomore to win the trophy, the Heisman isn’t about class status. Any one who votes that way is narrow minded and wrong. The award is not designated to go to the most outstanding senior.

And this isn’t personal. I have nothing against Tebow or Florida. I’m told he’s a fine young man, but this isn’t a popularity contest. One quick disclaimer: I do have relatives living in Tallahassee, Fla. My sister-in-law and my nephew graduated from Florida State and are avid Seminoles fans. But they did not influence my thinking in any way. They did not bribe me or pay me (although there are plenty of shopping days remaining before Christmas and I love to be rewarded).

But, let’s get serious.

It’s easy to understand the support Tebow received. The statistics are there to back him. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound quarterback for the Gators is the first player in NCAA history to run for at least 20 touchdowns and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in the same season. He passed for 29 and rushed for 22. He broke Florida’s single-season record for total offense with 3,970 yards and broke the Southeastern Conference’s single-season record for rushing touchdowns.

Tebow has taken full advantage of coach Urban Meyer’s offense. He ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency (177.9), completing 68.5 percent of his passes with only six interceptions.

All of that deserves tremendous respect. And the fact Tebow toiled under such scrutiny demands admiration. The quarterback at Florida works under unique pressure. He entered the season with questions about his ability to throw the ball and he certainly quieted the critics.

A quarterback’s job is to get his team into the end zone. Tebow did that better than anybody, but the No. 1 duty on a quarterback’s job description is to lead his team to victory. That may sound harsh, but it is a reality. Great teams have great quarterbacks. And there is more to greatness than just piling up statistics.

Florida was 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the SEC. Teams with three losses don’t enter the BCS discussion. Florida didn’t win the SEC East. The Gators didn’t play in the SEC championship game. LSU beat Tennessee for the conference championship and advanced to the national championship game with two losses. Georgia has been widely discussed as one of the hottest teams in the nation.

Florida? The Gators lost to Auburn, LSU and Georgia and are headed to the Capital One Bowl to play Michigan. Tebow did not lift the Gators to great heights. After the loss to Georgia, he padded his stats with wins over Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Florida Atlantic and Florida State.

If you want to talk about quarterbacks who carried their teams to great heights this season, the list includes Dennis Dixon of Oregon, Pat White of West Virginia, Colt Brennan of Hawaii, Chase Daniel of Missouri and Todd Reesing of Kansas. With both Dixon and White, their importance to their teams became crystal clear when they were injured. Brennan led Hawaii to a perfect season and a berth in the Sugar Bowl. His outrageous numbers are the result of an offensive system as well, but look at the way he rallied his team from behind and lifted a program from a non-BCS conference into a BCS bowl.

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