Heisman Quandry: If Tim Tebow Is a Contender, So Is Terrelle Pryor

Can someone please tell me how Tim Tebow is a legitimate Heisman contender?

I could care less that his team is 9-0, or that his team is ranked No. 1, or that he's the best player on his team.

The only explanation is the ESPN love-fest with Tebow and the SEC in general.

Setting aside the $3 billion TV contract deal with the SEC, ESPN has got to stop pushing the Tebow Heisman campaign nonsense. He is not even top-three, yet the network constantly hypes him as the Heisman front-runner.

He's far from it. If he's a top contender, then so is Terrelle Pryor, and here's why.

Florida's schedule is easily one of the weakest in the country, especially out of conference, but within the SEC as well. It's not the popular thing to say, but the SEC is overrated once you get past Florida, Alabama and LSU.

Even with all these middle-of-the-road opponents, Tebow's stats are far from impressive, and therein lies my problem with the whole Tebow-for-Heisman bologna.

Let's compare the numbers, shall we?

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Tim Tebow

1,531 passing yards, 65.9 completion percent, 11 touchdowns, four interceptions, 578 rushing yards, 3.7 yards-per-carry, nine rushing touchdowns, 156.6 quarterback rating.

Terrelle Pryor

1,668 passing yards, 54.0 completion percent, 15 touchdowns, nine interceptions, 604 rushing yards, 5.3 yards-per-carry, seven rushing touchdowns, 130.6 quarterback rating.

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Before you say anything, yes, some Buckeye fans (myself included) entertained the idea in the preseason that Terrelle Pryor might be a potential Heisman candidate, but we have come back to reality. TP is NOT a Heisman contender this season, nor should he be.

That's not a knock on Pryor. He's had a pretty good year. The bottom line here is that there are others more noteworthy, so we'll wait for next year when Pryor will very likely be in the running.

Is it really too much to expect the preseason Heisman hype and ESPN propaganda machine for Tebow to simmer down now that we see his production this year is not even as good as Pryor's, let alone those of deserving candidates like Houston's Case Keenum, Alabama's Mark Ingram, or Texas' Colt McCoy?

Florida is a very good team, perhaps even great, and they could absolutely win another BCS title this year. But the Heisman is an individual award meant for college football's most outstanding player.

So let's not let team accomplishments or BCS rankings cloud our judgment in awarding the 2009 Heisman Trophy to the most meritorious player.

I hope you're listening, Heisman voters!


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