I didn't doubt for a second that a good number of people would watch the game last night, but the numbers were actually much better than I expected. Thanks to a close game, and some high profile players, the BCS National Title Game on Fox pulled in a 17.0/27 for their overnight ratings. Via Sports Business Daily....

Thursday night's Florida-Oklahoma FedEx BCS National Championship Game earned a 17.0/27 overnight Nielsen rating on Fox, up 9.0% from a 15.6/23 for last year's LSU-Ohio State matchup, which aired on a Monday night. The 17.0/27 marks Fox' highest-rated primetime program this season and highest since last season's "American Idol" finale, which earned a 17.5/27. Fox for the game earned a 16.1/25 in primetime, tops among all nets. Oklahoma City topped all metered-markets with a 52.6/67, followed by Tulsa's 47.8/63. In Florida, Jacksonville delivered a 40.5/55, followed by a 32.5/49 in Tampa and a 30.7/45 in Orlando.

Your grand total of average viewers from the telecast comes out to a whopping 26.76 million, and while it easily beat last year's average of 23.1, the final total could approach the 2007 LSU-OSU total of over 27 million. Also, when the final rating is tabulated, this year's game should easily surpass both totals from the last two years, and should be in the top three of all games since the BCS was instituted in 1999.

Fox Earns 17.0 Overnight For BCS National Championship Game (Sports Business Daily)

Hilarious screengrab from the Orange Bowl this evening from reader RW. At the start of the game, FOX put up the starting lineup graphic for Cincinnati's offense and for their right tackle a picture of Tim Tebow was shown. The best part though....that Right Tackle's name....Khalil El-Amin.


Too funny. It's not really the fact that Tebow has a Muslim name, but rather the fact....HE'S NOT EVEN PLAYING IN THE GAME! I know they have to prep for the Championship Game, but that's inexcusable. ESPN's contract with the BCS can't start soon enough.

We all know that Sam Bradford won the Heisman late Saturday night, but apparently FOX Sports didn't get the memo. The network's website had the headline right, but if you take a closer look at the copy, you'll see that the whole article is centered around Tebow winning the award. Here's a screencap via Deadspin....



What probably happened, is that Fox had prepared different pieces ahead of time and when the decision came down, the pulled the wrong one. It is pretty funny that they went as far as to say he's only the second player to win back-to-back Heismans though.

FOX Botches Heisman Story, Announces Tebow As Winner (Deadspin)

The Heisman Trophy is awarded by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York tonight, and lately, you might as well call it the award that goes to the quarterback or running back who has the gaudiest stats on a team in the BCS bowl games, more often than not. Tim Tebow last year seems the exception to the rule based on his absolutely gaudy numbers. This year, it's Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford with the gaudy numbers, Tebow with good ones of his own, and Texas QB Colt McCoy who has great stats while having less talent around him to do it with.

I don't like this award at all, so if you ask me who I think will win, I'll say Bradford, even though he gets the stats because he runs all no-huddle (meaning more plays.) McCoy should win because he really is the Texas offensive engine, and the only reason Tebow is in the discussion with the other two this year is because he's in the BCS title game and everyone at ESPN and CBS have massive Tebowners. If he wins a second Heisman, it's more proof the award is a joke.

The problem is that this doesn't really tell you who the best or most valuable player is in college football. Michael Crabtree is on another planet, but since someone has to get the ball to him, it's tough -- he's probably the best player in the game. Defensive players don't get any shake on this unless they're Charles Woodson, who played both ways at Michigan (ask a Tennessee fan about that sometime), which means Rey Maualuga is SOL too.

Anyway, discuss it and enjoy the dragged-out ceremony.

I was going to make the title "Lou Holtz Temporarily Loses His Mind", but I'm pretty sure it's officially gone at this point. Holtz was doing the late night College Football show with Rece Davis and Mark May late Saturday night/early Sunday, when they decided to have a little debate. Holtz had Tim Tebow, May had Texas QB Colt McCoy and Davis was moderator. Watch as Lou, who thinks they've gone to commercial, flips out after Davis gave the win to May following the debate. Via CFT...

That was just amazingly awkward and somehow still hilarious! The guy never ceases to amaze me. I think I'm going to coin a new term in this spot and that is the "Trainwreckability Scale" (which has no affiliation with Simmons' "Unintentional Comedy Scale"). Right now Lou Holtz's trainwreckabiltiy is sitting at an easy 95 out of 100. After his pep talk this week, he could shoot past 100.

Oh and the other thing is.....he was right. Colt McCoy was not a great QB last year and there were no stipulations about the debate being just for this year or just for one game.

ESPN's Lou Holtz Apologize For Anti-McCoy Tirade (College Football Talk)
Lou Holtz Loves Tim Tebow "DAMNIT!!!" (BSO)

What an ending to the early games today! The UNC-Miami game had an awesome ending and now the Rebels took out Florida with a bomb, blocked extra point and a stop of Superman on fourth down. Here's the vid if you missed it (please ignore the annoying ESPN Gameplan message at the bottom if you can)....

The defender did leap over someone to block that kick, but I thought you just couldn't use a player on your own team for leverage. Amazing win by Ole Miss either way though. Pretty shocking week five we've had so far.

When you picture a party at the Playboy Mansion in your mind, I'm pretty sure it doesn't include guys playing Guitar Hero, Pop-A-Shot, Pool Volleyball, as well as hanging with older (yet still lovely) event coordinators and a grand total of zero Playmates.

I could be wrong, but if I was a betting man, I think it would probably be playing out a little different. Well the scene describe above is exactly what the Tim Tebow shunned "Playboy All America Weekend" consisted of. From via Playboy U....

The weekend is a completely wholesome experience where the players get a chance to relax from the rigors of the weight room and the classroom. They get the chance to meet other players who they may have heard about or even played against. Stories are traded, boasts are made and friendships are formed, some of which last a lifetime.

This year's weekend was held in Phoenix, Arizona in early May. Lots of fun was had by all. – Gary Cole, Playboy Sports Editor

Again, you can't blame Tebow for not wanting to hurt his pristine image, but that party looks like every kid's thirteenth birthday party at a community pool or roller skating rink. If there was a DJ there it was probably EVEN COOLER!

"What's up All Americans? Get ready for the hokey pokey and limbo contest in about ten, but coming up next is Jordin Sparks's "No Air". This one is going out to Erin Andrews from WVU QB Pat White and it's our long distance dedication of the evening!"

Laurinaitis Dominates Playboy All-American Weekend; Tebow Misses The Shirtless Fun (Busted Coverage)
Behind the Scenes at All America Weekend (Playboy U)
Tim Tebow Says No To Playboy (Awful Announcing)

The last magazine he was offered to be in, Playboy, Tim Tebow decided to decline the offer. Well he's been asked by another publication and this time he decided to accept an invitation from fitness mag, Men's Fitness. Via the Orlando Sentinel....

Men's Fitness has had many athletes on its cover -- our Tiger Woods, Reggie Bush and LaDainian Tomlinson to name a few -- but this time they didn't want to wait until Tebow turned pro as they have always done before.

"That young man is a physical specimen, but your readers must know that," Johnson said. "He seems to embody what you want in a young athlete. So the story is not just for Gator fans but for everyone to get to know him."

The magazine quotes Georgia Coach Mark Richt, who gets a really good look at Tebow one-too-many times per year: "He's different from anybody I've seen. Some guys stand apart and they're just different from everybody else."

It's always interesting to see how certain players prepare themselves for the "real world" of Sports PR and Marketing that comes after College. Tebow's plan, however, has been a little different from past potential draft picks. He's almost gone with a political approach to his "brand" and that is definitely going to pay off for him if the NFL doesn't work out for the QB.

You should seriously expect to see him as a Congressman by the year 2025.

Fitness mag takes a closer look at the 'physical specimen' that is Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow (Orlando Sentinel)

The folks at DanPatrick.com were nice enough to pass along this clip of Tebow talking about his decision not to be a part of Playboy's All American Team. There's nothing really new to add (he thinks it's not for him, image stuff, blah blah blah), I thought I'd throw it up anyway.

Good follow up by Dan there, and for trying to get something out of him, but this kid isn't budging. If you've seen him this offseason, the guy has more prepared answers than Erin Andrews at this point. Not a bad thing, and good for him for having morals, but things have gone down hill since that pic in the video was found. Oh well.

Tim Tebow Interview (DanPatrick.com)

I never even knew that players had the opportunity to turn down a Preseason All-American honor from a magazine, but then again...Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas. According to Florida Today, the quarterback apparently told his SID not to even nominate him for the skin mag's team....

Tebow, who will attend photo shoots today for magazine covers in Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News before attending the SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., on Wednesday, is vocal about his deep religious convictions. His father, Bob, is a missionary. Tebow feels it could also be his calling in life, after his football career is over.

Gary Cole, senior vice president and photographer director of Playboy, e-mailed and talked with Higbee on the phone about the decision not to nominate the Gator star.

"I spoke with Gary Cole and we're on the same page," Higbee said.

Cole said some athletes turn down the invitation to attend the Playboy function in Phoenix honoring the team, and a photo shoot, because they don't know all the facts.

"I don't hate it when someone has all the facts, understands what our weekend and our history is and then chooses not to attend,'' Cole told Florida Today. "I do hate it when someone bases their choice on false or incomplete information. . . . The weekend (in Phoenix) is completely wholesome. I have always brought my children whether they were one or 16 years old. It's a really special few days when these fellows get the opportunity to meet each other and spend a little time together. Friendships are formed at these weekends that last a lifetime.''

I like that friendships line at the end. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, much like that magazine did when I was younger. That damn preseason All-American team was always getting into to my smut. It seemed/seems like a honor to be named in the magazine, and the poll is actually well respected, but I guess Tebow would be rather known for circumcising infants in the Philippines and tossing the pigskin around Congress. Good for him.

Playboy gets a 'no' from Tebow (Florida Today)

Nothing really exciting happened in this clip below but I thought you'd still like to see the King and Queen of the prom speaking to their Court. Enjoy!

The two of them together on the screen is just too much. There's so much hotness and cool oozing through your computer right now isn't there? And again, I don't know how a city that doesn't have any professional teams would win something called Titletown, but okay.

We'll call it the "Lundquist-Danielson Tim Tebow Mention Game". The wonderful Cats and Beer has put together a video of all the times that the CBS duo mentioned Tim Tebow's name during their game against FSU last year. Just amazing....

"He's the quarterback you most want your daughter to marry."- Gary Danielson

If I was a mother I'd want my daughter to marry someone like Matt Ryan. You know someone that has a chance at an NFL career.

Tim Tebow Tim Tebow Tim Tebow (Cats and Beer via Hot Clicks)