Florida's Tim Tebow is the Southeastern Conference's greatest player of this generation, but will he even be the All-SEC quarterback in his final go-around?
Ryan Mallett has been suggesting otherwise.
The Arkansas redshirt sophomore has been on quite the three-game tear, completing 60 of 73 passes (82.2 percent) for 982 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception. He is first in the SEC and ranks third nationally in pass efficiency.
"The thing that he's first learned to do is to calm down and play one play at a time and not get caught up in all the emotion," Razorbacks coach Bobby Petrino said Wednesday. "He's such a great competitor that there were times early in the year he would get all fiery and maybe lost his concentration a little bit. He continues to work on his technique, footwork and setting properly, getting his back leg under his back hip.
"When he does that, he can be as accurate of a thrower as there is."
Tebow ranks second in the league and eighth nationally in pass efficiency, but he has just 12 touchdown passes to Mallett's 23. Tebow had 30 touchdown passes last season and threw for 32 in '07, when he became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.
In rushing yardage, Tebow leads Mallett 604 to minus-35.
Pasquali's Pix:
UTC at Alabama: The Mocs need a win to preserve their undefeated record against the Crimson Tide this decade. Crimson Tide 45, Mocs 6.
Mississippi State at Arkansas: This is that "other" game on the SEC Network's split telecast. Razorbacks 38, Bullies 19.
Ohio State at Michigan: The Wolverines are on the verge of going 1-7 in the Big Ten, and this is a mediocre Big Ten. Buckeyes 24, Wolverines 10.
Fla. International at Florida: The Golden Panthers have the ninth-best program in the Sunshine State, trailing Florida, Miami, South Florida, Florida State, Central Florida, St. Thomas Aquinas High, Florida Atlantic and Miami Northwestern High. Gators 52, Golden Panthers 3.
LSU at Ole Miss: Winner gets the SEC bronze medal. Rebels 23, Tigers 20.
Virginia at Clemson: Things are looking much brighter for Dabo Swinney these days than they are for Al Groh. Tigers 27, Cavaliers 19.
Vanderbilt at Tennessee: Those freshman Commodores sure are doing an outstanding job of behaving themselves. Vols 23, Commodores 10.
Kentucky at Georgia: Once these Bulldogs fifth-year seniors leave, there will be no players left in the program with SEC championship rings. Bulldogs 20, Wildcats 13.
Last week:
Winners.......................21
Vols gone wild...............4
Pasquali is now 216-59 overall (78.5 percent) this season.
OTHER PICKS
Oklahoma St. 31, Colorado 16
Boise State 48, Utah State 13
Boston College 17, N. Carolina 14
Miami 35, Duke 17
Florida State 31, Maryland 20
Virginia Tech 34, N.C. State 16
MTSU 24, Arkansas State 19
Notre Dame 23, Connecticut 20
Texas 41, Kansas 17
TCU 52, Wyoming 10
Arizona 27, Oregon 26
Penn St. 24, Michigan St. 17
Iowa 31, Minnesota 13
Stanford 27, California 24
Houston 44, Memphis 19
Nebraska 30, Kansas State 17
Rutgers 26, Syracuse 24
David Paschall is a sports writer for the Times Free Press. He started at the Chattanooga Free Press in 1990 and was part of the Times Free Press when the paper started in 1999. David covers University of Georgia football, as well as SEC football recruiting, SEC basketball, Chattanooga Lookouts baseball and other sports stories. He is a Chattanooga native and graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received numerous honors for ...
I'm a great admirer of Tim Tebow though not a Gator fan. I see no relation to Tebow being THE SEC player of this generation not being the All SEC Quarterback. What's the big deal? Do we just give a player the award because of what he did in past years? While I recognize all Florida and Tebow have accomplished in his years there, that is not all that should be considered. When one looks at Mallet's accomplishments considering the team around him, it is amazing. My guess is that Tebow will get the nod. If the situation was reversed and Mallet was at Florida with Arkansas winning every week, I would wager the choice would be the one from Florida. But then, that's just me.The SEC is blessed to have two really fabulous teams and a bunch of really good ones.
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