BCS National Championship: Florida's Brandon Spikes fires back at OU
War of words No laughing matter for LB
BY JAKE TROTTER
Comments 
49
Published: January 6, 2009
Modified: January 7, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Modified: January 7, 2009 at 12:05 pm
University of Florida's Brandon Spikes intercepts the ball early in the fourth quarter during UF's home win against LSU.--(Brandon Kruse/ The Gainesville Sun)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Florida’s Tim Tebow chuckled Monday when asked his reaction to comments made by Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks, who said Tebow would be the Big 12’s fourth-best quarterback.
But for Gator linebacker Brandon Spikes, it was no laughing matter. Spikes fired back at the Sooners on Monday as the bulletin-board material for both teams continued to pile up heading into Thursday’s BCS National Championship. "If they can stop our offense, hey, my hat goes off to them," Spikes told reporters during media day. "But I really don’t think they can. As long as we play well on defense, give the ball back to Tim and the rest of those guys, we should roll. "You keep hearing they’ve done this and scored all these points in the last five games," Spikes said. "But I really feel like they haven’t faced a defense like ours, and Big 12 defenses are a joke. It’s always like a bunch of basketball scores when I watch SportsCenter. So we’ll see." Spikes said the Sooners were "living in a fantasy world" if they think Tebow would be the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12. Spikes’ comments were in reaction to Franks’ remarks on Sunday that Tebow would rank behind OU’s Sam Bradford, Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell and Texas’ Colt McCoy if he competed in the Big 12. Franks said he was irritated after he’d heard Tebow had insulted Big 12 defenses. During the broadcast of the SEC Championship, CBS play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist said Tebow had discussed his Heisman vote with Lundquist and analyst Gary Danielson. According to Lundquist, Tebow told them he respected the Big 12 quarterbacks, but that he "would like to throw against some of those defenses in the Big 12.” "You know, him saying he wants to face a Big 12 defense, it’s been great listening to all the comments they’ve been making,” Franks said. "So Jan. 8, we’re going to see. Everybody says our defense is suspect in the back end. So hopefully, he’ll throw me the ball a couple of times, and I can get my hands on it." "We’ve heard it all year. This is going to be our chance to prove everybody wrong.” Tebow said Monday he didn’t intend to insult Big 12 defenses and that his comments have been taken out of context. "I didn’t say it like that,” Tebow said. "I’ve always dreamed of playing teams like Texas and Oklahoma. I just love college football. And not just the Big 12, but the Penn States and USCs. "When I said it, I was talking about it in a way like that, not like we’re superior in any way. That wasn’t what I meant.” Monday wasn’t the first time Spikes has spouted off about the Sooners since arriving in Miami last week. Saturday, he took his first jab at Big 12 defenses saying it seemed the Big 12 puts its best athletes on offense. Later, Spikes said Sooner running backs Chris Brown and Mossis Madu wouldn’t compare favorably with the running backs he’d faced in the SEC. Tebow, who was told about Franks’ comments by an assistant coach during a quarterback meeting Sunday, said he didn’t mind all the trash-talking coming from both sides. "You can say whatever you want to say,” he said. "I like it. It’s fun.” "It makes it more competitive and I’ll enjoy it.” Franks attended Monday’s media function, but said he was "not doing any more interviews.”
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Do you not have a local website in gator land to go play with? Glad to hear we have no chance... hear that boys? Retard Tommy from Orlando says we have no chance... guess that means we don't even need to show up? Heck, why even play the game?
You got no chance.
You got no chance.
Bradford, McCoy, Harrel, Robinson, Freeman, Daniel, Griffin, Ganz, Reesing...
Where do I put Tim Tebow, stickly for his QB skills? Probably tied with Josh Freeman for #5...
LETS GO SOONERS!!!!!
We will find out how much better Tebow is than Robinson or Harrell or McCoy for that matter Thursday night but you can't overlook the talented guys that surround Tebow. He can't do it all himself... he just doesn't have the numbers to support that argument. Last year was last year. Tebow just hasn't been as explosive this year. Tebow can get as motivated and as charged as he wants but it's his teammates who are going to make the biggest difference in this game and IMO like they have all year to this point.
Simply put, Tim is over-rated this year to some degree.
Franks just did something you never do and that's 'Tell it like it is'. Florida's guys have already been doing it but their chicken lilly's and continue to back out of their comments. Franks just said what most of us were already thinking.
How does a guy with extraordinary talents at QB and all that Percy Harvin type talent across the board put up stats that barely surpass those of Zach Robinson's down in Stillwater? Tebow has passed for almost 1,000 yds less than he did last year his Heisman campaign. Perhaps Florida is in this game moreso because of Harvin's 8.8 ypc average or Chris Rainey's emergence and OR last but not least Jeffery Demps 8.4 ypc average. side note: (Seems to me Florida's bread 'n butter this year was not Tim Tebow. If OU can stop the run WATCH OUT particularly if OU's offense is enfuego) It's fairly accurate to say Tebow would have only been the 4th best QB in the Big12 this year. Just look at his competition: Bradford, Harrell, McCoy, Robinson
I don't expect the Florida players including Tebow to understand all of this of course but come Thursday night we'll find out who the player with the biggest impact will be.
My money's riding on Slinging Sammy Bradford making Franks look all knowing.
We will find out how much better Tebow is than Robinson or Harrell or McCoy for that matter Thursday night but you can't overlook the talented guys that surround Tebow. He can't do it all himself... he just doesn't have the numbers to support that argument. Last year was last year. Tebow just hasn't been as explosive this year. Tebow can get as motivated and as charged as he wants but it's his teammates who are going to make the biggest difference in this game and IMO like they have all year to this point.
Simply put, Tim is over-rated this year to some degree.
Franks just did something you never do and that's 'Tell it like it is'. Florida's guys have already been doing it but their chicken lilly's and continue to back out of their comments. Franks just said what most of us were already thinking.
How does a guy with extraordinary talents at QB and all that Percy Harvin type talent across the board put up stats that barely surpass those of Zach Robinson's down in Stillwater? Tebow has passed for almost 1,000 yds less than he did last year his Heisman campaign. Perhaps Florida is in this game moreso because of Harvin's 8.8 ypc average or Chris Rainey's emergence and OR last but not least Jeffery Demps 8.4 ypc average. side note: (Seems to me Florida's bread 'n butter this year was not Tim Tebow. If OU can stop the run WATCH OUT particularly if OU's offense is enfuego) It's fairly accurate to say Tebow would have only been the 4th best QB in the Big12 this year. Just look at his competition: Bradford, Harrell, McCoy, Robinson
I don't expect the Florida players including Tebow to understand all of this of course but come Thursday night we'll find out who the player with the biggest impact will be.
My money's riding on Slinging Sammy Bradford making Franks look all knowing.
We will find out how much better Tebow is than Robinson or Harrell or McCoy for that matter Thursday night but you can't overlook the talented guys that surround Tebow. He can't do it all himself... he just doesn't have the numbers to support that argument. Last year was last year. Tebow just hasn't been as explosive this year. Tebow can get as motivated and as charged as he wants but it's his teammates who are going to make the biggest difference in this game and IMO like they have all year to this point.
Simply put, Tim is over-rated this year to some degree.
Franks just did something you never do and that's 'Tell it like it is'. Florida's guys have already been doing it but their chicken lilly's and continue to back out of their comments. Franks just said what most of us were already thinking.
How does a guy with extraordinary talents at QB and all that Percy Harvin type talent across the board put up stats that barely surpass those of Zach Robinson's down in Stillwater? Tebow has passed for almost 1,000 yds less than he did last year his Heisman campaign. Perhaps Florida is in this game moreso because of Harvin's 8.8 ypc average or Chris Rainey's emergence and OR last but not least Jeffery Demps 8.4 ypc average. side note: (Seems to me Florida's bread 'n butter this year was not Tim Tebow. If OU can stop the run WATCH OUT particularly if OU's offense is enfuego) It's fairly accurate to say Tebow would have only been the 4th best QB in the Big12 this year. Just look at his competition: Bradford, Harrell, McCoy, Robinson
I don't expect the Florida players including Tebow to understand all of this of course but come Thursday night we'll find out who the player with the biggest impact will be.
My money's riding on Slinging Sammy Bradford making Franks look all knowing.
We will find out how much better Tebow is than Robinson or Harrell or McCoy for that matter Thursday night but you can't overlook the talented guys that surround Tebow. He can't do it all himself... he just doesn't have the numbers to support that argument. Last year was last year. Tebow just hasn't been as explosive this year. Tebow can get as motivated and as charged as he wants but it's his teammates who are going to make the biggest difference in this game and IMO like they have all year to this point.
Simply put, Tim is over-rated this year to some degree.
Franks just did something you never do and that's 'Tell it like it is'. Florida's guys have already been doing it but their chicken lilly's and continue to back out of their comments. Franks just said what most of us were already thinking.
How does a guy with extraordinary talents at QB and all that Percy Harvin type talent across the board put up stats that barely surpass those of Zach Robinson's down in Stillwater? Tebow has passed for almost 1,000 yds less than he did last year his Heisman campaign. Perhaps Florida is in this game moreso because of Harvin's 8.8 ypc average or Chris Rainey's emergence and OR last but not least Jeffery Demps 8.4 ypc average. side note: (Seems to me Florida's bread 'n butter this year was not Tim Tebow. If OU can stop the run WATCH OUT particularly if OU's offense is enfuego) It's fairly accurate to say Tebow would have only been the 4th best QB in the Big12 this year. Just look at his competition: Bradford, Harrell, McCoy, Robinson
I don't expect the Florida players including Tebow to understand all of this of course but come Thursday night we'll find out who the player with the biggest impact will be.
My money's riding on Slinging Sammy Bradford making Franks look all knowing.
The one thing that really makes me mad is that all the national writers are paying attention to OU’s comments but don’t really care what the Spikes’ kid has to say. He was stating that OU is slow and the Big 12 is a joke, all Franks did was rank some QB’s. So why isn’t anyone blasting Spikes’ comments all over the internet and why is ESPN only making a big deal out of what OU says.