NEW YORK - The BCS National Championship Game just got a whole lot more interesting as Tim Tebow fell short of his quest to become the second two-time Heisman winner.
Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford took home the Heisman Trophy with a total of 1,726 points, edging out Texas quarterback Colt McCoy (1,604 points) and Tebow (1,575 points).
"As a competitor, I would've loved to win, but I'm happy for Sam and I would've been happy for Colt," Tebow said. "I had more of a gut feeling that I was going to win last year, but I thought I had a chance."
Bradford's No. 2 Sooners (12-1) and Tebow's No. 1 Gators (12-1) will square off Jan. 8 in Miami.
It will feature the only two sophomores to take home the bronze statue and will be only the second meeting between Heisman winners. The other was in the 2005 Orange Bowl where Matt Leinart (the 2004 winner) and Southern Cal defeated Jason White (the 2003 winner) and Oklahoma for the national title.
"We still get to play on Jan. 8 and decide something better, so I'm a little excited about that," Tebow said.
Down to the Wire
The closeness of the race brought out the highest turnout in Heisman voter history with 904 of the 926 ballots returned. A lot of criticism arose from Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell not receiving an invitation to the ceremony, held in the Nokia Theatre in Times Square.
The numbers will likely quell talk of a snub as Harrell's 213 points fell far short of the 1,500-plus earned by all three finalists.
The voting also had some quirks this year.
Tebow led the finalists with 309 first-place votes, besting Bradford (300) and McCoy (266). It is only the second time in the 74-year history of the award that the third-place finisher had the most top votes, with 1956 being the other. Tebow's tally is also the most first-place votes and most points for a third-place finisher.
So is that some consolation?
"To tell you the truth, not really," Tebow said. "You lose, you lose.
"I do think that either they love us or they hate us. That's The Gator Nation, though. I kinda love that about us."
The difference between the Bradford and Tebow's totals - 151 points - is the second-smallest range from first to third place behind 2001.
The Heisman voting pool consists of 6 regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, South, Southwest, Far West and Midwest) of 145 media members each, the 55 living Heisman winners and one fan vote decided by an online poll.
Tebow won the South region by a landslide and finished second in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. A big part of the UF quarterback's deficit to Bradford hailed from the Southwest section where Bradford's total (360) nearly doubled Tebow's (184). The region consists of Oklahoma and Texas, among other states.
It was by far one of the closest Heisman races in recent history, with no clear-cut winner before the announcement. Many predictions had Bradford victorious, but there were others saying McCoy or Tebow might win.
Count the finalists among those holding their breath.
"Now I know what it's like for those people on 'American Idol,'" McCoy said. "My heart was pounding."
An Upside to Losing
If recent history is any indication, Tebow may be happy he didn't repeat.
Six Heisman winners have played in that year's BCS title game since its inception in 1998, and only one came out victorious: USC quarterback Matt Leinart.
The man whose company Tebow was aiming to join - former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, who became the award's only two-time winner in 1974-75 - lost both of his Rose Bowl appearances after winning the bronze statue.
And while Tebow didn't join Griffin's company this year, the possibility for history has brought the two players from different generations together.
Tebow said he spoke to Griffin a few times and came away with a great respect for his faith and giving back to the community, two items high on Tebow's priorities.
Tebow became the fifth prospective two-time Heisman winner to finish third the year after winning.
"(Losing) may be more motivation to come back one more year and try and tie Archie, I don't know," Tebow said.
He later added: "Would (two Heismans) have been great? Absolutely. Do I want it? Yeah. But is that a goal? No, it's different. I don't think that would make any difference in my decision to go (to the NFL) or to stay. It would be more to hopefully win a possible third national championship."
Title Showdown
But before UF's signal caller ponders such a decision, he will get a chance for redemption against Bradford with a national championship on the line.
And while Tebow was a gracious loser Saturday night, he didn't try to hide how motivating his third-place finish would be.
"Why get over it?" Tebow said. "Just use it as motivation, just like (the 31-30 loss to) Ole Miss."
Tebow said he talked to UF coach Urban Meyer after the announcement but would not reveal what Meyer said.
He also said he received plenty of text messages from defensive teammates during the police escort ride from the Nokia Theater to the Sports Museum of America, where the post-announcement press conferences were held. He slyly refused to disclose what was said, but it was clear the Gators' defense looks forward to facing the newly crowned Heisman winner.
"I can't share those, but they were good ones," Tebow said. "They were from all the guys you know anyways. They're excited."
Bradford will be the best quarterback UF's defense has faced all year. The sophomore has thrown for 4,464 yards and 48 touchdowns with only six interceptions this season. His passer efficiency rating (186.28) will be an NCAA record if it holds out.
Saturday night marked Oklahoma's fifth Heisman trophy, but the Sooners have never won a national championship in the same year as the Heisman.
The 2006 UF squad faced a Heisman winner in the BCS title game - Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith. Smith was 4-of-14 passing for 35 yards and rushed 10 times for negative 29 yards. He was sacked five times, fumbled once and threw an interception.
For Bradford, the national championship will be a chance for redemption on many levels - breaking the Heisman Jinx as well as criticism that his stats were inflated because of poor Big 12 Conference defenses.
"We're ready to meet that challenge," Bradford said. "We've heard it for quite a while now, so I think it's something that we're ready to get back to work and ready to get going for (Jan. 8). When we started this season, winning the national championship was one of the first goals we put down as a team. That's still in front of us."
It's still in front of Tebow, too.
