FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- At least we know what's going on in the Oklahoma meeting rooms.
That seemed clearer after cornerback Dominique Franks unloaded some mental baggage Sunday.
Franks, and probably some other Sooners, are getting tired of the BCS title game being reduced to being SEC defense vs. Big 12 offense -- with the SEC defenses, at least in this part of the country, being portrayed as superior.
That bothers Franks, who has some pride in his own defense. The Oklahoma redshirt sophomore said Sunday that Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is, at best, the fourth-best quarterback the Sooners have faced this season.
"Yeah, I think our [Big 12] quarterbacks are better, just the way they play on the field," Franks said. "Playing against those guys, it's a lot harder to prepare.
"If you look at the three best quarterbacks in the country, they came from the Big 12. If you look at the three best receivers, they came from the Big 12. Three best tight ends came from the Big 12. So we've faced some great offenses. Some people don't understand that other conferences don't have what we face."
Franks said it's less difficult preparing for a guy who doesn't pitch it around as much as Big 12 quarterbacks.
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| Tebow's previous comments about Big 12 defenses more than bothered the Sooners. (Getty Images) |
"You can't be intimidated by anybody. He's a great player, but intimidation, no. It makes it easier to know he's more of a running style quarterback."
Tebow already has established himself as one of Florida's all-time greats. If that wasn't enough, he seems destined to reach the College Football Hall of Fame someday, too, because of his off-field work with his father's evangelical ministry.
Some of Franks' anger no doubt has to do with Oklahoma having a pretty good quarterback itself. For only the second time, two Heisman-winning quarterbacks will play in a championship game.
The Big 12's quarterback depth was so great this season that Heisman winner Sam Bradford wasn't even the league's Offensive Player of the Year selected by the Associated Press. That honor went to Texas' Colt McCoy, who finished as the second-team All-Big 12 quarterback behind Bradford.
Tebow, the 2007 winner, was one of three Heisman finalists along with Bradford and McCoy. Florida's quarterback actually had the most first-place votes but finished third overall.
