Tebow Injury Feeds Notion: Chaotic Year Upon Us

My approach every college football season is to root for confusion, chaos, relentless mumbo-jumbo. That way, maybe the goofs in charge someday will realize why the absence of a postseason tournament is the biggest void in sports. I love it when Boise State, an interloper that plays home games on a blue field, invades the top five. I love it when Ole Miss, Penn State, California and Miami lose on the same weekend, throwing the top 10 into an Octagon heap. I love it when Lou Holtz is so flabbergasted in the ESPN studio, he can't spit out a sentence and sounds like Foghorn Leghorn.

And, yes, I love it when Tim Tebow throws up all over America's collective living room.

The season's most dramatic scene to date was the sight of Tebow, the indestructible tank of a quarterback often described as god-like and too special to be a mere human being, cracked so wickedly by a clean but vicious hit that his helmet whiplashed against a teammate's leg and left him crumpled like a blown-out tire. When he finally sat up and slowly walked off for an ambulance ride to the hospital, which was covered by TV like a world leader being rushed to intensive care, Tebow treated us to a couple of heaves on the sideline that didn't go well with dinner. Why he was in the game with Florida leading 31-7 late in the third quarter -- and Tebow fighting flu symptoms and respiratory problems that required him and several teammates to take a separate plane to Kentucky -- might prove to be a tactical mistake that alters history. Because he now must deal with his first serious injury as a college superstar, a concussion that will keep him out of practice this week and throws into question how effective and durable he'll be beginning Oct. 10, when the Gators face a difficult test against fourth-ranked LSU and its monster defense.

"Tim's doing good," coach Urban Meyer reported Monday. "All the tests have been coming back positive, and I'm going to leave it up to the medical staff to update [the media] because I don't want to give you information I don't know. But he's doing good. I talk to him all the time. Feeling better."

That's easy for him to say. Like all of Gator Nation, Meyer knows the ultimate legacy of the Florida program is at stake, with a third national championship in four years and Tebow's second Heisman Trophy still looming as possibilities. But even the architect admits he's at the mercy of a battery of medical tests that began Monday and continue today. When asked if Tebow will be ready for LSU, Meyer said, "I think so, but I don't know that.'' He must be cautious because Tebow, who has an NFL future ahead of him, doesn't want to rush back too soon and do something he'll regret later. We now know he isn't Superman, that he aches like the rest of us. "He has a little bit of a headache,'' Meyer said.

A ginormous headache, actually.

Chances are, he'll suit up and play on what could be a memorable Saturday evening in Baton Rouge. Tales of Tebow's toughness already have reached legendary heights, part of an aura that might define him as the most important athlete ever in collegiate sports -- when his off-the-charts leadership and character are juxtaposed against the many scandals in football and basketball. Last year, he demonstrated his steel psyche with a moving, tearful speech after an early-season home loss to Mississippi, promising the setback would lead to a positive result. "I'm sorry. Extremely sorry,'' Tebow said. "We were looking for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida's never done here. But I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season, and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless.'' The Gators played so hard, they charged back and won a national title, and Tebow's speech is immortalized on a plaque in front of the football facility at Florida Field. Now, he's being asked to demonstrate his physical toughness, as if anyone at Florida doubts it.

[Meyer] must be cautious because Tebow, who has an NFL future ahead of him, doesn't want to rush back too soon and do something he'll regret later."He's the toughest guy in college football, without a question and without a doubt in my mind," offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said. "I've been around this game a long time and a lot of places and I've never seen a guy like him. Who he is as a person, his mental and physical toughness is just superior. Certainly, you know you always have your best shot with a guy like Tim Tebow.''

Which explains why so many teammates rushed to gather around him as he lay motionless, an unthinkable picture. Tim Tebow, knocked cold? "I love these guys," Meyer said. "They're there for each other. They pray for each other, it's really cool. With all the negativity in college athletics, it's really neat." Tebow is so beloved that Florida fans left the stadium in Lexington and headed to the University Medical Center, where only Tebow's family and Meyer actually could visit him.

"You do that with any player, but Tim's a special guy," said Meyer, who watched football with Tebow in his room. "His family's there. I just wanted to make sure he was all right. He was actually responding very well to everything."

The sudden vulnerability of Tebow adds to my suspicions that this will be a season of madness, not unlike the mess two years ago that allowed LSU to capture a national title with two losses. Remember the rash of major injuries that muddles that season? Already, the same issue has plagued, among others, two Heisman winners in Tebow and Bradford, Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower (out for the season with knee ligament damage), USC quarterback Matt Barkley and USC running back Stafon Johnson, who had emergency surgery Monday in a bizarre weightlifting accident in which the bar slipped from his hands and wedged against his throat. What possibly is next in this theater of the grotesque?

Maybe Florida and Texas end up running the table and creating a legitimate BCS title game in Pasadena. Or, maybe Florida loses to a powerhouse Alabama team in the SEC championship game, if not LSU or Georgia during the regular season. Texas benefits from a shoulder injury to Bradford, who should be back for Oklahoma's rivalry game with the Longhorns on Oct. 17 but probably won't be throwing with the same authority. Still, Texas also must face ranked teams in Kansas, Oklahoma State and Missouri, along with another in the Big 12 title game. Could Florida and Texas lose? Um, sure, when you consider nine teams in the top 10 have lost in the season's first month.

And if that were to happen, imagine Boise State -- the little team that symbolizes the plight of have-nots in the BCS political system -- moving into the top three. That would create a rocking controversy even by college football standards: a nationwide debate over the worthiness of a Western Athletic Conference team that plays relative creampuffs compared to the alpha-dog leagues. What helps the Broncos this year, unlike perceived poll injustices in the past, is a huge victory over Oregon in their opener. When Oregon proceeded to beat 18th-ranked Utah, then thrashed sixth-ranked Cal by a 42-3 count, it only elevated the impact of Boise's win over the Ducks. While the remaining schedule is mush -- only Tulsa, Hawaii and Idaho have winning records -- don't be shocked if continued upheaval among the behemoths pushes Boise into a fascinating position.

The Heisman race could be just as unique. Remember when we thought it would be a three-way tussle between Bradford, Tebow and Texas' Colt McCoy? Bradford's candidacy is dead, making us wonder if he gets sick when he watches Matthew Stafford break a long losing streak with the Detroit Lions -- and pocket $42 million in guarantees -- as the No. 1 pick in the draft, where Bradford could have gone if he'd come out. Tebow's chances depend on how quickly he bounces back and how well he plays. McCoy is your leader by default, I suppose, but he has thrown more interceptions than he'd like. Over the weekend, the campaigns of Miami's Jacory Harris, Cal's Jahvid Best and Ole Miss' Jevan Snead took hits. So why not tout the quarterbacking likes of Houston's prolific Case Keenum and -- ready for this? -- Boise State's Kellen Moore?

For now, all eyes are on Tebow and his wounded skull. Just so you know, Gator Haters, his backup probably is a better passer. His name is John Brantley. He's 6-3. He has thrown for 232 yards and four touchdowns this season at a 73-percent completion rate. "If you look at our future, it's going to be John Brantley," said Charlie Strong, the defensive coordinator and associate head coach. "He does a great job. He knows how to manage this offense."

So as they say on campuses everywhere, put that in your pipe and smoke it. When it comes to college football, the tobacco always is wacky.