Will Tebow win 2nd Heisman tonight?

<p>Last year it was all about the numbers. This time, it's the moments.</p><p>Florida quarterback Tim Tebow soared to a Heisman Trophy victory in 2007 on the strength of his statistics. He put up numbers that were ridiculous, outrageous, too incredible to ignore.</p><p>The sophomore from Jacksonville piled up 4,181 yards of total offense and accounted for 55 touchdowns (a remarkable 23 rushing) on his way to establishing 16 school, SEC and NCAA records.</p><p>This year, the gaudy numbers aren't there. In fact, they are significantly lower.</p><p>But Tebow has created the moments, those powerful Heisman moments that leave such an indelible mark (and have a way of attracting first-place Heisman votes).</p><p>"There has been some amazing stuff," said Tony Barnhart, who covers college football for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CBS.</p><p>Tebow's most defining Heisman moment came last Saturday in the Georgia Dome, when he brought the Gators from behind with two clutch touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to beat Alabama in the SEC title game and send UF to the Jan. 8 BCS National Championship Game in Miami.</p><p>His performance on the national stage has given his Heisman run significant late momentum and put him in a position to possibly become only the second player in history to win the prestigious award twice, joining Ohio State running back Archie Griffin.</p><p>According to several Heisman polls, including one conducted by The Sun earlier this week, Tebow's late surge has him running neck-and-neck with Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford for the award.</p><p>Barnhart said Tebow's performance in Atlanta was "one for the ages," and influenced him to vote for Tebow.</p><p>"He put his team on his back and almost willed them to a victory," Barnhart said. "If you think the Heisman is about heart (instead of statistics), you vote for Tebow."</p><p>There have been other Heisman moments for Tebow over the course of the season. But two that really stick out: his impassioned promise after UF's loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27, and his emotional performance in the rain and mud in Tallahassee two weeks ago.</p><p>The surge, for Tebow and the Gators, began with Tebow's speech after the Ole Miss game, when he stood before the media, fighting back tears, and vowed no one in America would work harder and play harder than him the rest of the season. The Gators haven't lost a game since.</p><p>If Florida goes on to win the national championship, some have speculated that Tebow's speech will go down as one of the greatest in the history of college football, right up there with Knute Rockne's legendary "Win one for the Gipper" speech.</p><p>"That would be extremely special," Tebow said. "It would be really cool.</p><p>"I wanted to speak from the heart. I wasn't saying we were going to win every game or we were going to be awesome or anything like that. It was that we were going to play every play as hard as we can."</p><p>Since then, Tebow has been playing like Tebow, something he wasn't doing earlier in the season, he said.</p><p>"I was just trying to be too perfect," he said. "It was a complete-every-pass type of thing instead of having fun. When I started doing that, it became a lot better."</p><p>Some of the most fun Tebow has had came in the 45-15 victory over Florida State two weeks ago.</p><p>On a slick, muddy field, Tebow threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score. His Heisman moment came after FSU fans riled him up by cheering when UF wide receiver Percy Harvin was injured. Tebow told the UF coaches he wanted the ball because he needed to "hit somebody extremely hard." One play later, Tebow carried the left side of the FSU defense into the end zone with him.</p><p>After the score, Tebow took off his helmet and stormed off the field. With garnet end zone paint streaking his uniform and streaming down his face, Tebow looked like Mel Gibson in "Braveheart." The image was captured by an Associated Press photo.</p><p>A Heisman moment, for sure.</p><p>Tebow may not have Heisman numbers this time, but he seems to have the moments and the intangibles.</p><p>"I've had some great players, and I've got some great players on this team," Florida coach Urban Meyer said after the SEC Championship Game. "But I've never had one like this. Tim's got something special inside him. I'm not talking about throwing. I'm not talking about running. I'm talking about making everyone around him better."</p><p>As a past winner, Tebow had a vote. He would not disclose the name he put first on his ballot. But his description of what a Heisman winner should be seems to mirror himself.</p><p>"I think probably you have to set a standard for your team, be a great leader and do something that's really recognizable," Tebow said.</p><p>"It's leadership and athletic ability, and winning games in the clutch - something that sets them apart from everybody else."</p>