Voters likely to stiff-arm UF's Tebow

It appears that Tim Tebow's chances of winning a second Heisman Trophy might be pretty slim. According to various Heisman Trophy polls - including several that use a panel of Heisman voters - Florida's senior quarterback could be looking at a fifth-place finish when the results are announced Saturday night at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square in New York. Of the five prominent Heisman Trophy polls - HeismanPundit.com, Scripps Howard News Service, ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, and Stiffarmtrophy.com - Tebow finished no higher than fifth and was left off one of the polls. A compilation of those five polls projected Alabama running back Mark Ingram as the winner, barely edging out Stanford running back Toby Gerhart. Tebow finished sixth. "I do not have Tim Tebow on my ballot," said Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi, who participates in the HeismanPundit.com poll. "If it were a career achievement award, he would likely be No. 1 on everybody's ballot, but in this particular season, there are too many other players who have had better statistical years." Tebow's numbers are not as impressive as they were in 2007, when he became the first sophomore to win the award after being the first player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns. Tebow ran for a career-high 895 yards and 23 touchdowns and threw for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns and six interceptions. That season became the measuring stick to which every season would be compared. His numbers dipped a bit last season. But in 2009, his passing numbers are way down, although his rushing yards are comparable. Tebow has completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 2,413 yards with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions and has rushed for 859 yards and 13 touchdowns. Because those stats are down - and the fact that the Gators (12-1) lost to Alabama in the SEC championship game last Saturday - other voters were like Bianchi and did not have Tebow on their ballots. "I didn't vote for him because I didn't think he had as good a year as the three others who I voted for - Ingram, [Texas quarterback Colt] McCoy and [Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong] Suh," said Jenni Carlson of The Oklahoman newspaper. "He had a great career, a great impact on college football , but just looking at his performance this year, I couldn't see putting him above those other three." CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd said he didn't have any quarterback on his ballot. "Both he [Tebow] and Colt McCoy were essentially competing against themselves," Dodd said. "In that sense, they were not top Heisman candidates. Tim had his worst year, statistically, as a starter. McCoy just was not as good as 2008." There were voters who had Tebow on their ballot. Dick Weiss of the New York Daily News wasn't optimistic that it would do Tebow any good. "I did give him a third-place vote, but I fear the greatest college player in our generation will finish fifth in the balloting, based on Florida's decisive loss to 'Bama in the SEC championship game," Weiss said. Tebow apparently got at least one first-place vote from- surprise - someone who covers Tennessee: Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel. "Tim Tebow was the best player in college football , carrying the Gators to an undefeated regular season in the toughest conference in the nation," Griffith said in a Scripps Howard story about the service's final poll. michael.dirocco@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4500 Follow Michael DiRocco on Twitter @mjdirocco. AND THE WINNER IS ... It looks like Alabama running back Mark Ingram will win the Heisman Trophy, according to a compilation of five Heisman polls. Below is the final result of those five polls. The result was tabulated by using a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 point format. First place in any of the polls earned the player seven points, second six, etc. In the case of a tie, both players were awarded the points for that spot, and the next spot was skipped. THE COMPILATION (Total points in parenthesis) 1. RB Mark Ingram, Alabama (34) 2. RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford (31) 3. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (24) 4. QB Colt McCoy, Texas (21) 5. RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson (12) T6. QB Tim Tebow, Florida (10) T6. QB Kellen Moore, Boise State (10) 8. QB Case Keenum, Houston Individual polls, D-5 HEISMAN POLLS Scripps Howard 1. RB Mark Ingram, Alabama 2. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska 3. RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford 4. QB Colt McCoy, Texas T5. QB Tim Tebow, Florida T5. RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson 7. QB Case Keenum, Houston Heismanpundit.com 1. RB Mark Ingram, Alabama 2. RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford T3. QB Colt McCoy, Texas T3. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska 5. QB Kellen Moore, Boise State T6. RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson T6. QB Tim Tebow, Florida CBSsports.com 1. RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford 2. RB Mark Ingram, Alabama 3. QB Kellen Moore, Boise State 4. QB Colt McCoy, Texas 5. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska 6. RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson 7. RB Dion Lewis, Pittsburgh ESPN.com T1. RB Mark Ingram, Alabama T1. RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford 3. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska 4. QB Colt McCoy, Texas 5. RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson 6. QB Tim Tebow, Florida 7. QB Kellen Moore, Boise State Stiffarmtrophy.com 1. RB Mark Ingram, Alabama 2. RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford 3. DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska 4. QB Colt McCoy, Texas 5. QB Tim Tebow, Florida 6. RB C.J. Spiller, Clemson 7. QB Kellen Moore, Boise State HEISMAN TROPHY CEREMONY When: 8 p.m. Saturday. Where: Nokia Theatre, Times Square. TV: ESPN. Finalists: Stanford RB Toby Gerhart, Alabama RB Mark Ingram, Texas QB Colt McCoy, Nebraska DL Ndamukong Suh, Florida QB Tim Tebow.