Rivalry in the Making

Congratulations to Georgia to football players Kade Watson and Matthew Stafford on their selection to the All-SEC Freshman First Team. Watson was selected as a defensive tackle and Stafford was selected as a quarterback. Ironically, Stafford shares first team quarterback honors with Florida's Tim Tebow.

This dual selection is the beginning of a great rivalry between these freshman players. Both were highly recruited, both saw considerable playing time during the 2005 - 2006 season, and both are expected to carry their respective team to SEC and national dominance. In my five years of seriously following the Bulldogs, I've never seen so many fans feverishly demand that a freshman quarterback get playing time. My Gator friends say the same thing about the demand for "Tebow Time". For the most part, both have lived up their hype.

Stafford started 7 games and played in all 12 of the Bulldogs' games. He finished with 109.75 pass efficiency rating, threw for 1,620 yards, 6 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Additionally, he rushed for 188 yards, averaged 4.7 yards a carry and had 3 touchdowns. His states may not be overly impressive, but he's overcome a season of ups and downs - dropped passes, offensive line breakdowns, and mental mistakes on his part. The learning curve for a college quarterback is tough, especially when you're a true freshman. Stafford started off rough, turning the ball over more than throwing interceptions. He tried to do too much and he made bad decisions; however, Stafford got his act together by the end of the season. He finished strong, leading the Dawgs to two big wins over a ranked Auburn and Georgia Tech. He didn't turn the ball over in both games. Next year will be Stafford's big year because he has the talent to be successful and he's already gone through his bumps and bruises.

Tebow played in 13 of the Gators' games, but he wasn't their starter. He finished with 194 .3 pass efficiency rating, threw for 357 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Additionally, he rushed for 430 yards, averaged 5.4 yards a carry and had 7 touchdowns. Tebow was purely a situational quarterback. He typically entered the game when the Gators were in the red zone and normally ran the option play, thus he ran the ball more than he threw. Fortunately for Tebow, when the game situation became unfavorable for his talents, senior Florida quarterack Chris Leak often came back into the game to bail him out. I'm interested in seeing how Tebow handles the pressure of being the full time starter. I think he'll have a great year, but like Stafford in his first year, he'll have to get his bumps and bruises.