Wow, crazy scene in Lexington tonight involving Tim Tebow.

Already feeling the effects of a “respiratory condition” than many were speculating might be the H1N1 virus (aka swine flu), Tebow was knocked out of tonight’s Florida-Kentucky game and taken to the hospital with a possible concussion.

The hit occurred with 12:41 left in the game and he obviously did not return. Before being injured, Tebow threw for 103 yards and a TD, and he also ran for 123 yards plus two scores.

Here is the painful video of the hit by Kentucky defensive end Taylor Wyndham that knocked Tebow out:

Video: Tim Tebow Hit, Knocked Out of Kentucky Game

While being transported to the locker room after he finally got up, ESPN’s cameras also caught Tebow vomiting profusely into a bucket. Clearly the rumors of his illness were more than just rumors.

Here is what Florida head coach Urban Meyer had to say after the game regarding Tebow’s injury, according to ESPN.com:

“We’re going to find out more about Tim. We believe it is a concussion. He got hit pretty good, but that’s one tough cat. Our team will pray for him and he’ll be fine.”

The most current injury update on Tebow as of me posting this is exactly what Meyer said: that he probably has a concussion. We probably won’t know more until tomorrow.

I’ve never really considered myself to be a huge Tebow fan, mainly because he quarterbacks Florida (extraordinarily well) and I root for Tennessee, but he has grown on me over the past few years. The guy is fun to watch and has been one of the most dominating college football players of my lifetime.

Plus, there really isn’t anything bad you can say about the guy from a personal standpoint. He’s pretty remarkable.

So hopefully Tebow is okay and won’t have to miss any time. As college football fans we only have the rest of this season to marvel as his collegiate greatness…and it’s not like the Vols are winning the SEC East this year anyway, right?

Even if they were, I’d still say get well soon Tim. And if we’ve learned anything about Tebow over the past few years it’s that he’ll be out there on the field next Saturday if it is all possible.

Update 9/27: ESPN just reported that Urban Meyer stayed overnight with Tebow and that, while doctors are still cautious, Tebow’s condition did improve last night and he was seen laughing and feeling a little better later in the evening.

My take on that is that I think both Florida and Oklahoma would defeat Utah if they played — but why in the hell aren’t they? I also thought that Alabama would beat Utah, and we saw how that turned out. To have two one-loss teams playing in the BCS championship game to determine the “national champion”, while the only undefeated team in college football is left on the sidelines with no chance at a title, well it stinks.

And while I don’t begrudge any coach for stating the case for his team, I think Pete Carroll and Mack Brown should shut up about their own teams’ national championship arguments and get behind Utah. Both USC and Texas have lost; Utah has not. A much more compelling case for a playoff can be made by arguing the case of Utah. If coaches with the stature of Pete Carroll and Mack Brown got behind the Utes’ cause and helped to fan the flames of outrage, perhaps mountains could be moved a few more inches closer to a playoff.

Our friends over at Flash Sports Tonight do a nice job of ripping Pete Carroll and Mack Brown a new one in the newest FST Flash Report:

(And if for some reason the video isn’t displaying, head on over to Flash Sports Tonight and watch it there.)

Unfortunately, the plight of Utah is simply indicative of the greed and myopic thinking that defines college football. And until the conference commissioners and school presidents start thinking more with their heads and their hearts than with their wallets, it will always be that way.

Anyway, enough soapbox stuff. It is not the fault of Florida and Oklahoma that whichever team wins this game will have to deal with a certain amount of taint on their trophy. And it certainly does not mean that the two best teams in America are not, in fact, playing tonight. It is hard to argue with either Florida or Oklahoma as worthy national championship contenders. As we preview tonight’s game, I’ll be giving you lots of links to get you ready for tonight.

First, let’s get the particulars out of the way. Here is the pertinent time, place, lines, and announcer information you need to know:

BCS National Championship Game: Florida Gators v Oklahoma Sooners

• When: Today, January 8th, 2009
• Where: Miami, FL
• TV Schedule: 8:00 ET on FOX
• Announcer Pairing: Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis
• Point Spread: Florida Gators -5
• Over-Under: 69 1/2

(Point spreads and over-unders provided by the College Football Handicapping experts at DocSports.)

The next link comes from ESPN, where they have put together an informative “Tale of the Tape” comparison between Florida and Oklahoma:

BCS Championship Game Tale of the Tape – (ESPN)

SI.com has some nice stories previewing a few of the key positions for each team:

Florida finally has a good ground game – (Stewart Mandel)

Oklahoma’s O-Line is pretty damn good – (Andy Staples)

Brandon Spikes may want to stop talking trash about Big 12 defenses until after the game – (Stewart Mandel)

Well, it took me a little longer to get this post together than I’d anticipated and I’m about to be late for a work meeting. So I’ll give my prediction real quick before getting out of here.

I am rooting for Oklahoma to win tonight, but I think Florida will get it done. I think there is some truth to the notion that Big 12 defenses have not been that good, and when you combine that with the potential bowl game Heisman jinx for Sam Bradford and the motivation that Tim Tebow is carrying into this game, I think the Gators will get it done. It will be high scoring and I think it will be close. Other than the announcers, it should be a very enjoyable and entertaining game.

Florida 45 | Oklahoma 38

Who do you think will win it?