Florida’s messy victory over Oklahoma in the BCS Championship game raised more questions than it answered.

• Would Utah have put up a better fight than Oklahoma did? How about USC?
• When will “Big Game Bob” Stoops win another BCS game?
• Was the Big 12 horribly overrated this season?
• Can Florida star Tim Tebow play quarterback in the NFL?
• Once pro teams take away the quarterback draw, how effective will Tebow be?

Here is what some of the nation’s leading pundits wrote after the spectacle:

Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com: “The Gators won a crystal trophy, but the victory over OU was as artistic as a finger painting. It isn’t the first time a BCS Championship Game didn’t live up to the hype. No shame there. The difference is that there are three other teams that think they deserved a confetti shower — or at least the chance to have played for a national title. So what would the Gators say to Utah, Texas and USC?”

Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com: “Stoops, whose team became the first to score more than 700 points in a season, didn’t like hearing about the deficient defenses in his conference, or how Big 12 schools were scoring so much less in these bowl games. But again, that was the case. Oklahoma scored 40 points less than its season average.”

Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, on Tebow: “For a couple of wonderfully antique hours Thursday, this is the perfect player who made us forget college football’s imperfect system. After Florida’s messy 24-14 victory over Oklahoma in the BCS national championship game at Dolphin Stadium, I’m still not sure I can name the nation’s best team. But I’m absolutely positive of its biggest star, that being the Gators quarterback who looks like a Four Horseman, acts like Seven Blocks of Granite, and talks like Knute Rockne.”

Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports: “Tebow’s heart gets a lot of hype – too much for some. The television announcers are often over the top in their praise and the stories of Tebow’s off-field heroics as a devout Christian can be fatiguing. It’s a strange phenomenon of the modern media. Fans can find themselves rooting against a good guy just because they keep being reminded of how good he is. A little fallibility can go a long way. So at least Tebow earned a taunting penalty in the fourth quarter to prove he’s human after all.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering if the Cardinals will jump in on the starting pitching sweepstakes:

• Wouldn’t Randy Wolf or Oliver Perez make you feel better about the Cards rotation?
• How much far did Thursday night’s debacle against Xavier set back Rick Majerus’ program?
• How could the Billikens be THAT overmatched against an A-10 opponent?

THE BEAUTY OF THE GMAC BOWL

Count Texas coach Mack Brown among those wondering if America needs so many bowl games.

“It is an exciting time,” Brown told The Dallas Morning News. “I see 7-5 teams throwing Gatorade on their coach.

“At Texas if we were 7-5 they would be throwing something on me, but it wouldn’t be Gatorade, I will tell you that.”

THE LEGEND OF  BABY MANGINO

Once again, behold the power of the Internets.

THE HARD LIFE OF A NBA ROOKIE

This is what happened when Jason Thompson didn’t follow rookie protocol:

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Dwight Perry, Seattle Times: “Maple Leafs center Matt Stajan was sidelined with blurry vision after he was struck in the eye by an errant shot — while playing foosball. Team officials quietly suggested he stick to much less-dangerous pursuits like, maybe, ice hockey.”

Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel: “Joe Paterno coached the Rose Bowl from the press box and didn’t even bother to come down to the locker room at halftime. Isn’t it only a matter of time before old Joe just stays home on game day and coaches from his recliner?”

MEGAPHONE

“I love to lead the team. I love to be in charge. I feel that is my personality.”

Tebow, talking to reporters after leading Florida to the BCS title.