Mr. Kiffin surely thinks he has brass balls: he’s got a hot model wife, he’s coach of a major program at 33, his dad is the great Monty Kiffin, formulator of the Tampa 2 defense and now his defensive coordinator. When ol’ Lane was hired at UT, at his first press conference he barked about looking forward to singing “Rocky Top” all night after beating Florida. Well, you know, I’m sure Urban Meyer didn’t sweat that one too much; after all, a new coach needs to fire up the faithful a bit. But Meyer’s a pretty intense and bitter motherfucker, and I suspect Urban filed that one away to wave like a red cape in front of Tim Tebow on September 19, the day the Gators hook up with the Vols in the Swamp. But still, no real biggie.

But that wasn’t enough for Lane. This morning, in front of a crowd of UT boosters, he suggested that a phone call that Meyer made during the open contact period of recruiting to former Gator commitment Nu’Keese Richardson while Keese was visiting with UT coaches was a recruiting violation. (It’s not). Quoth Lane: “I love the fact that Urban had to cheat and still didn’t get him.”

After being called out by UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley for stating a falsehood and slandering Meyer, and after being formally reprimanded by SEC kingpin Mike Slive, Kiffin apologized this evening.

But the damage has been done.

A little advice from a Gator, Lane: don’t fuck with Urban. He’s going to want to beat you badly enough without you poking at him. But I’m guessing that you just rocketed to the top of his list of things to do. And I can picture Timmy and Brandon Spikes pushing each other through bench press reps or stadium repeats by hollering your name at one another. Seriously, dude, you just entered the SEC East: the nastiest shark tank of hyper-driven little fascist coaches ever assembled. Spurrier, Richt, and Meyer are just waiting to torch your ass, and Rich Brooks and Bobby Johnson aren’t slouches. And keep in mind that the Great Satan, Nick Saban, and his ridiculous recruiting classes, are on your annual schedule, too.

I’m sure your players will appreciate your big mouth when Tebow is still throwing deep routes with 90 seconds left in a 73-3 game. And one last suggestion: keep Nu’Keese off the field if you want him to be available past his second college game.

But two things did surprise me in the final Heisman tally:

• Florida quarterback Tim Tebow garnered the most first-place votes (309 to Bradford’s 300).
• Tebow was not named on 17 percent of the 904 ballots that were tabulated.

Are you kidding me? There are 153 Heisman voters who did not think Tebow was one of the top three players in college football in 2008?

Well, let me share a little story with you. From 1993 through 2002, I was fortunate to be a Heisman Trophy elector as a sports journalist. And at the end of the 1997 season, I left a noteworthy name off my ballot — that of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning. He ended up finishing second to Michigan’s Charles Woodson.

How, you might ask, could I leave such a great quarterback off my ballot then, but criticize those who left Tebow off this year?

Very simple. Peyton Manning never beat Florida.

Manning set 42 NCAA, SEC or school records in four seasons in Knoxville. He led the Vols to the 1997 SEC title, an 11-1 regular season and a spot in the Orange Bowl de facto national championship game (which they lost to Nebraska). And Manning remains the all-time winningest SEC quarterback with a record of 39-5.

But four of those five career SEC losses came to the Gators, by a combined score of 161-86.

Had Manning beaten Florida in ’97, there is no doubt the Heisman (including my vote) would have been his. But the Gators handled Manning in a 33-20 victory over Tennessee. And with that, I decided I could not include Manning on my ballot regardless of how the rest of the season went.

I made a statement. And I took heat from fellow Southern college football writers when I revealed my intentions to those “Heisman watcher” media polls.

To this day, I have no regrets. But those who left Tebow off their ballots this year should.

Unlike Manning, Tebow has beaten all of Florida’s rivals. After the Gators’ lone loss this season, 31-30 to Ole Miss, Tebow vowed to work harder, play harder and push harder the rest of the way. The results: In the final nine games, Tebow led the nation in passing efficiency — completing 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,707 yards, 22 touchdowns and 2 interceptions — while rushing for 439 yards and 10 touchdowns. Florida went 9-0, beat No. 1 Alabama for the SEC title, and earned a spot opposite Bradford’s Sooners in the BCS title game.

What do you think? Was I crazy or justified to leave Manning off my ’97 ballot?

And can you justify anyone dissing Tebow in 2008?