South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was clearly embarrassed by the mixup with his preseason All-SEC ballot. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker)

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier admitted Friday that it was his ballot that didn't have Tim Tebow selected as preseason All-Southeastern Conference.

But, Spurrier told reporters at SEC Media Days that in 17 years he hasn't filled out one such ballot. Someone in the athletics department types it up and Spurrier glances at it before it's sent it.

"When all this came up Wednesday, I guess, in the Thursday morning paper, I read some guy did not vote for Tim Tebow," Spurrier said. "Who was that? Our director of operation filled it out, brought it in to me one day. I looked at it quickly. I said, 'That's fine.' I signed off on it.

"I called him. I said, 'Certainly we had Tim Tebow.' He said, 'Well, actually coach we had (Ole Miss quarterback) Jevan Snead.' He said something about we already had 10 Gators, maybe get another guy. I said, 'That's bad.' But it's my fault. I take full responsibility. I messed that up. I apologized to Tim Tebow. We screwed it up pretty badly. I'm embarrassed about it. I feel bad about it. That's the way it happened."

So, the question begs: what's the point? Everybody knows that preseason rankings and predictions are nothing more than something to argue about. Apparently some coaches aren't even taking the time to scribble down some names and fax it.

How far does the neglect extend? National titles have been rewarded based on votes from coaches. As I've noted several times before, why in the world do they bother? More importantly, why do we place such importance on their votes?

"I really believe coaches do not know a whole lot about other teams," Spurrier said.

What are the chances that Florida State coach Bobby Bowden actually takes the time to see the highlights or watch several of the other games taking place in the country? The coach has press conferences to attend, TV shows to tape, players to check on, etc. They don't have time to properly assess the top teams all across the country and put out an educated vote.