The BCS smack talk continues . . . . .

One day after OU defensive back Dominique Franks said Tim Tebow wouldn't be among the Top 3 quaterbacks in the Big 12, Florida LB Brandon Spikes took a shot of his own.

Spikes said defenses in the Big 12 are "a joke'.

"I said that. I said it,'' he said during Monday's BCS Media Day at Dolphin Stadium. "That’s what it is. It is what it is. When I watch SportsCenter,  I look at the scores and it’s 56-49, just basketball scores. I feel like it’s a joke. Like I said, Ole Miss ran up and down the field on a Big 12 defense. It’s just crazy. That’s just my perception of the Big 12 defenses.''

OU is ranked No. 63 nationally in total defense and No. 98 in pass defense and No. 58 in scoring defense.

Other Gators said they have a great deal of respect for the Sooners' defense and expect a battle Thursday night.

And Franks' teammates also tried to back away from his earlier statements about Tebow.

"Tebow's a great quarterback,'' LB Travis Lewis said. "He won the Heisman Trophy last year, so you've got to respect that. He's one of the best quarterbacks in the country. I just think (Franks) got caught up in all this (criticism of Big 12 defenses) and it reached a boiling point.''