College Football | Texas' Colt McCoy has fan in Florida's Tim Tebow

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has picked a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, and it's not last year's winner.

Tebow, who could become the first player since Ohio State's Archie Griffin in 1975 to win consecutive Heismans, said Monday that Texas quarterback Colt McCoy is his top choice right now.

"He obviously is someone to look at and would probably be my top guy I'd vote for right now," Tebow said.

As a previous winner, Tebow has a Heisman vote, and he used No. 5 Florida's off week to catch up on some of the hopefuls for college football's most prestigious award.

McCoy stood out.

The fellow junior completed 29 of 32 passes for 337 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two scores in the Longhorns' 56-31 victory against Missouri on Saturday. Through seven games, McCoy has completed 81 percent of his passes for 1,894 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Tebow threw 32 touchdown passes last season, ran for 23 scores and became the first sophomore to win the Heisman.

Many expected him to put up similar numbers this season, but he's well off the pace after the Gators (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) endured an up-and-down start on offense. Tebow has completed 62 percent of his passes for 1,235 yards, with 10 touchdowns and one interception.

Notes

• Having proven for at least one game that it's better than it has seemed, No. 10 Ohio State now has to impress No. 3 Penn State.

"The mind-set was, 'Let's show how good we are.' I think we did," offensive guard Jim Cordle said after Saturday's 45-7 rout of No. 20 Michigan State. "We wanted to get some momentum going for the back end of the Big Ten season."

That stretch kicks off under the lights Saturday night at Ohio Stadium. On the line is first place in the Big Ten for both the Buckeyes (7-1, 4-0) and Nittany Lions (8-0, 4-0).

For the Buckeyes, it's a last chance to redeem themselves after falling apart in the last two national-championship games and a 35-3 blowout loss at USC earlier this season.

"I definitely think if we could come out with a win it would force some people to respect us again," cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said.

• Eight games into Rick Neuheisel's return, UCLA is still winless outside the Rose Bowl. The Bruins (3-4, 2-2 Pac-10) head for Berkeley and a date with California (4-2, 2-1) this weekend.

"As Bill Walsh said, 'When you want to win on the road, you just take the better team,' " Neuheisel said. "The key for us is to be as good as we can be and see if we can find a way to be one point better than Cal."

• Kentucky lost RB Derrick Locke for the season when an MRI showed torn knee ligaments.

• Former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick has pleaded guilty to drunken driving and other charges. The 24-year-old brother of former NFL star Michael Vick was arrested in June after fleeing from a bicycle patrol officer who saw him and a woman involved in a dispute. A judge suspended a 12-month jail sentence on the DUI charge, but Vick must pay $530 in fines and lose his license for a year.