Tebow leads Heisman Poll, but for how long?

The Heisman Trophy race reaches a crossroads this Saturday night in Baton Rouge, La.

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow continues to lead in this week’s Scripps Howard Heisman poll, but how long Tebow stays there likely depends on if and how well the 2007 Heisman winner does when the top-ranked Gators travel to No. 4 LSU. Tebow, who received six of 10 first-place votes for 42 total points, suffered a concussion in a win at Kentucky Sept. 26 and has yet to be cleared to practice.

Florida coach Urban Meyer told reporters Wednesday “there was a chance Tim could play.” Despite often taking a physical pounding, the senior Tebow has never missed a game in his career at Florida.

If Tebow cannot go, a couple of high-profile quarterbacks might just vault to the top of the poll. Texas’ Colt McCoy, who finished second to Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford in last year’s Heisman voting, is second this week with Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen jumping into the poll in third place. Both have high-profile games coming up with the Longhorns facing No. 15 Oklahoma in Dallas on Oct. 17 while the Fighting Irish host No. 7 Southern Cal that same day.

Cincinnati QB Tony Pike remains in fourth place and has his own national TV window next Thursday night when the No. 8 Bearcats travel to No. 23 South Florida. Houston’s Case Keenum fell two spots to fifth after the Cougars suffered a 56-41 loss at UTEP.

Voting tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with five points for a first-place vote, four points for second, etc. First-place votes are in parentheses.

This week’s poll, with statistics from last week:
Player, Position, School, Last Week, Points
1. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida, Did not play, 42 (6)
2. Colt McCoy, QB, Did not play, 31, (2)
3. Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame, 23-of-32, 422 yards passing, 4 TDs, int., 21 (2)
4. Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati, 23-of-42, 270 yards passing, 2 TDs, int., 12
5.Case Keenum, QB, Houston, 51-of-76, 536 yards passing, 5 TDs, 10

Others receiving votes: Miami QB Jacory Harris, 8; Stanford RB Toby Gerhart, 4; Boise State QB Kellen Moore, 1.

Scripps Howard News Service Heisman Trophy poll voters: Kirk Bohls, Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; Jimmy Burch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Dennis Dodd, CBSSports.com; Vahe Gregorian, St. Louis Post-Dispatch; Mike Griffith, The Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel; Michael Lewis, Salt Lake Tribune; Bob Condotta, Seattle Times; John Lindsay, Scripps Howard News Service; Tom Luicci, The (Newark) Star-Ledger; John Rohde, The Oklahoman.

John Lindsay can be reached at lindsayj@shns.com.