Best Football Talk

USC quarterback Mark Sanchez has decided to take his game to the next level. That level of course is the NFL. After watching the Oklahoma Sooners Sam Bradford and the Florida Gators Tim Tebow announce they were coming back, Sanchez says he is ready for the NFL. Sanchez is coming off a record setting Rose Bowl against Penn State. The 4th year junior went 28-for-35, setting a Rose Bowl record by completing 80 percent of his passes. He threw for 4 touchdowns and 413 yards, and yet ran for another six in the Trojans' 38-24 victory over the Big Ten`s Penn State.

"In the end, after sleepless nights and lots of prayers, I've decided I'll forgo my fifth year and declare for the NFL draft," Sanchez said today. I think he made the right decision in leaving. Matt Leinart came back and it cost him millions of dollars due to his draft status. You have to strike while the iron is hot, and for Sanchez the iron is on fire for him right now.

Sanchez finished this season with 3,207 yards passing, 34 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He passed for 695 yards and 7 touchdowns with five interceptions as a sophomore in 2007, and 63 yards and no touchdowns with 1 interception in his first year as a Trojan in 2006. His coach Pete Carroll thinks his lack of starts is a reason that he should come back his last year at USC. "Mark is going against the grain and he knows that," said Carroll. "And he's OK about that." Oh well, to each his own.