Another This Just In....

It seems working at USC is a golden ticket to getting a head job at a traditional power, this time at Washington. Sorry Jim Mora Jr., no dream job for you, at least until Steve Sarkisian is fired in two years.

--Nate

Faceoff

By Nate Sandstrom and Mark Goldman

This week's guest questioner dude is Will Pharr, brother in law of blogmaster Mark, devoted Skins fan, golf enthusiast, connoisseur of fine beer, and father of one jiggy little boy, who so far is the Goldman's best shot at a future generation of football fandom.


Q: The 'Skins' late-season run to the playoffs last year was incredibly exciting, but in reality highly unexpected. With QB Jason Campbell entering his fourth pro season and new head coach Jim Zorn running the show where do you see this team going? As a lifelong Washington fan I don't know how many more of these mediocre seasons I can handle.


Mark says: Wah Wah Wah. Mediocre seasons? You've been to the playoffs two of the past three seasons and notched a win in one of those. OK, it was against Tampa, everyone's favorite first-round whipping boy, but still. Sorry, I'm venting. But seriously, until you get an elite QB, you're stuck with mediocrity or worse in this league. I don't buy that Campbell is that guy. And it sure doesn't help that he's getting the 3rd offensive coordinator in his tenure. I think he's quality, but I don't ever see him being a super QB.

As for the rest of the team, it's got lots of depth and quality at every position. I don't know what position I'd say is a glaring weakness. That's a rare thing. The problem is you're in a pretty strong division. And like I said in last week's Faceoff, it's going to be hard to send three teams from one division to the playoffs in back-to-back years. You can write off the Giants — they're in for a big letdown and I think the Cowboys are the top dog of the division. So you and the Eagles are fighting the rest of the conference's understudies for that wild card spot. But, hey, the Giants won last year. So who the hell knows.

Nate says: OK, a little bit of the Redskins' luster has been taken off by the 34-0 hole the starters dug themselves into during the first half on Saturday. Carolina completely dominated the OL and Campbell looked like a lost, scared kitten:




But let's just write that off as a game where everything went wrong. Even last year's Super Bowl Champion Giants gave up more than 80 points at home in their first two games. The 'skins built depth at their one hole, the receiving corps, in the offseason. The secondary is not great, but the Jason Taylor injury turned out not to be so bad and the front seven will apply pressure. Zorn seems to be focusing on making the offense work for the players rather than making the players work for the offense. This team is definitely capable of 11 wins.

Q: The Minnesota Vikings seem to be this year's sexy pick to come out of the NFC. Adrian Peterson is the man and their defense is ridiculous; but I saw Tavaris Jackson quarterback the team a few times and he didn't seem efficient enough to run the Mt. Hebron Vikings' offense, let alone the Minnesota Vikings. What do his supporters see in this kid?

Nate says:

I expect the Minnesota Vikings to win more games this year than the Mount Hebron Vikings, and probably anyone in the NFC North, but not because of anything Tavaris Jackson does. In fact, I expect that Gus Frerotte will start at least four games this year.

Still, Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor rushed for over 5 ypc last year. Even though Peterson's average dropped to just 3.8 in December, Taylor increased his to 7 ypc. I expect the Vikings defense to be as strong as ever, and lead the team to a division title.

Still, I say the Eagles or Saints may be better choices as darkhorses to win the NFC than the Vikings because of the quarterback situation. But I think we all have to be honest and say the NFC is the Cowboys' to lose.

Mark says:

Well, if this is your idea of sexy, then yes, the Vikings are red hot. Forget Tavaris Jackson for a moment. Look for Adrian Peterson to suffer a sophomore letdown.

In the last 30 years, 42 RB's have gone for 1,000 yards as a rookie. Only 14 of those topped their yardage total the next year. Just 11 scored more TDs and nine averaged more YPC. Plus, don't forget that Peterson is injury prone. They do have Chester Taylor to fall back on, but where is Tavaris expected to throw the ball. You're right. The Vikings are sexy and that's why I'm not calling for them to win the division. I look east to Green Bay and I see a more complete team. They're questionable at the QB position, but I like the Packers to rally and win the division. They've let the Favre weight go and the Vikes still have to live with the weight of being this year's sexy pick. Things can fall apart very quickly for teams like this. We're going to be posting our season's predictions here at Sobo soon, but look for the Vikes to end up around 8-8 again.

Q: Do you see Florida QB Tim Tebow repeating as the Heisman Trophy Award winner in his upcoming junior season? What are your thoughts on other contenders?

Nate says:

I think Tebow is certainly the favorite (He's about 3-1 at gamblerspalace.com) this year. His surrounding offense should be even better than last season, when he ran for 23 TDs and passed for 32 more. The schedule also is more favorable as the Gators draw LSU at home and won't face Auburn unless they meet in an SEC Title Game. #5 Florida should also be in the Top 5 for most of the year, so Tebow will have plenty of exposure. However, as the QB gets praise in victory he often takes blame in defeat, and if the Gators were upset on the brink of a national title game, say Nov. 15 at South Carolina, he could take the fall.

The guy besides Tebow most likely to put up gaudy numbers is Texas Tech sophomore WR Michael Crabtree (17 to 2 odds). Last year, he caught 134 passes for 1,962 yards and 22 TDs! He could produce even bigger stats this year as 10 starters, including all 5 OL and QB Graham Harrell. The #14 Red Raiders should be undefeated when they head to Kansas on Oct. 25, followed by a home tilt with Texas on Nov. 1 and a trip to Norman the weekend before Thanksgiving. What happens in that stretch will determine his fate, and I think ultimately he and Tech will come up short.

The guy I like most to win this award is junior Ohio State RB Chris "Beanie" Wells (11 to 2 odds). Wells' speed and vision will give him a highlight reel that no other player will match in breadth and scope. Add to that the fact I expect #3 Ohio State to earn a bid to the National Championship again, and I will place my wager on Wells.

Looking for a dark horse? What about Clemson QB Cullen Harper? As a junior he posted a gaudy 27-6 TD/INT ration and the #9 Tigers toughest game prior to the ACC Championship and bowl game is probably at Wake Forest. Clemson seems to perennially underachieve, but if Coach Boweden got Clemson to a national title game then Harper would certainly get a look.

If you want more Heisman chatter, you should check out Heisman Pundit, who agrees with me in picking Wells to win this year's award.


Mark says:

As a Ravens fan, I have much interest in this question as I am already scouting the colleges for next year's #1 pick. Then again, take our Heisman winner, please!

But if I had a vote, I'd cast it right now for this Crabtree from TT that Nate mentioned based on his last year's stats alone. Damn, those are crazy numbers. But Nate's probably right and I have a hard time seeing someone from Texas Tech pulling out the Heisman. I also really like Cullen Harper out of Clemson.

I also like Pat White out of West Virginia to garner some of the votes. But it's tough to say now that Rich Rodriguez is in Michigan and Steve Slaton is in Houston. Will White be able to step up and make this his offense? We'll see.

Finally, look for the customary USC nod in QB Mark Sanchez. This team has put out three of the past six national champs.

All good things must come to an end

I almost called this post "living on the edge." Either titlee fits the seasons of Wisconsin, which had the nation's longest winning steak broken last weekend, and USC, which had the nation's longest home winning streak snapped by a 41-point underdog on Saturday.

For the Badgers thus far, their games have been similar. Fall behind less talented team. Push ahead of less talented team. Let less talented team get back in it. Pull out win in the end.

On Saturday, the Badgers followed the early part of the script, but forgot the rest. I can't say I'm entirely surprised, I had already ranked Illinois #16 coming into the game and as soon as Vegas posted them as favorites I was concerned.

Nonetheless, I mounted the Badger "W" on the front of my house on Saturday morning and hoped for the best.



The score, 31-26, wasn't very Big 10, but the hitting was. Wisconsin WR Luke Swan was knocked out of the game, and his Badger career is now over. Too bad, as he was having a solid season and may have had a chance to make an NFL team next year.

Meanwhile, Illinois lost QB Juice Williams, although Eddie McGee continued to show he is no slouch. WR Arrelious Benn was also injured. Both appear unfazed.

So now the questions are: 1) How will Wisconsin rebound after their first loss in 15 games? 2) How will Illinois players respond to their new found success?

Before the season, I pegged the Badgers only loss this season to be at Penn State this Saturday, although I feel less confident that they will win in Ohio State each week. I think they can win at Penn State, but I'm going to wait and see how the injury report reads before making a pick on this one.

Illinois heads to Iowa, a reeling team with a pathetic offense. Hard to believe, but Iowa has lost eight straight Big 10 games. But Ferentz is 3-0 vs. Zook.

I had Illinois to win this game before the year started. At the time it seemed like an upset but obviously not anymore. Illini are opening as a 3.5 point favorite, but if they lose focus they could slip.

Now to USC. While they have not fallen behind in games like Wisconsin, they have had a tendency to let teams hang around. They finally got burned by Stanford.

USC had won 35 straight home games, with their last loss also to Stanford in 2001. Matt Hayes calls Saturday's result the end of the dynasty. Booty is hurt. Oh no!

I'm not ready to say the sky is falling. This is the nation's most talented team and I don't believe any team will finish the year undefeated. It's going to be tough for them to get back in the title picture, but if they run the table, including wins against Cal, Oregon and Arizona State, they'll have a shot.

Congrats on beating the best team in history, Coach Harbaugh.

Ironically enough, another upset minded team now has the nation's longest home winning steak — Appalachian State.

--Nate Sandstrom