With word that Sam Bradford is coming back to school, Mark Sanchez, prodigy child of the USC Trojans, has decided it might be the best time to test his draft stock, and hey, why not?

“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 Thursday at a campus news conference. “It is with a heavy heart I am going to leave this university.”

I’ll bet it was a tough decision. I know I lay awake at night wondering what I would do if ever put in the situation to make millions and millions of dollars or go to classes and play football on the side. Ya know what, I’m gonna need a little longer to think about this one.

It should be noted that in his final game, Sanchez set a Rose Bowl record, completing 80 percent of his passes. It should also be noted that bowl game came against a Big Ten school, so it doesn’t really count.

There’s always the playoff-playoff-playoff talk in college football, and I couldn’t agree more with this idea. I thought Auburn to snubbed years ago when Oklahoma played USC instead, and I can’t say at the end of each year that the team that won it wouldn’t have lost to any other team in the nation (take the NFL, for example, where last year’s Wild Card Giants went on to one of the biggest Super Bowl upsets of all time; no one called them at the beginning, and no one even gave them a shot once they got there).

Anway, I wanted to go to the BCS standings and see what a college playoff would look like at this point. If there was a playoff, the most popular idea I’ve heard is taking the top eight teams. If that was the case, this is the first round matchups we’d be watching.

#8 Utah vs #1 Alabama: This is the one game I don’t salivate over, because we know the outcome of this one. Oklahoma State is a close No. 9, though, and by the end of their regular season they’d surely jump.

#7 USC vs #2 Texas Tech: Are you telling me you wouldn’t want to see this offensive battle? It’d be pretty humorous to see Vegas set the over/under at 90.

#6 Oklahoma vs #3 Penn State: This would be your first round “upset,” if you could call it that. Penn State has played well, but they just don’t have the firepower to stick with Oklahoma.

#5 Florida vs #4 Texas: Are you kidding me? And this is only the first round…

The best thing about this system? No Ohio State, which means the games should at least be competitive.

How I’m doing:

Last week: 3-2
On The Season: 6-7

It’s been a rough year, but this week features can’t-miss games that I can’t miss on. Here’s a few I’d take, and a even a teaser to really spice things up (crazy, I know).

Oklahoma (-23) @ Tulsa: They beat Miami by more, and you have to think that Miami, bad as they’ve been the last few years, still has more talent than Tulsa. I know that game was in Oklahoma, but it’s not like Tulsa is exactly the Swamp. Sooners cover.

Georgia @ Alabama (-3): ‘Bama has an offense, a defense, and one of the best coaches in the nation, loyal or not. Georgia? They’ve got none of the above. ‘Bama rolls, wins by two touchdowns.

Penn State @ Michigan (+3): Mike Hart delivered on his promise last week, but that was against Notre Dame, who recently became a 1-AA school (there’s a thousand App. State jokes to poke at that one). The bad news for Michigan is that they’re not facing Notre Dame’s offense; the good news is that they are facing Anthony Morelli’s. The gift three is nice, but Michigan wins straight up.

Georgia Tech (-3) @ Virginia: Virginia barely beat UNC. And Duke. They lost to Wyoming. I don’t know what Vegas is thinking, but I’m betting. Jackets cover, win easy.

PS: Looking through this, I lied about the teaser. I don’t want to chance anything when I’ve got four guaranteed winners. You heard it: Guaranteed.