With his stellar performance against Ohio State on Saturday Mark Sanchez has made his presence in the 2008 Heisman race.

4. Mark Sanchez, USC, QB, Jr.

Last week: 17-of-28 passing, 172 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT; 2 rushes, minus-10 yards in a 35-3 victory over No. 5 Ohio State.
Season: 43-of-63 passing, 510 yards, 7 TDs, 2 INTs; 3 rushes, minus-4 yards
Heisman-o-meter: Entering last weekend’s games, the Watch was expecting to elevate Sanchez to No. 1 this week. But the Trojans’ destruction of the No. 5 team in the country was such a complete effort that it’s hard to make him the marked man. USC’s defense controlled the game, running back Joe McKnight was the early offensive catalyst and the offensive line gave Sanchez time to throw. Of course, good quarterbacks still must take advantage of good protection, which he did. He’ll need to do more of it.
Up next: Sept. 25 at Oregon State.

Here is the video that accompanied the piece…

It’s early yet so I am getting all worked over it. HP does a much better job at analyzing the race but it is nice to see Sanchez getting some good pub!