Wahoo Wire

With bye week scheduled for Virginia Football (and mercifully so), it’s time to finally focus our attention on more pressing matters – namely, the rest of the football world. And so, in a week devoid of Groh-isms and delirious cries of outrage over any phrase that contains the words “spread” and “offense,” we here at Champ & Chump of the Week wish to expand your mind with knowledge of entities far more virtuous than our own beloved Wahoos – and some (believe it or not) far less. Let’s get on to it:

Champ: Steve Sarkisian

Led by junior QB Jake Locker, Sarkisian’s Huskies became the latest serious underdog to upset Southern Cal, winning 13-10 at home. Normally, this wouldn’t be all too surprising – USC has a proud tradition of choking one game away every year to eliminate itself from national title contention early – but this loss was especially shocking. Last season, under Ty Willingham, Washington ranked 100 or worse (out of 119 FBS teams – that’s the bottom 17%) in every single major statistical category kept by the NCAA. Sarkisian gets props for turning this program around instantly – remember, they also stayed with LSU in their season opener, losing only by eight. With a solid recruiting class next year (headlined by Nick Montana, Joe’s son), the Shark looks primed to bring college football back to the Pacific Northwest in a big way.

Courtesy of www.seattlepi.com

Honorable Mention: Mark Sanchez, Jahvid Best, Landry Jones, Matt Schaub

Chump: Lane Kiffin

I probably should include Urban Meyer, because his recent verbal jabs were almost as pathetic and unnecessary as Kiffin’s (did you see John Crompton, Urban? Of course the Vols’ best chance at winning was having him hand it off every time), but I couldn’t resist the symmetry. Sarkisian and Kiffin, of course, were co-offensive coordinators for Southern Cal the last time the Trojans won a national title. Kiffin, eager to advance his career as quickly as possible, accepted a head coaching job with the worst franchise in professional football, quickly burned his bridge with Al Davis, and landed at a stumbling college program. Sark bided his time, surveyed his options, then leapt to a school with a proud tradition and a fan base starved for coaching prowess like his. Of course, Kiffin is off embarrassing his school and program on a weekly basis, trying to pick a fight with the best coach in college football, while Sarkisian seems bound for success up at UW. It seems a minor detail that Tennessee is 0-2 against real opponents.

Courtesy latimes.com

Honorable Mention: The state of Utah’s college football, Cowboy Stadium’s opener, Jeff Reed, Nebraska’s defense