Former Ohio State Running Back Daniel "Boom" Herron Drafted By Bengals

Boom Herron is headed to the Bengals

While Daniel "Boom" Herron missed the first six games of the season in 2011, he was still able to make a big impact on the team by rushing for 678 yards, averaging 5 yards per carry (135 total carries).

Today, Boom Herron's hard work at Ohio State paid off as the Cincinnati Bengals drafted Herron in the 6th round with the 191st overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

His total career at Ohio State (4 years) he had 32 touchdowns and 2,872 yards on 593 carries. He once played backup to fellow former Buckeye Beanie Wells and also split time with backs such as Brandon Saine and Jordan Hall.

Herron was also named one of the 2011 team captains by Luke Fickell. He leaves the Buckeyes ranked eighth in TDs and was a first-team All-Big Ten performer his junior season.

Boom gets to stay in the great state of Ohio, near his friends and family. Herron will get to learn from current running back Cedric Benson has been given a opprotunity from the Bengals to come in and compete right away. I think Boom's tenacity and hard work will pay off with some minutes this fall.

This leaves Mike Brewster from Ohio State as the only other Buckeye prospect that is expected to be taken in the NFL draft this year. With the draft winding down, time is running out for Brewster who's stock fell after a lackluster senior year.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest news, updates and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

Thomas, Sullinger Lead Buckeyes Past Cincinnati On Way To Elite Eight

Sullinger and the Buckeyes took over late

Jared Sullinger and the Ohio State Buckeyes had blown a 12-point lead and fallen behind Cincinnati in the second half of the East Region semifinals.

It was time for the "cool guys" to take a seat, and let the blue-collar team take over.

Sullinger scored 23 points with 11 rebounds and Ohio State turned back Cincinnati's last charge with a 17-1 run to beat the Bearcats 81-66 on Thursday night and advance to the NCAA regional finals for the first time since 2007.

"We've got two types of basketball teams: We've got the cool guys and then the blue-collar guys," Sullinger explained. "I thought to start the second half we got into the cool-guy mode and we kind of let our guard down. ... I mean, we just came out and decided to be cool guys, and they came out and they stung us, and then we got ourselves back into another basketball game."

Deshaun Thomas scored 26 points for the second-seeded Buckeyes (30-7), who will play Syracuse at the TD Garden on Saturday. Aaron Craft added 11 points -- all in the second half -- with five assists and six steals, taking charge during the second-half run that turned a four-point deficit into a double-digit lead.

Cashmere Wright scored 18 and Sean Kilpatrick had 15 for the No. 6 seeded Bearcats, who were attempting to match Big East rival Syracuse by beating a Big Ten opponent to advance to the East Regional finals. The top-seeded Orange advanced earlier Thursday by beating fourth-seeded Wisconsin 64-63.

It's the first trip to the regional finals for Ohio State since it lost in the 2007 championship game to Florida. The Buckeyes lost in the round of 16 in each of the past two years.

"Coach (Thad) Matta has been through two Sweet 16s where the train kind of stopped. And we wanted to make sure that this train was going to keep rolling," Sullinger said. "It's tremendous to be in a situation like this, and it's a blessing. But at the same time we can't lose focus."

Wearing fluorescent orange shoelaces and piping on their jerseys, Cincinnati (26-11) fell behind by 12 at the half before going on a 19-4 run early in the second. The Bearcats led 52-48 with 11:34 to play when Matta called a timeout and ripped into his team.

The Buckeyes allowed just one free throw over the next 5½ minutes.

Basketball Preview: #2 Ohio State vs. #6 Cincinnati

Craft stepped up big against Gonzaga

There are 347 schools playing Division I men's basketball. Thirteen are from Ohio. Four of those are among the 16 teams still playing in the NCAA tournament.

Only one calls itself The Ohio State University.

The flagship school from the leading basketball state in the nation -- in this tournament, at least -- will play Cincinnati on Thursday night in an East Regional semifinal that is as much a Battle of the Buckeye State as it is a chance to move one game closer to a national title.

"What I've felt all along is it's just a tremendous state for basketball," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who also coached at Miami of Ohio and Xavier before taking over the Buckeyes in 2004.

"I think a lot of times in the high school ranks it gets tabbed as a football state, just all the great players that they've put out. But just in the time that I've been there ... I've got a pretty good understanding of how passionate the fans are. It takes a lot of luck for four teams to get here, obviously. I think it speaks volumes to the level of basketball in the state."

Although it is bordered by hoops hotbeds Kentucky (a state with nine NCAA titles) and Indiana (five), Ohio hasn't really been considered a basketball state since placing a team in four straight championship games from 1960-63. (Ohio State won the first, then lost the next two to Cincinnati; the Bearcats returned in `63 and lost to Loyola of Chicago.)

Ohio State has won two football championships since then, but its appearance in the basketball title game in 2007 is the only one for the state since the `60s. Even -- gasp! -- Michigan, with three men's basketball championship since then, has more to show from its trips to the NCAA tournament.

"Ohio, everybody knows them as a football state. But we have a little bit of basketball talent inside those borders," said Buckeyes forward Jared Sullinger, a Columbus native who is one of three Ohioans among the top four scorers on the team. "It's just finally showing now."

And not just at Ohio State.

Wednesday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning, Buckeye fans! 

We are one day away from the all-Ohio Sweet 16 matchup we all have been looking forward to since the Bearcats took down Florida State in the Round of 32. 

The winner of the Ohio State/Cincinnati game will take on the winner of the early game in Boston, No. 1 Syracuse vs. No. 4 Wisconsin.

Also playing tomorrow are Michigan State/Louisville (7:47 p.m. ET) and Marquette/Florida (10:17 p.m. ET).

Buckeyes, Bearcats unlikely to meet outside of tournament.  Ohio State and Cincinnati will have met just one time on the basketball court in the last 50 years, an Ohio State victory in the 2006 Wooden Classic, before squaring off in Boston Thursday night. 

Many fans of both teams have called for an in-season game between the two schools, but it remains highly doubtful that they will meet any time soon.

Tuesday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning fellow Buckeye honks! Welcome to your Tuesday edition of the bits. There is lots going on this week so let's skip my regular "random link" and get right to it shall we?

Hey, I remember him!- All Buckeye fans, and most other fans, know Mark Titus by now. He was a benchwarmer for OSU a few years back but developed a cult-like following for his blog Club Trillion. That cult-like following quickly turned into millions of followers.

 The guy is a blog sensation at this point (if you can be such a thing). He has parlayed that success into a contributing role over at Bill Simmons' Grantland.

Whatever you think of Bill Simmons, Grantland is a good place to stop on your daily internet adventure. I stumbled upon this cool piece by Titus overviewing the first weekend of the tournament. It's pretty funny. Give it a look.


Good Overview- The tournament started out a little slow but picked up as the weekend approached. I know that thoroughly enjoyed watching Michigan go down in ball of flames. That game was quickly followed by another epic collapse as Duke went down at the hands of Lehigh. That was possibly the greatest 15 minutes of sports in the past 2 months for me. Eamonn Brennan had a great first look for this weekends games.

Monday's Buckeye Bits

Good morning Buckeye fans, welcome to the Monday edition of our Buckeye Bits! The first weekend of March Madness concluded last night, with teams finally punching their tickets to the Sweet Sixteen.

Unfortunately the two #15-seeds in the tournament, Lehigh and Norfolk State, could not maintain their Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen falling to #10 Xavier and #4 Florida.

That makes the Ohio Bobcats the lowest seed in the Sweet Sixteen, sitting in at #13. It's been a crazy ride so far and it's only going to get more intense from here.

Let's get on with the Bits!

Bring On The Queen City. The #6 Cincinnati Bearcats upset #3 Florida State late last night taking out the Seminoles 62-56. The Bearcats move on to the Sweet Sixteen to face the Ohio State Buckeyes for the first time since 1962.

The Buckeyes will face the Bearcats on Thursday, at 9:45 P.M. The winner moves on to the Elite Eight where they will face either Syracuse or Wisconsin.

Ohio State Hires Defensive Backs Coach Kerry Coombs

A fierce competitor joins Ohio State

The Columbus Dispatch and many other media outlets are reporting that Ohio State has now hired defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs. Coombs has coached defensive backs for the Cincinnati Bearcats since 2007, and has worked with some good players there, including eventual NFL draft picks Haruki Nakamura, Mike Mickens, DeAngelo Smith, and Buckeyes transfer Brandon Underwood. The 2008 secondary was a big reason why Cincinnati won its first Big East title.

Here's another reason why hiring Coombs is smart: Before Brian Kelly gave him his first college job in 2007, Coombs was an extremely successful high school coach (he won a state title in 2004) at Cincinnati's Colerain High School. In all, Coombs led Colerain to 10 playoff appearances and seven undefeated regular seasons. Also to be noted, his connections to the high schools in that city have made him a strong recruiter in that talent-rich area. 

Cincinnati should be a major pipeline for Ohio State, but the Buckeyes have had more success in the northern part of the state. Coombs should give them even more recruiting inroads, making the fence that Urban is starting to rebuild around the state even larger.

As a bonus to the hiring of Coombs for his knowledge of the game, as we mentioned above he's a fantastic recruiter. The Cincinnati area has always been a tough place for Ohio State to recruit players, where they mostly go to Notre Dame. 

Now, with not Meyer having played for the Bearcats and earn his bachelor’s degree at UC, Tim Hinton spent six years on Cincinnati’s football coaching staff (2004-09) three of which coincided with Coombs’ stint there (2007-11). That's a lot of Queen City connections, so look for that to have a lot of impact in the near future.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest updates, news and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

Monday's Buckeye Bits

Another week has arrived Buckeye fans, and the last bits of recruiting in the 2012 class have come to a close. Let's pretend that there wasn't a basketball game this weekend. As you know by now, Stefon Diggs chose Maryland over Ohio State, Florida, and Auburn. What's interesting is that he's the second top 10 receiver in this recruiting class to stay home over so many great other offers.

The other, Dorial Green-Beckham, chose Missouri over many different schools including Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, and Florida. I guess I can't say I'm surprised about these top receivers staying close to home, but it is a bit curious as to why they wouldn't want to take their talents to an even bigger school. Oh well, let's get on with the Bits!

Time For 2013. The 2012 recruiting class ended with 25 members, with 6 of them being enrolled. Urban was really able to turn this class around with only a couple of months to do it. Now, 2013 will solely be Urban's recruits. He's started off very well, with two commits that both come from the Buckeye state in 5-star QB/ATH Jalin Marshall and 4-star cornerback Cameron Burrows.

Urban is upping the ante as he's already proved in 2012, but is continuing to do so in the 2013 class. Often times, Jim Tressel and Jim Bollman would not get too ahead of themselves when it came down to offering athletes in future classes, but Meyer has already started with 55 total offers as it stands.

Bengals take on the Cowboys.

Super Monday.

We've got a lot of topics to cover today, as big news has hit from a couple of sides on the sports world.

First off, the expansion of conferences is heating up once more, as the Big Ten Council met in Park Ridge to discuss. The Dispatch also reports and prints emails from Gordon Gee to and from Jim Delany, and a big key to this is Delany saying that they are fast tracking the expansion. This most likely is due to the fact that the Pac 10, over the weekend, dropped the bomb inviting Texas, and many more Big 12 schools. This is huge, and could lead the Big Ten to making some tough decisions in the future. Nebraska and Missouri have been given an ultimatum, the Big 12 saying, by Friday, you either need to pack your things or get comfy.

Is this the future Lebron??

Lebron James is said to be favoring the Chicago Bulls, but Gilbert is leaning hard on hiring Michigan State coach Tom Izzo for the job, and he hopes that will sway LBJ's choice towards the Cavs. I'm not sure this is a good thing, because it's giving Lebron too much power. If he wants Calipari, then the Cavs will get him. I don't like it, and neither does anyone else. If it does get Lebron to stay, he better stay his entire career, because he is basically managing the Cavs.

Celtics tie the series at 1, and will head to Boston for what should be a good home stretch. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers have to be feeling some heat right now, as they were expected to be 2-0 in the series at this point.

The Reds battled back yesterday to take the game into extra innings, and then finally closing it out. They look good, and are tied for first as the Cards lost in extra innings to the Brewers. Bronson Arroyo didn't get the win, but the Reds still got it done.

Just how good are these Reds?

I've been a Red's fan all of my life, thanks to my dad. Sometimes I wonder even why he stayed with him. Every time when I was younger I would try and look for a different team to root for, I couldn't. Finally, the Reds are showing they have some talent in their team. They've got some good chemistry as well. Mike Leake just won his tenth game 2 days ago, and is undefeated as a rookie. Johnny Cueto pitched last night as well and got a 9-8 win out of it. The Reds now stand at 1st in the NL Central again, and they are here to stay. They finish up the series with the Cards, and then they get to face Stephen Strasburg with the Nationals coming up. I would like to see Scott Rolen homering off him like no other.

Aroldis Chapman is still standing in Triple A, waiting his turn. I would have really liked to see a Strasburg-Chapman pitch-out, but apparently he's not ready. I wouldn't be surprised if they brought him in the next game after the All-Star break, so it might be awhile before we get to see the Cuban.

Your POW.

Your POW comes this week from the Bengals. Today, they signed a 2 year deal with Adam "Pacman" Jones ensuring him of playing in the NFL again. A lot of Bengals fans are outraged by this, but I think it could end up making us better. If he still has the talent, with a lot less attitude, then you've got yourself a star player. I think it will make this team better. If he does act up, Mike Brown should know what to do. The Spring Finals will continue tommorow, so look for that! If you would like to suggest photos for the POW, please send them to insidetheshoe2009@hotmail.com and we will get them in!

The drama has ended.

In what is most likely the last story for Seantrel Henderson's recruiting, today it was told by several sources, including USA Today, that reported that Seantrel Henderson put the ink on his fax, and is headed to USC. The monstrous OL said he had decided on USC about a month ago, and that the only reason he waited was for his ACT scores to go up, so he could attend school. Another reason was that he wanted to hear the verdict on the USC case, which nobody has yet, and we still won't for a couple of months, and obviously his father didn't want to wait that long for his record deal with Snoop Dawg. I really am disappointed in Seantrel, hoping he would maybe pull a Blind Side, throw his dad over the boundaries,  and go to Ohio State. Instead, he decided to go to USC, which has Lane Kiffin, where he cheats, and lies. Also, might want to add that we will leave a college for a better job, even after one year.

As the NFL season is not even close to beginning, I thought I might add some news. The Cincinnati Bengals are currently looking for three key things in the upcoming 2010 NFL Draft. A safety, wide receiver, and tight end. They are reportedly looking at Kurt Coleman, if still available, and Kurt has already said it would be an honor to be drafted by the Bengals. Mardy Gilyard is also being looked at, from Cinncinnati, for the wide receiver spot. I would like to see them check out Jake Ballard, since we all know he a great TE, if used right. If we end up getting 2 of those three, that would be impressive, and we could make this a possible Super Bowl run. Of course, we have a lot of things to work on before we get there, but I think it's a possibility.

Finally, the Woman's basketball team takes on Mississippi State tonight in their NCAA tournament, and we want to wish them the best of luck, as we are all rooting for them hard, and of course, to upset UConn. How sweet would that be??

Bowl Week 3 (part 3)

On the aftermath of a great Rose Bowl game, and Florida took care of buisness, finally shutting up those darn Bearcat fans, and talking about how they could easily take on a good defense. Their are still games to be played, including another Big Ten team. As of right now, Inside The Shoe´s record stands at 25-19. It looks like our losses are catching up..lets get started!

Today

International Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. USF – 12:00 p.m. (ESPN2)

Northern Illinois has the 17th best rushing attack in the nation, and USF will look to slow down the attack, while Northern Illinois will look to focus on shutting down do-everything QB B.J. Daniels. Look for some talented play, and USF to win, 17-7.

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss – 2:00 p.m. (FOX)

At the beginning of the season, this could have been an easy OK St win, but now with injuries, and their best passing attack receiver gone, Zac Robinson will be running for his life, as Ole Miss´s Jevan Snead looks to make a good impression on pro scouts. Ole Miss will take their second Cotton Bowl, 38-24.

PapaJohns Bowl: UConn vs. South Carolina – 2:00 p.m. (ESPN)
UConn will want to prove a point early, but South Carolina´s Stephen Garcia looks to avoid the bust label, and the talent and (i can´t believe i´m saying this) speed of the Gamecocks will be way to much for the team that will be playing in memory of Jasper Howard, as they win it 28-17

Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. East Carolina – 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)

East Carolina comes off a CUSA championship win, but has to face the Arkansas Hogs and their SEC speed. ECU will give it their best, but i don´t see how their defense can stop former Michigan QB Ryan Mallet, who has been absolutely monstrous this season. With it being ECU, though, look for Arkansas to sleep until near the end, and finally pull it out, 31-24.

Alamo Bowl: Michigan State vs. Texas Tech – 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)
Before the unfair firing of Mike Leach, I would have picked TT. Now, without their head playcaller, Texas Tech has to imporvise, and that generally leads to mistakes. Look for them to have a couple of INT´s or fumbles, as Mark Dantonio´s defensive squad takes advantage, and wins a close one, 21-19

Enjoy watching some good bowl games! The rest of the bowl game predictions will be in Bowl Week 4.

Bowl Week 3 (part 2)

I won´t really give an introduction, other then after part 1, Inside The Shoe is now 21-13.

Today

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl - Air Force vs Houston - 12:00 PM EST - ESPN

In a re-match of last year´s bowl game, Houston´s best passing attack in the nation, will take on Air Force´s best passing defense in the nation. Houston will be led by quarterback Case Keenum, who was in the top 10 Heisman voting. Houston´s ability to run up the score has helped them, and their offense get even better. Meanwhile, Air Force has the 4th ranked rushing attack, while Houston is terrible at defending the run. With that being said, Houston will be to much for Air Force, 31-20.

Brut Sun Bowl - No. 21 Stanford vs Oklahoma - 2:00 PM ET - CBS

If your a Sooner fan, your probably feeling a bit down, not being ranked, not in a BCS bowl, and playing in El Paso. If your a Cardinal fan, you are ranked, you have one of the best backs in the nation, and your playing a former Big 12 powerhouse. Nevertheless, look for this to be a good game as Toby Gerhart and Sam Bradford lead their offenses. I see Stanford winnnig a competieve game, 28-17.

Texas Bowl - Missouri vs Navy - 3:30 PM ET - ESPN

Buckeye fans got a nice look at the triple option aganist Navy, as Navy came very close at the end to upsetting the Buckeyes. We know that Missouri is in the process of rebuilding, and that Navy fights for a whole 60 minutes, without rest, as the Buckeyes learned. So in this situation, I really like Ricky Dobbs and that crazy option attack, as Navy gets the win, closing a fantastic season, 24-10.

Insight Bowl - Iowa State vs Minnesota - 6:00 PM ET - NFL Network

After a little persuasion, and some outcrys by their fans, Iowa State fought their way into the Insight Bowl to take on the Golden Gophers. Minnesota brings in a mixed attack, with wideout Eric Decker being out to injury. Adam Weber has had a mixed season, along with the offense, as they can score points, but not many. The key is stopping ISU´s rushing attack, which Minnesota is actually good at doing. I see the Big Ten going to 2-0 after this one, 17-10

Chick-fil-A Bowl - No. 11 Virginia Tech at Tennessee - 7:30 PM ET - ESPN

With the losses to Georgia Tech, and Alabama, Va Tech will look for it´s first win in Atlanta this year, and they have to do it aganist Lane Kiffin´s Volls. Tyrod Taylor leads the attack, and I have to say, Tennessee won´t be able to stop him, or running back Ryan Williams. Virgina Tech wins a close one, 24-17

New Year´s Day

Outback Bowl - Auburn vs Northwestern - 11:00 AM ET - ESPN

Even after dropping it´s last 5 of 6 games, hopes are high at Auburn, the reason being they almost upset Alabama. Northwestern, on the other hand, has won four of it´s last 5 games, and they look to continue winning. With an SEC vs. Big Ten game, expect a bit of mouthing off to each other, but look Northwestern to pull the upset and unbelivably, the Big Ten going 3-0, 35-31.

Konica Minolta Gator Bowl - No. 16 West Virginia at Florida State - 1:00 PM ET - CBS

In Bobby Bowden´s last game as a head coach, a lot will be said about his storied career. He faces his old WVU team, and looks to go out with a bang. I hate to say they will have a tough time stopping the 3rd ranked rushing attack. WVU gets the win, 38-24.

Capital One Bowl - No. 12 LSU vs No. 13 Penn State - 1:00 PM ET - ABC

LSU wanting another 10 win season under Les Miles, looking to take care of a PSU team that lost to the Buckeyes, 24-7. Oh, I didn´t have to add that, did I? PSU´s Darryl Clark will want to go out with a win aganist an SEC opponet, but will just fall short, 24-21.

Rose Bowl

Inside The Shoe will cover this game the day of it.

Allstate Sugar Bowl - No. 3 Cincinnati at No. 5 Florida - 8:30 PM ET - FOX

A game in which both head coaches are new, due to the old ones having health problems, and getting a new job at Notre Dame. Cincy comes in looking for it´s first BCS bowl win, while Florida, looking to send Tebow on a rainbow to the NFL, where he will be, umm, no one really knows. Florida has an outstanding defense, while Cincy has a high powered offense. Florida will take this because Cincy has no defense, and Florida has one of the best. 42-21.

Part 3 will come the day after the Sugar Bowl, keep it here folks! Enjoy your New Year.

Idiocy.

Sigh. I don't know who to feel bad for, Kelly, or Cincy.

http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2009/12/after-meeting-last-week-brian-kelly-on-brink-of-becoming-notre-dame-coach.html

BCS Bowl Breakdown by Inside The Shoe.

Rose Bowl Presented by Citi - No. 7 Oregon vs No. 8 Ohio State

This is one of the BCS Bowl match-ups that almost everyone is looking forward to. It is sort of intresting in the plot. Here we have Oregon, looking to prove that the Pac-10 is not a one man team, and is trying to earn national respect. Ohio State, on the other hand, is trying to convince the nation that they still belong in that national spotlight. Oregon has a small defense, but will be facing a talented, big, but a very inconsistent offense, headed by sophomore Terrelle Pryor. On the offensive side of the ball, Oregon has one of the top 10 rushing games and faces the 5th ranked rushing defense in the Buckeyes. All very intresting. With all of this going on, Oregon is a 3 point favorite.

Allstate Sugar Bowl - No. 3 Cincinnati vs No. 5 Florida

In what many people view as a pretty big mismatch, the Big East champions look to take down the defending national champions. Florida comes in looking very strong on D, and a little blustered on offense. Alabama pounded them to the point it seemed like they didn't really want to seem to play anymore. On the other side, Cincy comes off a huge win over Big East rival, Pitt. After a long TD special, the Bearcats won by an extra point, showing they once again, have almost no defense. Giving Illinois 36 points is quite an amazing feat.

Tostitos Feista Bowl - No. 4 TCU vs No. 6 Boise State

I have to say, I am one of many that agree that the BCS voted for a cop-out. Instead of trying to prove a point that these confrences deserve BCS bids, and that they should have national respect, they will just be beating each other up in the face. The big key to this game is TCU's amazing defense aganist the best scoring offense, Boise State, in the NCAA. I would look out though, TCU has a pretty darn good offense.

FedEx Orange Bowl - No. 9 Georgia Tech vs No. 10 Iowa

Iowa got the 2nd BCS bowl for the Big Ten and Georgia Tech is feeling confident as they just won a close game aganist Spiller and the Tigers. GT's bread and butter is the triple option, though unfortunatly for them, Iowa's inside linmen are built for stopping the run. Just ask Ohio State. Right? Right?

CITI BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME - No. 1 Alabama vs No. 2 Texas

People are already wanting to give the crystal, when Texas had to use every second they had to beat the good defense of Nebraska. After Alabama crushed the defending national and SEC champs, who would argue? I think it was read into to much about the Big 12 champ game, but I would defintaly say it's never to early to start watching film.

National CFB Games This Weekend.

It's time again for the weekly games to come. This is really the last regular season week, and to look back on it, this has been the fastest year of college football of my life.We the Buckeyes have had our ups, (Penn St. Iowa) and our downs (USC, Purdue). Overall though, most Buckeye fans realized that we would be headed to the Rose Bowl, due to losing to Penn St. and USC, just like last year. Well, USC came and went, but we lost to Purdue, but won out. So really, expectations were met this year. Now for the rest of the BCS, it really counts tonight and this weekend. After last week, we at Inside The Shoe are now 10-4. So! Let's get to it.

National Games

Today – #14 Oregon State at #7 Oregon – 9:00 p.m. (ESPN)

This match-up will deciede who Ohio State faces in the Rose Bowl. Oregon comes in off a double overtime win @ Arizona, with QB Jermiah Massoli, and running back(s) LeMichal James and LeGarette Blount(?). Oregon State will look to win the Civil war, although most Buckeye fans agree Oregon would be the "sexier" opponet. I think that Oregon faces trouble ahead, but will eventually come up victorious 37-21.

Saturday - #5 Cincinnati at #13 Pittsburgh – 12:00 p.m. (ABC)

After last week's debacle aganist WVU, I lost a lot of faith in Pitt. They don't seem to be very consistent, and Brian Kelly and Co. won't have any of it as UC will take this one, and try to head to the BCS, 28-13

SEC Championship Game: #1 Florida vs. #2 Alabama – 4:00 p.m. (CBS)

This one is being dubbed as the defacto BCS Championsip game. That's terrible. I honestly believe that Florida is overrated, and Alabama is a national title contender this year. As long as the Defense holds up for Bama, then they will win this thing fairly easily, 24-10.

ACC Championship Game: #10 Georgia Tech vs. #25 Clemson – 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)

Georgia Tech's triple option is one of the best I have seen in a long time, but i have to go with Clemson and my man, C.J. Spiller, 17-6.

Big XII Championship Game: #3 Texas vs. #23 Nebraska – 8:00 p.m. (ABC)

All i have to really say about this game is, Welcome to the NC since 2005 Texas, 35-14.

Thanksgiving Weekend CFB Games.

It's Thanksgiving, and i can't think of a better way to spend it then with family, friends, and football. There is a lot to be thankful for, especially if your an OSU fan. You get to watch college football without worrying about who your playing this week, and they beat the hated rival, AND, they get a trip to the Rose Bowl to either face Oregon or Oregon State. We here at Inside The Shoe are now 8-2, those darn Bears, even without Jahvid Best, made the win come to them with a late INT giving them the win.

National Games

Thursday – #2 Texas @ Texas A&M – 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)

I looked at this, and i thought, really? Along with having a pretty decent defense, and a stud Heisman running QB, Texas comes in aganist a rival that, well, has been frefalling into the depths of the college football landscape. I honestly don't even expect a very large crowd. Texas will win this one, despite suspicions about it, 35-10.

Friday – #8 Pittsburgh at West Virginia – 7:00 p.m. (ESPN2)

In my opinion, i will clearly tell you this is the game of the week. Note that i said week, not weekend. This is really Déjà vu because in the 2007 season, West Virgina was ranked 2nd in the nation, and they came into the Backyard Brawl and got upset by Pitt. Now, it's flipped, only Pitt is just trying to keep their BCS dreams alive.This is going to be real high energy game, and i have to say it's the toughest game I've had to decide in awhile. I'm going Pitt 21-17.

Friday – Illinois at #5 Cincinnati – 12:00 p.m. (ABC)

This is one of those games that probably end up being the game you watch and realized you shouldn't have. Illinois goes to the Queen City, trying to get Juice Williams his final win in a topsy turvy season. This is the first time this season the Bearcats will play a Big Ten team, and they should be able to handle it with the Two-Headed Monster that's Pike/Collaras. UC will face Pitt next, but for this, it will be 33-7

#18 Clemson at South Carolina – 12:00 p.m. (ESPN)

The Clemson Tigers are on a roll thanks to running maniac C.J. Spiller. South Carolina will give them a good game, but Clemson will take over late, 28-21.

Well, that's all that we have for you, we could have added FSU-FU, but didn't feel the need to smooch all over the Gators, although upset could happen easily. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Inside The Shoe.