Quick Hitters

For the most part, Auburn shut down LMJ

MNC- The college football season wrapped up last Monday when Auburn escaped Glendale with a 22-19 victory and another notch on the belt for the SEC. I was pulling hard for the ducks to end the reign of terror by gods’ conference but it was not to be as the Oregon defense could not contain the final push by the Tigers with 2 minutes remaining. While there is no real argument to be made that the SEC isn’t the top conference in the nation, in no way was I impressed by this victory (or the whole game for that matter). Sure, it ended in a field goal with time expiring but did anybody in Buckeye nation think that our silver bullets couldn’t hang with either one of these teams on Monday night?

Did anyone think this was a “game for the ages” that the four letter network would have you believe? We were supposed to watch these teams run up and down the field all night with their explosive offensive attacks but instead were treated to lots of punts, tentative play calling and a bunch of misdirection plays that went nowhere. There were a couple big plays by either side but nobody could string any together and give us the game that was hyped for 2 months. Oh well, at least OSU still possesses the greatest MNC game in the long and illustrious history of the BCS (don’t give me Texas-USC either… I don’t want to hear it).

Why Terrelle Pryor Is Not Overrated

Is he really overrated?

All Buckeye fans have heard the same story, over and over. "Terrelle Pryor is a bust, he's not even that great." "If he's so good why haven't the Buckeyes won the past 2 championships, and why hasn't he had a Heisman?" Even some Buckeye fans weren't too thrilled to hear he's coming back for his senior year. We have Braxton Miller, who's apparently much better than having a senior QB in Pryor. I personally don't think it's right to think this way.

When Terrelle Pryor stepped onto the Ohio State campus, people expected him to be like Troy Smith and Vince Young from Day 1. It's been said and repeated many times, but it's true. It's also not realistic for a freshman, no matter what kind of talent the kid has. So we gave the reins to the #1 recruit in the nation after fans were starting to worry that he may not be as good as we thought, since we didn't see him starting against Youngstown State. Yet, we still held on for the ride, and when Todd Boeckman and the offensive line got blown up in Los Angeles, the fans had had enough. Tressel heard the call, and decided to start the freshman QB. His first ever start came against Troy University, and lead to a share of the Big Ten title, a Freshman of the Year award (Thanks to a 60.6 completion %) and a berth in the Fiesta bowl against Texas. Things got ugly as Pryor struggled to find a rhythm against a tight defense from the Longhorns. Eventually Todd Boeckman got in to open up the passing game, and even found Pryor for a score. Fans were not too worried about the loss, Terrelle would only improve from here.

Surprisingly, Pryor remained the same, if not even regressed a little. During the off-season, Pryor claimed he had been working on his throwing motion, his footwork, and his reads, and that he was getting to be where he needed to make this team succeed. Ohio State had an early test against USC again, and this time the game was actually close. Pryor again was ineffective most of the game, sans a couple of good passes to Posey and Sanzenbacher. This time OSU fans blamed Jim Tressel and his play-calling, and also fired a storm for trying to get Jim Bollman fired. Pretty soon, though, things got calmed down, and Pryor was on his way again. After leading his team to 4 straight wins, the Buckeyes were back up to #7 in the country. Then, Purdue Harbor happened. Yes, the infamous day in Terrelle Pryor history which will always be remembered for his 4 turnovers, low completion rating, and just overall terrible performance. People were literally calling for Bauserman to step in. Joe Bauserman. Nothing could be done, our year was over, here comes the Little Ceasers bowl!

Eventually, the Buckeye's bounced back, winning all the games in November (including huge wins against Penn State and Iowa) to move up and take another pair of Gold Pants and another Big Ten title. Oh, and something like a Rose Bowl. Oregon was the opponent, and the sexy pick for national media pundits. Why not, Oregon has the flashy offense, high scoring, high flying, unstoppable. Terrelle Pryor has been average thus far, and the defense is slightly overrated (again, according to media). Then something amazing happens. Jim Tressel finally figures out what makes Terrelle Pryor's abilities click with his type of offense. The Duck's offense gets force fed a lesson about defense and overratedness. Then Pryor earns MVP status, and suddenly the Buckeyes are not only National Championship contenders for next year, but Terrelle is looking to become the school's 7th Heisman, and only the 2nd Big Ten QB ever.

The BCS Bowls Are All But Set

With yesterdays much expected wins by Auburn, Oregon, and Virgina Tech, the BCS bowls have finally shaped up for good. Barring anything insane happening the BCS Bowls are set, and ready to go. Here's what they look like right now:

BCS Championship: #1 Oregon vs. #2 Auburn

Rose Bowl: #3 TCU vs. #4 Wisconsin

Sugar Bowl: #6 Ohio State vs.#8 Arkansas

Fiesta Bowl: #9 Oklahoma vs. UConn

Orange Bowl: #13 Virgina Tech vs. #5 Stanford

At first glance, these are pretty decent match-ups. Oregon vs. Auburn is going to be a fun one to watch, because of the no defense policy they strictly enforce there. I honestly think that Oregon wins because they have a slightly better defense. TCU gets the first "At Large" bid for the Rose Bowl and will get a true test against Wisconsin (please, god Wisky, don't screw this up). Obviously the Sugar Bowl has been looked at, but it's still a very nice game. I might be a little of a homer, but this one should be a Buckeyes win as long as they can do what they have done in November.

The Fiesta Bowl this year is a scrub, and UConn literally has little to no chance against Oklahoma. The Orange Bowl to me seems like a very good match-up. Virgina Tech isn't someone to sleep on, but Stanford is obviously going to be the favorite in this game. The Cardinal have Andrew Luck and a stout defense. I want to see how these play out.

Of course, nothing is set in stone, until the BCS Countdown tomorrow. After that, we're going bowling!

Jim Tressel's Milestone

Ohio State head football coach Jim Tressel notched his 99th win last Saturday against Illinois. That means that Ohio State's next victory (lookin' at you, Indiana) will make The Senator only the 3rd coach in Buckeye history to reach the 100 win milestone, joining Woody Hayes and John Cooper as the only other members of that club. Tressel has his fans and detractors, but nobody can say he has not been successful during his tenure. Whether you are in love with Tressel-ball (as I am) or you cringe when you see the "Run, Run, Pass" offense that is so often employed by Ohio State, Jim Tressel is approaching legendary status as an Ohio State coach, and I think it is time to take a look back on his career and some of his accomplishments, and to show some appreciation for the man that reminded us what it is like to beat Michigan.

Spring Football Notes.

The days are starting to become numbered for the 2010 Spring Game, and every Buckeye fan across the nation is holding their breath to see the talent start to unfold in front of their eyes.

Practice is beginning to become more competitive as players earn spots on the Spring depth chart, as they get ready for the big game on the 24th. The Buckeyes came out in full pads again, and were burning it at every angle, trying to get better. The reason I know for a fact, is because Dane Sanzenbacher himself told us.

The Great Dane, getting ready.

For Terrelle Pryor, there is no doubt in any-one's mind that all eyes are going to be on him this year. He started off the spring with surgery on his knee, but is back to almost 100%, looking good yesterday in the drills. Something that caught a lot of people's eyes (and the media's praise) was that he seemed to be throwing the ball hard, pretty effortlessly, and got it where it needed to be, even in double coverage.

I think Mike Adams has a lock down on the left tackle spot, but Heacock obviously wants to use, or try to use all his resources because Andy Miller was in his spot today with the first team. There is a fierce battle going on for the back-up center spot. I know, that's good news for us as a team, right? Brewster is the starter, and for right now, Mewhort is the immediate back-up. The fight is between him and Scott Sika. Eleven Warriors tells us that although Jack may have the spot for now, Sika is making his moves to try and get in there.

Jermil Martin ran some reps with the first team for the running backs, and did pretty well. Don't go thinking that he can win a job though, even if injuries are still affecting the team. My guess would be that Tressel (the older one) will move Martin to fullback competing alongside Zach Boren. It's not a bad idea, since Martin seems to have that body of a fullback.

Nate Oliver is also competing at the Star position, which we saw last week, and is still impressing the coaches. Jermale Hines mostly played the Star last season, but with his move to strong safety, Oliver and Moeller will be fighting for the spot.

Oliver (14) looking for that STAR spot.

Sabino is fighting off the underclassman as he hold down his spot at the SAM position, and something tells me he's starting to get the hang of this thing. Although I'm not a huge fan of his, I would like to see him do well.

The last spot is Receivers. If you want some real competition, excluding the running back spot, this is the place to be. Behind Posey and Sanz, there is a WW2 like scene taking place. Taurian Washington is doing his best to hold that 3 spot, but surprisingly, Grant Schwartz, is making some noise with the coaches, as even Darrell Hazel said that this will keep going through fall camp. Duron Carter was no where to be seen, although 11W did spot him shooting some hoops with his dad. If he wants to earn a spot at the third position, he's going to have to work harder than ever in his life to get that spot.

Finally, Tate Forcier, for Michigan, has suffered a "slightly" sprained ankle. Buckeye fans have to be happy with the Silly Goose. He's making RR's job so much harder than it needs to be. Although it's hard enough as it is, seeing as the NCAA has their magnifying glass pointed right at him. To put it simply, it's great to be a Buckeye.

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Inside The Shoe is still looking for two writers. One basketball, and one football writer. If your interested, please leave a comment, or email us at insidetheshoe2009@hotmail.com. The requirements can be found here. We hope to be talking to you soon!

Spring means Football.

Finally, the time has come around that football gets to be talked about again. I mean, did we ever really stop talking about it? The date and time is set for the Spring football game, and it will be hosted by the Big Ten Network and all their Ro-Tel commercials. The game will be Saturday, April 24th, at 1 p.m.. Of course, if your a Buckeye lacrosse fan, then they are covering the game that day on the Big Ten Network as well, right before the Ohio State spring game. All of spring, we won't be the only ones keeping you up to date with what's going on with the Buckeyes and our neighbors in the Big Ten, as the Big Ten Network is hosting everything spring football that they can possibly take up. They are holding all spring games, and will also be having in-depth analysis of all the practices, and keep you up to date on everything Big Ten. A big reason is because the Big Ten is just coming off a huge bowl season, doing pretty good, with a 4-3 record. Of course, the go-to place for everything Buckeye would be, ahem, Inside The Shoe.

The Buckeye Battle Cry and Eleven Warriors are already jumping on the Spring fever. tBBC posted an article on the upcoming offense, which is going to be deadly to any defense that faces them. 11W talks about having Carlos Hyde and company in the backfield this season, and what it will mean.

A huge thing this spring will be, for the third time, Young Terrelle Pryor, who is entering his junior year, and is not "growing up in front of our very eyes, folks", as much as Brent Musburger would like to think so. Seriously, though, the big question will be was the Rose Bowl a one time thing. Can he continue on in his ability to run and throw the football. All will be answered. Maybe not this spring, but certainly this fall. Of course, the depth of running backs is another huge story. We have 5-6 capable backs. Of course, number 4 in your program and number 1 in your heart, Jamaal Berry headlines the new backs to feature this spring. Berry wasn't able to play last year due to an injured hamstring, but reportedly, he is firing on all cylinders, proving to the coaches he can compete for a third slot. Hyde and Rod Smith are coming in with huge expectations, as Hyde is hoping to be the next Beanie, and Smith is looking to be the next Eddie George. Don't get caught up too much into that, but these guys are good regardless. Tressel is going to have a fun time whipping these guys into shape for a championship run.








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Inside The Shoe is still looking for two writers. One basketball, and one football writer. If your interested, please leave a comment, or email us at insidetheshoe2009@hotmail.com. The requirements can be found here. We hope to be talking to you soon!