NBL Bowl Analysis

UPDATED – It is with great sadness that Randy and I are not able to bring you a recorded podcast this week. OK, maybe we are not all that sad, as Randy is out on the road enjoying the bowl season and I am enjoying some time off with my family over the holidays. However, we would feel quite guilty if we didn’t provide you with a taste of something, so with that, here are our picks for some of the remaining upcoming bowl games

Armed Forces Bowl

Randy – The Air Force is going to see its worst arial attack
since Vietnam as Case Keenum and Houston pass for over 400 yards and
ground the Falcons. Houston

Eric – I’ve said it before, I know, but why is it that the Air Force Academy doesn’t throw the the football. Maybe they have never learned how to. Well, they are going to get a lesson from Keenum and the Cougars.  Houston
Sun Bowl

Randy – Oklahoma faces their most forbidable foe in Toby Gerheart.
I expect the Sooner D to wear down and Gerheart to get two 4th Quarter
TDs to seal the Cardinal victory. Stanford
Eric – Stanford has been sneaking up on team after team this season, and mostly on the strong legs of Toby Gerheart. Not that Oklahoma is going to be surprised by the Cardinal attack. What would be surprising is if Oklahoma’s defense holds throughout the game. Come to think of it, I have my doubts if the Sooner offense can matchup as well. Stanford
Texas Bowl

Randy – Niumatololo has the troops fired up for win #10 as Navy
pounds Mizzou into submission. Navy by 10. Navy
Eric – 1st of all, Randy officially sucks for going to this game without me, but he is right about the outcome. Missouri is scrambling to recover a pretty shameful season for what it could have been and in years past, it certainly would have been hard to give the edge to Navy. Not this year. If you can’t beat Baylor, you can’t beat Navy. Navy

Insight Bowl

Randy – Ugly matchup, but Minny has struggled with injuries while Rhoades has been able to motivate the Cyclones, so I expect an ugly ISU win. Iowa State
Eric – Tough to find a lot of points for comparison in this one. The Gophers have been here before…too bad they’ve lsot here most of the time and with key offensive injuries, Minnesota’s going to have some trouble getting the ball in the end zone. Iowa State  has had it’s share of injuries as well, but they’ve still manageged quite the turnaround from their 10 loss season of last year. A bowl win would cap it off and give them stronger legs for next season. I think they Cyclones will get it. Iowa State

CFA Bowl

Randy – Virginia Tech has been the benificiary of luck in close
games. Tennessee hasn’t. Hokies get a close victory over the Vols,
extending the Vols losing streak here in Atlanta. Va Tech

Eric – Tennessee really turned out to be a better team than anticipated. A few big losses, but a bit win against Georgia and nearly taking down Alabama in a 2 point game let me know they have what it takes. Virginia Tech may not have been the premier team of college footabll this season, but they showed they can put teams away and have been much more consistent getting the ball in the endzone. Have to take the Hokies. Va. Tech

Outback Bowl

Randy – Both the Tigers and Wildcats have been difficult to predict
this year. Both have exceeded and under performed against expectations
as various points this season. Coin Flip game. I’ll take Auburn. Auburn

Eric – Northwestern doesn’t really believe in bowl games, but on occasion they break from their conventional thinking, make it to a bowl, and lose. Auburn has been to the dance a few times, and in spite of their relative weakness in conference, I’ll take a 7-5 SEC team over an 8-4 Big Ten team this season. Sad, ain’t it? Auburn

Bowden Memorial Game f/k/a the Gator Bowl

Randy – in a matchup that would have been more interesting several times over the past decades compared to this year we say goodbye to one of the greatest coaches to walk the side lines and say “Dad gum.” Unfortunately his last game will go similarly to the way his career ended. Out with a whimper. WVU gives Doc Holiday a send off he’ll never forget as the WVU defense holds FSU to less than 10. West Virginia

Eric – Football is a game of emotions and I assure you that motions will run high in this one. It’s pretty sad to tell you the truth to see a legend leave the field. But, it’s not nearly as sad as the Seminoles on field performance this season. Between Brown and Devine, the Mountaineers will break Bowden’s streak in the Gator Bowl. West Virginia

Some fucking credit card company bowl (Capital One Bowl)

Randy – considering I’m sending these to Eric typed out on my blackberry I’m surprised I haven’t cursed yet, but I’m tired of companies taking over bowl names. I don’t mind them sponsoring the games, but just keep the names. Hear me Citrus, Peach and Motor City Bowls?? Thank God the Cotton, Rose, Orange and Sugar have kept their names. This is college football, and the sport IS about tradition. Oh, you want a pick? Penn State by 7. JoePa and those white socks ARE tradition. Penn State
Eric – Damn…how can I top that one? As far as I’m concerned, LSU winning in double overtime against Arkansas might as well have been a loss. Drop to Ole’ Miss as well right before thanksgiving and it has been a while since the Tigers had a solid win. Besides, it will be Clark to Moye for Penn State and white socks or not, JoePa is a winner. Penn State
Rose Bowl

Randy – Masoli v. Prior is what many thing this game is about, but I
have to think is has more to do with a first year coach vs. The
Sweater Vest. Never trust a man in a sweater vest. While that might be
sage advice, it doesn’t help with this game. The Ducks have a better
ground game, and while their D isn’t as good as the Buckeyes, they
will be good enough to keep Prior in check and keep the Pac-10’s Rose
dominance going. Oregon

Eric – This game belongs to the west coast, so right off the bat the edge goes to the Pac-10. You have to love the Ducks offense. They can certainly run the ball and can throw it if need be. And yes, I agree with Randy that Ohio State has the better defense, Oregon has faced some tough QB’s this year…Kellen Moore and Sean Canfield to name a couple. That, and I’m going to say that I can put Prior into the upper echelon of field generals just yet. A win here would do it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Oregon

Sugar Bowl

Randy – Having been in New Orleans in the past 24 hours, I can tell
you that the Cincinnati fans have a complete “Happy to be here” vibe,
while Florida fans are looking to take some frustrations out on the
Bearkats. Crowd numbers might be equal, but the talent level isn’t. I
expect Tim Tebow to jump pass his was to Sugar Bowl MVP and a 20+
point Gator victory. Florida

Eric – No first hand fan experience here, but what I do have is enough experience watching Tebow and add to the fact that Meyer is hanging it up after this one and Cincinnati has been left abandoned by their head coach moving on BEFORE the bowl game, Florida sticks it to them hard. Florida

NBL Two Minute Drill and Pre-Snap Read

Due to Eric’s travel overseas and unforeseen demands on my time, there isn’t any audio this week; however, we did want to pass on our picks for the week. I currently have a 15 game lead on Eric, so unless he picks up at least two games on me this weekend the best he can hope for is a statistical tie for the regular season.

California at Stanford

Eric – Stanford is coming off of a big win, and with a lot of raw offensive talent and with Cal missing a key component of their offense, I like Stanford to keep the momentum going and get the win.

Randy – After each big victory by Stanford this season they have had a let down. Whether this holds true this week or not doesn’t play into my analysis though. This being a big rivalry game things like streaks and statistics can be tossed out the window. Cal pulled the upset last week over Zona, but without Jahvid Best their luck runs out this week. Stanford in a fairly close game.

LSU at Mississippi

Eric – LSU’s 2 losses come at the hands of Florida and Alabama. You expect that one. Mississippi has been anything other than what I expected. Ugly losses to South Carolina and Auburn leave a lot to be desired. I’ll take Charles Scott and Keiland Williams running the ball any day against the Rebels defense. LSU win.

Randy – Interesting matchup between Jevan Snead and the LSU secondary. Snead hasn’t been at his best in big games, but my increasing waistband tells me to go with Ole Miss.

Kansas State at Nebraska

Eric – Kansas State dropped a big one to Missouri last week, while Nebraska seems to have recovered from their mid-season slump. Nebraska for the home win.

Randy – Nebraska is three points away from having only one loss on the season. K-State lost by two to Louisiana-Lafayette, and only beat FCS UMass by 4. While neither team has been great this season, Nebraska has been more consistent. I’ll take consistency at home over luck on the road. Nebraska in a close one.

Oklahoma at Texas Tech

Eric – Neither team are impressing much of anyone right now, which is something they have in common. What they don’t have in common is that Oklahoma at least beat Texas A&M. Sorry Tech…big offense or not, Oklahoma holds it off for the road win.

Randy – Oklahoma has lost their last two in Lubbock, partially due to the crowd being fired up more than they have been against A&M. Kids (including my brother Benjamin) have been camping out since Monday to get tickets to the game this weekend. OU has been having injury problems all season. Tech has been down on their luck and is facing a serious quarterback controversy. Landry Jones is better than we think. Techs defense isn’t the dominant force they were at home last year. What does this all add up to? Tech win.

Northern Illinois at Ohio

Eric – You have to like a good MAC game on occasion…this should be one of them. Ohio is going to throw it all night. NIU will run it all night. Not sure that NIU has the kind of secondary to hold off Theo Scott in the air. I’m taking Ohio.

Randy – I love it when Eric makes a pick to try and reverse jinx a game. He really should just give up on picking games with Georgia Tech and Northern Illinois. Ohio wins, and wins big.

Oregon at Arizona

Eric – Oregon! I can stop now. But for the sake of saying I did an analysis. Masoli and James keep the ball on the ground most of the game and Oregon’s defense steps up to shut down Arizona’s favored passing attack.

Randy – Oregon is a tough team and we saw them bounce back against ASU this past weekend. Stoops with have his troops ready, but Oregon comes fully loaded and gets a hard fought victory in Tucson.

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Defining “upset” is left to each individual. Personally an unranked team beating a team ranked 20th or lower in any poll is not an upset most of the time, but a Sun Belt team beating any team from the Big 12 certainly is worthy of the “upset” tag. Iowa State going into Lincoln and getting a win, and Texas A&M winning in Lubbock for the first time since 1993 are both upsets. What really determines “upset” though?

Personally, I think the term upset is completely subjective to a person’s perspective and relies heavily on their expectations. Most Georgia fans would consider the loss to Oklahoma State an upset because they look down on teams from other conferences, and the loss to Tennessee due to the fact that they can’t stand Tennessee. Texas A&M losing to Arkansas State last year certainly was an upset in most people’s opinions and set the tone for a long season filled with tons of questions and not too m

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ould it be an upset for a team from a Non-AQ conference to play for the national title? No, especially if that team has played quality opponents like TCU has (BYU, Utah, Clemson, Virginia) and if they can get through the season unscathed. The question is can they actually pull it off.

NBL Quick Hits 2009 – Week 2

As if you couldn’t tell it by the sound of my voice, its getting late and I need to get to the bed, but before I do, here is the latest audio from the Naked Bootleg. Eric is out getting lost in rural Pennsylvania in a cargo van so I’ve been left in charge.

Tonight was spent procrastinating with regards to the podcast and also watching the hot and cold game that was the 2009 Georgia Tech / Clemson contest. Tech should consider themselves luck to escape with the win, and the score of the game told none of the story about the back and forth momentum of the contest.

 

Click here to download this episode

NBL Quick Hits 2009 – Week 1

As you know, the recording from last night went to absolute shite. Still, Eric and I wanted to pass along and share our insights for the season and this coming week. Here’s a brief recap of our discussion

• Colt McCoy, Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford will not be the Top-3 Heisman vote getters.
• The toughest divisions in college football this year are the Big 12 South, SEC West and ACC Coastal
• Georgia and Notre Dame will both benefit from a relatively weak schedule.
• USC will lose one game this year, continuing their frustrations of not being able to reach the National Championship game. Who will play spoiler? Our guess: Oregon
• Both USC and Notre Dame MUST run the table to have a shot at playing for the national title. A one-loss Big 12 or SEC team will certainly go ahead of either ND or USC.
• The Mountain West will be nasty at the top with TCU, Utah and BYU all vying for the conference championship.
• Miami has the nastiest September in recent and not-too-recent memory
• The Mountain West deserves to be an automatic qualifier ahead of the Big East. No Question!

And our picks for week one

Eric: Oregon, NC State, Wake Forest, Oklahoma St, Illinois, Oklahoma, Alabama, Cincinnati, Florida St

Randy: Boise St, South Carolina,  Wake Forest, Oklahoma St, Illinois, Oklahoma, Alabama, Cincinnati, Florida St

Quick Hits – Ohio and Washington

It’s two for the price of one in this episode of Quick Hits. We are taking a look at two teams that struggled pretty badly last season in their respective conferences, the Ohio Bobcats and the Washington Huskies.  Ohio has not made near the amount of progress that I would have hoped they would towards returning to the kind of temporary success we saw in the 2006 season. Washington, on the other hand, looks like a brand new program, and that is because it is.  New coaches, new systems, new player, a quarterback with a new thumb…well, maybe not a new thumb, but certainly a healed one. It’s starting to come together for some. Not so much for others.

 

Click here to download this episode

 

Click here to download this episode

Quick Hits – Miami

As we stay down in the ACC, we take a look at another team that seems like it has faced setback anfter setback in recent years, the Miami Hurricanes.  Coach Randy Shannon seems to know what he is doing though, and a group of players being stared in the face every day by so many national championships, are through with mediocrity. So how has this football team formed coming out of spring practice, and how competitive will they be in the ACC this coming season?

 

Click here to download this episode

Quick Hits – Florida State

Bowden’s Boys…but for how much longer? With Jimbo Fisher waiting in the wings, will another scandle, or worse…a par level season propel him upwards even faster? Well, we are not really going to debate that here. Other blog sites are eating this up, but it is all speculation. What is not speculation is how the Florida State Seminoles have pulled together an offense that can certainly hold their own. What else is not speculation at this point, for me at least, is that fact that they still need so big help on defense.

 

Click here to download this episode

Quick Hits – New Mexico

And we’re back on a Randy-heavy schedule. While Eric’s away, Randy will play and he’s got a long list of teams he’ll be bringing you throughout the week. First up is the University of New Mexico.

With a new Alpha Wolf in town by the name of Mike Locksley, the Lobos are poised to rise to the top of the Mountain West, but not before going through some growing pains first. The biggest problem the Lobos will face isn’t their new coaching staff or even their opponents this season. With so little returning talent, New Mexico fans might have a long season to weather before discovering how great an acquisition Locksley is.

 

Click here to download this episode

Quick Hits – Memorial Day Weekend

First of all… here is hopes for a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend from Randy and Eric. We certainly hope you have been enjoying these Quick Hits podcasts where we feature a different NCAA team on an almost daily basis. Hopefully, you have found them insightful and that they have helped you get a little excited about the upcoming college football season.

So with that, it was my intention, to release two new episodes over the weekend featuring my insight into the Florida State Seminoles and the Miami Hurricanes. However, with an extended business trip forthcoming this week, my family has sworn that they wouldwaterboard me repeatedly if I even think about preducing these two episodes over this weekend. So the plan will be for the Florida State and Miami episodes to be released on Tuesday evening and for the Washington and Ohio episodes released a little later in the week.

Now, i know you are all in tears since you will have to wait the extra day or two for these life-changing episodes to make it to your ipods, but they will of course, be worth the wait. so until then, I lift my beer to all of you Bootleggers and look forward to catching up with you soon.

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