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

Post Season Sweep 2009 – Episode 1

Well, we missed the first few, but our first episode of the NBL PostSeason Sweep has now been posted. In this episode, we will be previewing games through the Independence Bowl, with the rest of the bowl season being covered in upcoming episodes.

 

Click here to download this episode

NBL Post Season Sweep 01/11/2009

Hello again, Bootlegger! Well, this is the final episode of the 2008 season, but fear not, we will be returning periodically throught the off season to provide insight and mindless banter regarding the finer things in life, such as signing day, the NFL draft, spring football, and the occasional conversation regarding other interesting college sports, like mens lacrosse, hockey, basketball, etc. But right now, lets wrap this season up by starting off with some news around the league.

Quick Hits

At the time of this recording, there are 36 players that have declared themselves draft eligible. Now some came as no surprise and others are leaving us scratching our heads a bit. Some of the more notable players to step up to the big show (or abandon ship, depending on the situation) include

- Bama running back Glen Coffee and offensive tackle Andre Smith will attempt to move on to the next level. At the same time, Alabama positions themselves for continued success. We knew Smith was heading out, but Coffee’s departure is a little stunning considering the good position Bama is in for next year and considering the heavy competition amongst running backs heading into the 2009 draft.

- Connecticut’s Donald Brown will attempt to take his success as running back to the next level, leaving some big shoes to fill.

- The departure of Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford from Georgia will leave a gutted bulldog offense. Even if Georgia continues to develop a fairly weak offensive line, who are they going to block for, considering Massaquoi is out as well.

- No surprise that Shonn Greene is leaving Iowa for the pros after such a great season for him at running back…and with the prospects of Hawkeye success a little bleaker, I cant say I blame him.

- Just as Ohio State has started to figure their offense out, Beanie Wells heads to the pros. A lot of young runners entering the draft and his opportunity to get out while he’s healthy, it’s a no-brainer for him to leave.

- Spurrier better figure something out…and fast. With Smelley transfering to pursue his baseball career, and now Emmanuel Cook, Jared Cook, and Captain Munnerlyn leaving early, the Gamecocks may be missing out on a big chance to resurge as a dominant force in the SEC.

- Michael Crabtree leaves Texas Tech for the Pros…and why not?

- P.J. Hill leaves Wisconsin and will make an attempt at the pro draft…turn back now P.J. It’s not so bad in Wisconsin and you wont have to compete against an army of other running backs that put up better numbers this year.

Alright…on to the final Naked Bootleg Top 20

1 Florida
2 Utah
3 USC
4 Texas
5 Oklahoma
6 Alabama
7 TCU
8 Penn State
9 Texas Tech
10 Boise State
11 Ohio State
12 Virginia Tech
13 Georgia
14 Oregon
15 Missouri
16 Ole Miss
17 Cincinnati
18 Rice
19 Oklahoma State
20 Oregon State

Receiving Votes: BYU, Iowa

And now…After Further Review…

The Fiesta Bowl – Texas did not look that great in this win, but Ohio State looked slightly less inspired. Not Colt McCoy’s finest performance, but effective nonethesless. what was stunning is how many attempts in the air the Longhorns took at the Buckeyes. Texas scrapes one out late in the game.

The GMAC Bowl – Tulsa showed up…where have they been of late, and what happened to that impressive Ball State squad? Tulsa’s running game demolished the Ball State defense in a match that wasn’t even close, and sure wasn’t worth waiting till after the new years to watch.

The BCS Championship – Congrats to the Florida Gators in a game that was not their finest performance, but a win is a win nonetheless. Tebow ends this one with 2 TDs and 2 INTs and over 100 yards rushing. Of course he had to carry the ball an ungodly amount of times to get their. Sooner QB Sam Bradford struggles against one of the toughest defenses in the nation, and as all of our high school coaches probably told us “offenses win games, but defenses win championships”…so worn out, but yet so true.

Alright, that about wraps it up. We will be back again right aroung signing day so check out the calendar in the main navigation on our website so see when we will be recording. We will catch up with you again soon!

NBL Post Season Sweep 01/04/2009

Welcome Bootleggers to yet another episode of the Naked Bootleg’s Post Season Sweep. As I’m sure you are eagerly anticating, we will be reviewing our picks from last episode and providing our analysis of the three remaining bowl games of the season, including the Fiesta Bowl, the GMAC Bowl, and the BCS National Championship game. As before, this is sure to be a long one, so hang in there…here we go.

Review

Humanitarian Bowl – Maryland 42, Nevada 35
Nevada’s offense didn’t seam to show up like we thought it would, and their defense couldn’t seam to stop a persistent Maryland attack. And it only went from bad to worse for them when Friedgen finally put Da’Reel Scott in the game during the second quarter. Give them credit though…they stayed in the fight till the end, but it was a little to much for them to muster up.

Texas Bowl – Western Michigan 14, Rice 38
Western Michigan was never even in this game. In fact, Rice already had every one of there 38 points scored by the time Western Michigan got in the board mid way through the 4th quarter. Chase Clement threw the ball great for the Owls with 307 yards on the day, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. Great way to finish the season for this years NBL honorable mention.

Holiday Bowl – Oklahoma St. 31, Oregon 42
With Masoli driving the Oregon offense, the Ducks dominated the 4th quarter. Still, this was a great game to watch and I enjoyed every minute of it. It is worth saying that Zac Robinson had a great game for Oklahoma State, accounting for 383 yards in offense, and the Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant put up an astonishing 168 yards on 13 catches.

Armed Forces Bowl – Houston 34, Air Force 28
Houston finally got one. They haven’t managed a bowl win since 1980. And it was a hard fought win at that. The Falcons threw everything they had at the Cougars…well, mostly running, but it was surprising how much we saw Air Force throw the football. Still, Houston got the lead early on and aside from a few answered scores, the Cougars never gave up the lead.

Sun Bowl – Oregon St 3, Pittsburgh 0
What an amazing defensive battle…ugly offensively, yes…but defensively to only allow 3 points, create 5 turnovers, get 10 sacks and force 20 punts throughout the game between both teams, is nothing short of astounding. Beavers won this one on a 44 yard second quarter field goal. And they won without either one of the Rogers brothers who were both out with injuries.

Music City Bowl – Boston College 14, Vanderbilt 16
Vandy won this one, the way they had won all the big early season games…persistence, consistency, determination, and a fair amount of special teams rolled into the mix. And like the rest of their season, this bowl win was long over due. It has literally been 53 years since they won a bowl game. And aside from their special teams, credit the Commodores defense for this win. Vandy forced 3 eagles turnovers, including a pivotal last minute interception to keep Vandy in the lead and give them the win.

Insight Bowl – Kansas 42, Minnesota 21
This one was just all Kansas, like we though it would be. Todd Reesing looked great in this one throwing 27 of 35 for 4 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Dezmon Briscoe had an amazing game with over 200 yards receiving on 14 grabs…with 3 touchdowns on the day. Big outing for the Jayhawks. At this point, it would be worth mentioning that in spite of their late season slump, Minnesota did finish their season at 7 wins and 6 losses…this coming off a 1 and 11 season last year…not a bad turnaround.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl – Georgia Tech 3, LSU 38
True to form, LSU’s run defense…their speed and power totally crushed Tech and really forced them out of their game. Tech went to the air more that they would have liked to, obviously with minimal success, but what else are you going to do if the ground game isn’t working, if you can’t hang onto the football and if your special teams play looked absolutely atrocious and if you left to watch Charles Scott run up and down the field nearly untouched.

Outback Bowl – Iowa 31, South Carolina 10
Iowa dominated the ground game and South Carolina couldn’t get much going at all offensively. Carolina scored their one touchdown via an inconsistent and under-impressive passing performance. For Iowa, Doak Walker award winner Shonn Greene gained 121 yards on 29 carries for 3 touchdowns and became the only player this season to rush for over 100 yards in each game.

Capital One Bowl – Georgia 24, Michigan St. 12
Where did the ground game go? Two of the best running backs in the nation barely combined for a 100 yards rushing. In fact, Knowshon Moreno had more receiving yards than rushing yards. Credit this one to Stafford’s passing attack and the Bulldogs defense’s ability to shut down any advances that the Spartans made. The dogs were in Michigan State’s backfield all afternoon. Stafford was 20 of 31 for 250 yards and 3 touchdowns…not a bad outing.

Gator Bowl – Nebraska 26, Clemson 21
Nebraska squeaked one by a pretty determined Clemson team. Where Clemson fell short was the same place they struggled all season, and that’s with offensive consistency. True to form, Joe Ganz stepped up after a shaky start and performed nicely in the second half to pace the Nebraska offense and lead them to a bowl win.

Rose Bowl – Penn St. 24, USC 38
Holy crap, this was a USC passing performance we didn’t really expect to see. 413 passing yards out of Mark Sanchez for 4 touchdowns…Penn State just didn’t know what hit them. On the other side of the ball, USC forced 3 turnovers and in spite of giving up 17 4th quarter points, it didn’t even matter. USC was just simply dominant.

Orange Bowl – Cincinnati 7, Virginia Tech 20
Va. Tech has been all over the map offensively this season, but they pulled it together when it counted, won another ACC championship and in this case, gained the ACC’s first BCS win since Florida State won the Sugar Bowl back in 2000. The Hokie running game was on fire against the Bearcat defense. At 258 rushing yards, this is the 3rd time this year that Virginia Tech ran for over 250 yards in a single game. But that’s just the offense, defensively, the Hokies held the Bearcats to only 1 touchdown and forced 4 turnovers, meaning that after an uninspired 1st quarter performance it was all Virginia Tech.

Cotton Bowl – Texas Tech 34, Ole Miss 47
This makes the 3rd time this season we saw a great upset come at the hands of the Rebels if you include wins against Florida and LSU. Ole Miss put up 515 yards in total offense that include 5 touchdowns and a field goal. And lest we forget the defensive contributions to the scoreboard, the Rebs defense ran back an interception for a TD and forced a safety.

Liberty Bowl – Kentucky 25, East Carolina 19
Kentucky didn’t exactly light up the board with their offense, but a big 99 yard kickoff return to get the 2nd half going and a late game fumble recovery ran back for a TD was enough to get a win. And one of the big ol’ tough guys got to run back that fumble for a touchdown. In spite of the Kentucky win, its worth mentioning the great game the Pirate QB Patrick Pinkney had as he managed to throw for a hair under 300 yards and one touchdown. He will be well missed by East Carolina next season.

Sugar Bowl – Utah 31, Alabama 17
When a team like Utah can pull off an undefeated season, it only adds more to the argument for revamping the BCS…and Utah earned this one big time. Brian Johnson had a great game throwing for 336 yards and 3 touchdowns and paced the Utah offense to give them the Sugar Bowl win. Bama’s quarterback, John Parker Wilson didn’t have the best showing, but I will attribute a lot of that to the fact that his offensive line was short of one key element…that would be Andre Smith. For proof that one man is important…Wilson found himself on his back 8 times during the game…a season worst, as was the pitiful running game Bama tried to pull together. The good news for the Tide is that they are in prime position for excellence in the coming season or two.

International Bowl – Buffalo 20, Connecticut 38
Buffalo put up a good fight, but Donald Brown would put up some big numbers…and keep the Bulls at bay. Brown ran for 261 yards and 1 TD on the day. But ultimately it was the huskies defense that kept the Bulls off the board during the second half that gets the win in this one. UConn held the Bulls ground game to only 24 yards and in spite of giving up 213 passing yards, they managed to keep the air attack relatively ineffective.

Previews
Fiesta Bowl – Ohio St. vs Texas
Eric’s Pick – Texas
Randy’s Pick – Texas

GMAC Bowl – Ball State vs Tulsa
Eric’s Pick – Ball State
Randy’s Pick – Tulsa

BCS Championship Game – Florida vs Oklahoma
Eric’s Pick – Oklahoma
Randy’s Pick – Florida

NBL Post Season Sweep 12/29/2008

Welcome Bootleggers to our thrid installment of the Naked Bootleg’s Post Season Sweep. Of course, we will review how things shook out since last episode and give our analysis of upcoming bowl games including the Humanitarian Bowl, Texas Bowl, Holiday Bowl, Armed Forces Bowl, Sun Bowl, Music City Bowl, Insight Bowl, Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Outback Bowl, Capital One Bowl, Gator Bowl, Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Sugar Bowl and International Bowl. So hang with us…this could be a long one!

Review

Hawaii Bowl – ND 49, Hawaii 21
Hawaii didn’t perform and Notre Dame has set itself up for a highly hyped off season. Regardless, the Irish played big and Clausen played big.

Motor City Bowl – FAU 24, CMU 21
This was the Florida Atlantic team we had hoped to see all season. Congrats to coach Howard Schnellenberger for an impressive undefeated bowl record.

Meineke Car Care Bowl – WVU 31, UNC 30
Tough game…and definitely one of the more enjoyable of the bowl season so far. Mountaineers get a nice win and UNC gets to build on the success of this season and step up even bigger next year in the ACC.

Champs Sports Bowl – FSU 42, Wisc 13
Florida State manhandled the Badgers and left Wisconsin to lick their wounds and begin the post-mortum on their disappointing season. Florida State positions themselves for ACC dominance next season.

Emerald Bowl – Cal 24, Mia 17
Suspension really hurt Miami’s chances in this back and forth battle that could have gone either way. Cal finished the ‘Canes off though, and in spite of having to share a sideline with each other both teams put up a great effort and made this one exciting to watch.

Independence Bowl – LT 17, NIU 10
Louisiana Tech needed this one and they got it. Northern Illinois earned the bowl appearance, but didn’t make it count. Too bad for the MAC…still winless in the bowl match-ups this season.

Papa John’s – NC St 23, Rut 29
Didn’t we say this would be one to keep an eye on while at work. what a game. Rutgers survives the Wolfpack attack. Mike Teel had a great game and helps his team pull out a squeaker.

Alamo Bowl – Mizzou 30, NW 23 (OT)
Tight, back and forth game, culminating in poor late game play-calling, misreads and Tigers win…but hey, it was fun to watch!
Previews
Humanitarian Bowl – Maryland vs Nevada
Eric’s Pick – Nevada
Randy’s Pick – Nevada

Texas Bowl – Western Michigan vs Rice
Eric’s Pick – Rice
Randy’s Pick – Rice

Holiday Bowl – Oklahoma St. vs Oregon
Eric’s Pick – Oklahoma St.
Randy’s Pick – Oklahoma St.

Armed Forces Bowl – Houston vs AF
Eric’s Pick – Houston
Randy’s Pick – Houston

Sun Bowl – Oregon St. vs Pittsburgh
Eric’s Pick – Oregon St.
Randy’s Pick – Pittsburgh

Music City Bowl – Boston College vs Vandy
Eric’s Pick – Boston College
Randy’s Pick – Boston College

Insight Bowl – Kansas vs Minn
Eric’s Pick – Kansas
Randy’s Pick – Kansas

Chick-Fil-A Bowl – Georgia Tech vs LSU
Eric’s Pick – Ga. Tech
Randy’s Pick – Ga. Tech

Outback Bowl – Iowa vs South Carolina
Eric’s Pick – Iowa
Randy’s Pick – Iowa
Capitol One Bowl – Georgia vs Michigan St.
Eric’s Pick – Georgia
Randy’s Pick – Georgia

Gator Bowl – Nebraska vs Clemson
Eric’s Pick – Nebraska
Randy’s Pick – Clemson

Rose Bowl – Penn St. vs USC
Eric’s Pick – USC
Randy’s Pick – Penn St.

Orange Bowl – Cincinnati vs VT
Eric’s Pick – Cincinnati
Randy’s Pick – Cincinnati

Cotton Bowl – Texas Tech vs Ole Miss
Eric’s Pick – Texas Tech
Randy’s Pick – Texas Tech

Liberty Bowl – Kentucky vs East Carolina
Eric’s Pick – East Carolina
Randy’s Pick – East Carolina

Sugar Bowl – Utah vs Alabama
Eric’s Pick – Alabama
Randy’s Pick – Alabama

International Bowl – Buffalo vs Connecticut
Eric’s Pick – Connecticut
Randy’s Pick – Buffalo

NBL Post Season Sweep 12/24/2008

Welcome Bootleggers to the Christmas Eve episode of the Naked Bootleg’s Post Season Sweep. We are in our secondweek of bowl games and that means its time for us to review how things lined up during week one and give our analysis of upcoming bowl games including the Hawaii Bowl, Motor City Bowl, Meineke Car Care Bowl, Champs Sports Bowl, Emerald Bowl, Independence Bowl, Papajohns.com Bowl, and the Alamo Bowl.

Review -
New Mexico Bowl – Colorado St (40) vs Fresno St (35)
Where the hell did Gartrell Johnson come from and why did the Bulldogs defense allow him to rush for 285 yards on 27 carries and then receive for another 90. Fresno State’s offense could keep the pace of their first quarter which was pretty impressive.

St. Petersberg Bowl – South Florida (41) vs Memphis (14)
This one went down the exact way we said it would. The Bulls offense came out firing against an much weaker defense. Grothe didn’t exactly have the carreer game, but he did manage to keep the ball out of Memphis’s defenses hands

Las Vegas Bowl – Arizona (31) vs BYU (21)
By the books, BYU should have won this one…outpacing Arizona offensively with the pass and the run, but ultimately the Wildcats defense just wouldn’t give.

Eagle Bank Bowl – Wake Forest (29) vs Navy (19)
Navy looked ineffective in the second ½…closer game than the scoreboard suggest

New Orleans Bowl – Southern Miss (30) vs Troy (27) OT
Southern Miss made a late game comeback the old fashioned way…converting on key 3rd and 4th downs, making clutch field goals, and a big special teams performance in overtime with the blocked punt

Preview -
Hawaii Bowl (Honolulu)- Hawaii vs Notre Dame
Eric’s Pick – Hawaii
Randy’s Pick – Hawaii

Motor City Bowl (Detroit)- Florida Atlantic vs Central Michigan
Eric’s Pick – Central Michigan
Randy’s Pick – Central Michigan

Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte)- West Virginia vs North Carolina
Eric’s Pick – West Virginia
Randy’s Pick – North Carolina

Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando)- Wisconsin vs Florida State
Eric’s Pick – Florida State
Randy’s Pick – Florida State

Emerald Bowl (San Francisco)- Miami vs California
Eric’s Pick – California
Randy’s Pick – Miami

Independence Bowl (Shreivport, LA)- Northern Illinois vs Louisiana Tech
Eric’s Pick – Louisiana Tech
Randy’s Pick – Louisiana Tech

PapaJohns.com Bowl (Birmingham)- NC State vs Rutgers
Eric’s Pick – Rutgers
Randy’s Pick – NC State

Alamo Bowl (San Antonio)- Missouri vs Northwestern
Eric’s Pick – Northwestern
Randy’s Pick – Missouri

NBL Post Season Sweep 12/18/2008

Hello Bootlegger! I hope you are all rested up and ready to enjoy this most wonderful, festive and highly commercialized time of the year…and no we are not talking about Christmas, we are talking about college football bowl season, which not even Christmas can compare to when it comes to commercialization. So, with that in mind as we here at the Naked Bootleg have done nothing over the last week or so hiatus from college football but get fat and lazy, we will now attempt to shake all the cobwebs off as we bring you our first of several special episodes where we will be previewing each and every bowl match-up and were you will always get our unabashed, unbiased and uncensored view of college football. In this episode we are going to take a look at this years awards recipients for a few minutes prior to taking a look at the Eagle Bank Bowl, the New Mexico Bowl, the St. Petersburg Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, the New Orleans Bowl and the Poinsettia Bowl.

Alright, before we jump into our bowl reviews and post season prognostication, let’s talk about this years college football awards recipients.

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Heisman Trophy – Sam Bradford (Oklahoma)

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Maxwell Award (Outstanding Player) – Tim Tebow (Florida)
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Walter Camp Award (Player of the year) – Colt McCoy (Texas)
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Dick Butkus Award (Outstanding Linebacker) – Aaron Curry (Wake Forest)
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Outland Trophy (Outstanding Interior Lineman) – Andre Smith (Alabama)
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Chuck Bednarik Award (Defensive Player of the Year) – Rey Maualuga (USC)
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Davey O’Brien Award (National Quarterback Award) – Sam Bradford (Oklahoma)
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Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Outstanding Sr. QB) – Graham Harrell (Texas Tech)
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Doak Walker Award (National Running Back Award) – Shonn Greene (Iowa)
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Fred Biletnikoff Award (Outstanding Wide Receiver) – Michael Crabtree (Texas Tech)
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Jim Thorpe Award (Outstanding Defensive Back) – Malcolm Jenkins (Ohio St.)
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John Mackey Award (Outstanding Tight End) – Chase Coffman (Missouri)
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Lou Groza Award (Collegiate Placekicker Award) – Graham Gano (Florida St.)
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Bronko Nagurski Award (Defensive Player of the Year) – Brian Orakpo (Texas)
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Ray Guy Award (Outstanding Punter) – Matt Fodge (Oklahoma St.)
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Vince Lombardi/Rotary Award (Outstanding Lineman) – Brian Orakpo (Texas)
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Ted Hendricks Award (Defensive End of the Year Award) – Brian Orakpo (Texas)
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Rimington Trophy (Outstanding Center) – A.Q. Shipley (Penn State)
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Home Depot Award (Coach of the Year Award) – Nick Saban (Alabama)
… Alright…On to this week’s scouting report

Eagle Bank Bowl (Navy vs. Wake Forest) – Sat. 12/20
Eric’s Pick – Navy
Randy’s Pick – Navy

New Mexico Bowl (Colorado State vs Fresno State) – Sat 12/20
Eric’s Pick – Fresno State
Randy’s Pick – Fresno State

St. Petersburg Bowl (Memphis vs South Florida) – Sat 12/20
Eric’s Pick – South Florida
Randy’s Pick – South Florida

Las Vegas Bowl (BYU vs Arizona) – Sat 12/20
Eric’s Pick – Arizona
Randy’s Pick – BYU

New Orleans Bowl (Southern Miss vs Troy) – Sun 12/21
Eric’s Pick – Troy
Randy’s Pick – Troy

Poinsettia Bowl (Boise State vs TCU) – Tu 12/23
Eric’s Pick – TCU
Randy’s Pick – TCU