Nike Unveils New Bowl Uniforms For Oregon, TCU, Florida And Boise State

You’ve seen the snapshots of the bowl uniforms Nike has created for Oregon, Florida, Boise State, and TCU. You’ve also seen high-resolution images. But you are not prepared for the 2010 bowl season until you’ve seen those Oregon socks stalking in relentless motion:

NEVER SCA’ED, Penn State! At several points Boise’s model looks ready to show ‘em how do they do it in the WAC, but Idahoans don’t dance no more. All they do is pass.

Boise State plays Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, followed by Florida vs. Penn State in the Outback, TCU vs. Wisconsin in the Rose, and Oregon vs. Auburn in the BCS National Championship Game.

We’ll be back with another update on the matter as soon as we can either find 3-D projections or blueprint schematics of the new uniforms or arrange for Nike president Phil Knight to let you catch a few passes from Darron Thomas while wearing a bodysuit made of those socks.

After Nike unveiled its new Pro Combat series uniforms that Oregon, Florida, TCU and Boise State will wear in their respective bowl games, Business Wire released high resolution images of the uniforms (sans TCU, which did not technically get a new uniform for the Rose Bowl, but rather an updated version of the Nike Pro Combat gear they already wear).

Oregon will wear these against Auburn in the BCS National Championship on January 10th:

Boise State will wear these during the Las Vegas Bowl on December 22nd:

And Florida will wear these during the Champs Sports Bowl on New Year's Day:

In addition to the new 2011 Pro Combat series, Nike also unveiled the new shoe -- The Zoom Alpha Talon Cleat -- which will be worn by TCU during the Rose Bowl.

Here's more about the cleat, half of which you may not understand (neither do I):

Nike Football’s most advanced cleat ever, the Zoom Alpha Talon Cleat leverages the most innovative technologies to meet the performance needs of every position. Working with elite athletes, Nike designers delivered improved footing at full speed with an innovative on-demand, adaptive traction system. The interior cleats in the forefoot extend when full pressure is applied for more traction when needed and retract when not. The Air Zoom Alpha Talon cleat also features a Flywire upper for lightweight lockdown, a low-profile cushioning system for comfort, and Nike Pro Deflex padding around the ankle for breathable protection.

Nike has designed special uniforms for the Boise State Broncos, who will face Utah in the MAACO Las Vegas bowl on Dec. 22. Here's the get-up that will be worn by quarterback Kellen Moore (pictured right, of course).

It looks as though Nike has taken a relatively conservative approach. The primary color used is a solid blue, resembling their 2010 home uniforms. The most noticeable differences are the orange sleeves, which curve up a bit into the shoulder pad area.

Apart from that, it's worth asking how much creative effort Nike actually put into this uniform. Or, to be more fair to Nike, how creative one can possibly get with a uniform without making it look outlandish and stupid. Sometimes (usually) a football uniform is just a football uniform.

I'm not especially impressed, but what are your thoughts?

For more on Boise State and their MAACO Las Vegas Bowl uniforms, check in with SB Nation's Broncos blog, One Bronco Nation Under God.

Oregon and Florida won't be the only schools with new uniforms for their bowl games. TCU, playing in the Rose Bowl against Wisconsin, will also have some shiny new duds courtesy of Nike, which were unveiled Tuesday at a press conference. 

While the official announcement is still yet to come, this is 2010 and the Internet exists, so the photos have already made their way online (via @WillBrinson):

Ignore the young man on the right with the orange sleeves, because we're just focusing on TCU here -- Nike has spared no expense it would seem, choosing to also showcase the base layer that the players will be wearing. Also: purple socks and purple shoelaces, which is awesome. 

Another photo, this time of the full uniform with the helmet, from Desmond Howard: 

The Florida Gators will begin a new era with Will Muschamp taking over next year, but before the re-branding begins next season, Nike has outfitted them with new uniforms for Urban Meyer's final bowl game as head coach.

As Nike tweaked their designs for Oregon in advance of this year's National Championship game, they apparently decided to spread the love. Courtesy of none other than Desmond Howard(!), here's a photo of Florida's new look:

You like it? Hate it? Kind of ambivalent because this doesn't seem that different? Let us know in the comments below.