Sunday Morning Uni Watch

By Phil Hecken, with Terry Duroncelet

Perhaps more notable that the uni action (though there was plenty of that) was the huge number of upsets of the top 5 teams this weekend, with three of the top five falling (Okie State Friday night, and the U of O and Boomer Sooner last night). Looks like we may be seeing a BCS matchup of a season rematch (LSU vs. Bama). But that’s looking way too far ahead…

So, lets just get into Terry’s NCAA rundown:

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• On Thursday, Virginia Tech wore their orange jerseys from their Homecoming game a few weeks back against North Carolina (note #92’s quickie-fixed side panel). The maroon helmet worn in that game did not have the white-orange-white stripe from last week’s Georgia Tech game. Two problems I have though: 1) Why do they insist on wearing those dumb all-white pants when they have white pants with a maroon-orange-maroon stripe that are far-superior than the all-whites? 2) Even though I mentioned in last week’s post that I like the move from black socks to white, about 90% of the VT players this week (and a fair amount last week) had tall white tubes, creating a not-so-pleasing white dancer legging-effect. I support staying warm in cool weather, but if you’re gonna do that Hokies, then please invest in some NFL-style maroon (or even orange) tall socks. As for UNC, they looked good with one of the better modern-style uniforms in college football today, but I wished that they would’ve worn the Carolina Blue pants. Ehh, I guess that’s just the light-blue fan in me. Overall, a great-looking game.

• On Friday, Oklahoma State wore black lids, white jerseys, and orange pants. Overall? However, their mascot is really creepy-looking.

• On Saturday, USF wore their Wounded Warrior Project uniforms. In the words of a bronie: DAT HELMET… I honestly don’t know how to feel about that helmet. Note the lack of a helmet logo, because the promo pics had pictures of the helmet with the logo. In that same game, one of the Bulls players was injured on a play, which prompted one of his teammates to see if he was alright, and we in turn got a look at the back of his WWP socks. My initial thought was that it was this logo, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Anybody else know?

• If you look at the top scoreboard in this photo, you can see that the network apparently didn’t have any Samford graphics ready, so they used Auburn’s “UA” as a placeholder. That, or there was a mix-up in the graphics control room.

• Michigan wore U.S. flag patches on their uniforms. Anybody know why? And a note from Kyle Munro: “Have you noticed the color difference between the Michigan helmet wings/stripes and the new numbers they have on there? I copied a picture but it’s easier to notice watching a game. Looks different to me. Which one is maize and which is yellow? And how does a fan base so stuck on tradition allow a new coach to come in and change their historic uniforms permanently? Wins I guess. I don’t get it.”

• Remember when NC State went BFBS/PNFBCAS (Black For Black’s Sake/Pink Numbers For Breast Cancer Awareness’s Sake) on Oct. 9th of this year? I mentioned something about the red helmets worn in that game, with this line: “But why brand-new red helmets, instead of special black helmets with a pink NC State logo? Presumably to better match the normal unis and get in on the hydra party.” Turns out I was right.

• Colorado State wore gold at home.

• Colorado State wore the black helmets from the USC game against LA’s other Pac 12 team.

• No photo, but Tulsa wore their Oregon carbon/North Carolina hybrid helmets again against UTEP.

• When I tuned in to the Wyoming/New Mexico game, I developed the strangest craving for yellow cake with chocolate frosting for some reason. Don’t know why.

• Wake Forest wore gold jerseys against Maryland. Awful designs aside, this was a colorful game, and it’s always good to see the shelmet.

• Ole Miss wore their red jerseys against LSU. Seems like they wear these against the Tigers every year. No complaints here.

• South Carolina and The Citadel went color-on-color. Full gallery here.

• Someone who goes just by Keenan sent an email to Phil (who then forwarded it to me) saying “For the first time ever Adidas has made blue half sleeves sported by Notre same including punter Ben Turk”. I’m confused. What does that mean? You mean this? I’m stumped. Also, if you look *really* hard in this pic, you can see the stained glass pattern sublimated on the shoulders. I didn’t see that until Yesterday. Has that been there the entire season?

• #98 for Stanford wore black cleats last night. The white sock/black shoe look is a great one, but looks kind of out of place for this uniform.

• And, of course, Arizona State and Arizona went Vader vs. Stormtrooper last night in the desert.

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Thanks Terry! Great job as usual.

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Notre Dame auction update: The auction for the Notre Dame promo box is continuing. No bids were submitted yesterday, so the high bid is still $4301 and the minimum bid for today is now $4601. If nobody bids today, the minimum bid will increase to $4701 tomorrow.

Full details on how to bid, and everything else regarding the auction, can be found here.

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Benchies

by Rick Pearson

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“We gather together to ask…”

And your full-size.

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Uni Tweaks

We have another new set of tweaks today.

If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great at keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!

And so, lets begin:

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We start with Kyle Rini, with some logo concepts for the Mountain West Conference:

Phil,

I noticed something that really irks me about the new Doctor Who styled Mountain West logo. It only exists in purple and silver. So I decided to work some MS paint magic and I created Team personalized versions for each school (and the three future schools to join the MWC) so the purple doesn’t stick out as much, enjoy.

Kyle R.

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Next up is Steve Dodell, who sent me the following Mets tweaks before the Mets officially unveiled…but tis still pertinent:

Phil,

The Mets are about to unveil new uniforms for next year…black will be less prominent hopefully gone…they will likely have a blue alt. Here are two blue unis, without the tired piping down the chest.

Don’t know if you do patch tweaks or designs…I did a 50th anniversary patch on Mets Police awhile back

Keep up the good work!

Steve

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And we close with Neal Tarver, with a new look for the Worlds Champs:

Phil:

In response to the Cards winning the world series here is some tweaks to their uniforms. Please enjoy.

HOME

ROAD

Neal

Thanks to today’s concepters. Back next weekend with more.

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2011 Duck Tracker

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Jake Hurley has stepped up to the plate and taken over the “Duck Tracker” for 2011. What is the Duck Tracker? Quite simply, it tracks each and every uniform combination the Ducks have worn for the 2011 season. He steps in for former tracker Mike Princip, whose non-Uni Watch activities will preclude him from tracking for 2011.

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Here’s the updated 2011 Duck Tracker.

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Jim Vilk’s 5 & 1

And now for the part of the post that I wait up all night for you’ve all been waiting for…

I’ve given ol’ Jim a lot of grief over the “5 & 1” over the past three years couple of weeks, but last night a strange calm came over me and I decided that no matter what he chose, I’d happily agree with his decisions. I even told him he could put Oregon in the “&1” and put his beloved WYO in the top 5 (not that what I tell him matters worth a hill of beans). And I haven’t looked at what is to follow, so let’s see what gems he’s given us for this week:

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Honorable Mentions to Kentucky/Georgia – Lovin’ that checkerboard pattern.

And to Tulane/Rice REALLY thought they were a Top 5 lock, but I wasn’t expecting monochrome Owls.

And the Terp Tracker – Their second-best look of the year…just behind the Virginia game.

5. North Carolina/Virginia Tech – Last week’s combo was their best this season, but the Hokies have looked great every single game.

4. Washington/Oregon State – Not a fan of alliteration, but I am a fan of color, contrast and cloudy days.

3. Army/Temple – Uni-wise, these Owls are flying high.

2. Nebraska/Michigan – Almost thought about going all pre-BCS on you and proclaiming this a co-#1.

1. LSU/Ole Miss – Three years running…can’t beat this one.

And the bad one: Miami/South Florida – Thanks for making my job so easy this week.

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Ah Jim, you even picked Miama for your baddie. I suppose they were due. And I had a hunch that the LSU/Ole Miss was going to top the list. Well done, sir. Well done.

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And that will be all for this Sunday. Bit of very sad news on the gridiron yesterday as a a runaway truck killed a tailgater at the Harvard/Yale game. Thankfully, our man Conn Nugent wasn’t hurt. Scary stuff, that. If you missed yesterday’s post, it contained a fantastic article authored by Conn. Give it a read.

Everyone have a good Sunday.

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“Mets are like a junkie going straight but still weekending with their dealer.” — ‘A Starlit Carillon’