Sunday Morning Bowl Watch (Part II)

By Phil Hecken

OK, kids, back with Terry Duroncelet, Jr., who’s going to bring us Part II of his Bowl roundup. There’s a lot go get to, so I won’t blabber here. Just wanted to mention that Florida broke out their orange jerseys yesterday against East Carolina (and won) for the first time in two years. I’m surprised they don’t wear those more (or at least once a season), but I guess there is (or was) some kind of bad mojo or something associated with the orange.

Anyhoo, I predicted the winners of the Bowls, based on MY opinions of which team wore the better uniforms throughout the season a few weeks back, and I said I’d probably go about .500. Well, I actually did just a bit better than that, going 20-17 (with one game to play tonight). Not that anyone cares, but here’s the breakdown of my predictions versus the results. You can click to enlarge:

So that’s that. And with that, here’s TJ with your…

. . .

Sunday Morning Bowl Watch, Part II
By Terry Duroncelet, Jr.

HA! Didn’t accidentally erase everything this time. Take THAT, yaoi hands! Anywho…

• Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech (played on Saturday, December 27th, 2014): Last Saturday featured five matchups. One of them being the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Hokies in all-white, and yes, those are bowl game-specific decals on the helmets, because ‘Murica! Their opponents were the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, who wore black jerseys and pants with red helmets.

• Duke vs. Arizona State (played on Saturday, December 27th, 2014): It’s a game that a purple-clad Satan would be proud of. The Blue Devils of Duke University versus the Sun Devils of Arizona State University. Duke wasn’t lookin’ so blue with their black jerseys and white pants, but at least they wore blue helmets. Meanwhile, ASU wore white-hot helmets and jerseys with maroon pants. I just wish that both teams were wearing bumper sticker-heavy uniforms that had screenprinted, utterly illegible numerals whilst playing in the McDonald’s Coconut Bowl. Then it would truly be the Devil’s work.

• South Carolina vs Miami (played on Saturday, December 27th, 2014): Pretty straightforward look for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, with their garnet jerseys and pants with white helmets. What I really dug was the green/white/green look that the University of Miami Hurricanes. Without a doubt one of the biggest upgrades of the season for any of the teams in the NCAA.

• Penn State vs. Boston College (played on Saturday, December 27th, 2014): The Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions return to bowl game glory after four years, and they went to the chase (as usual) with white helmets and pants with navy jerseys, while their opponents (the Boston College Eagles) also stayed on the conservative side, with white jerseys and pants with gold helmets.

• USC vs. Nebraska (played on Saturday, December 27th, 2014): Simple and to the point isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Case-in-point: the University of Southern California Trojans in their traditional cardinal helmets and jerseys with gold pants, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers in all-white, instead of their usual road red pants. I’m actually happy they went all-white, because Nebraska’s red pants with USC’s cardinal jerseys would probably take away some contrast. As a whole, this game was quite the looker.

• West Virginia vs. Texas A&M (played on Monday, December 29th, 2014): What wasn’t as much of a looker was the game between the West Virginia University Mountaineers and the Texas A&M University Aggies. West Virginia wore navy helmets and pants with gold jerseys, which is actually a really nice look, but it was marginally-sullied with it being the “dark” combination (Texas A&M wore all-white). Kinda goes back to Paul’s fairly-recent ESPN article on color-vs.-color games. Luckily the helmets and pants provided enough decent contrast, but still, this is an example of what not to do.

• Clemson vs. Oklahoma (played on Monday, December 29th, 2014): It ain’t a bowl game without an all-orange Clemson University Tigers team. They faced off against the University of Oklahoma Sooners, who wore white helmets and pants with crimson helmets. Also, at one point during the game, the scores and the teams’ rankings matched.

• Texas vs. Arkansas (played on Monday, December 29th, 2014): Much like the two games that came before this one, the Big XII didn’t have the best showing, as the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns would lose to University of Arkansas Razorbacks, 31-7 (ouch). Well, at least Texas looked good while losing (white/burnt orange/white). Arkansas wore cardinal/white/white.

• LSU vs. Notre Dame (played on Tuesday, December 30th, 2014): One thing that I never get tired of saying is that of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Fighting Tigers. One thing that I never get tired of looking at is the gold/white/gold look of the aforementioned Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Fighting Tigers. Okay, I’ll stop. The opposing University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish wore gold/navy/gold in their first bowl game as an UnderArmour school. As per usual, they wore player names on the back of the jerseys, which is a tradition of theirs reserved only for bowl games.

• Louisville vs. Georgia (played on Tuesday, December 30th, 2014): This game was one of those cases where one team going with a non-conservative alternate uniform worked out for the better, because the University of Louisville Cardinals wore their all-black uniforms against the University of Georgia Bulldogs, who wore red helmets, white jerseys, and “silver” pants (or an incredibly-light grey). Personally, I think a white/red/white v. red/white/silver-grey wouldn’t be the most stimulating matchup.

• Stanford vs. Maryland (played on Tuesday, December 30th, 2014): Leland Stanford Junior University and their Cardinal football team were sporting new decals in their bowl game against the University of Maryland (College Park) Terrapins. It was the usual cardinal ‘S’ with a white silhouette of a tree. I approve! Other than that, it was your usual white/cardinal/white. Maryland wore mono-white with their custom-painted helmets.

• TCU vs. Ole Miss (played on Wednesday, December 31st, 2014): Well, that was easy. The Texas Christian University Horned Frogs won their game pretty one-sided while wearing white helmets and pants with purple jerseys. the University of Mississippi Rebels wore mono-white with navy helmets.

• Arizona vs. Boise State (played on Wednesday, December 31st, 2014): The University of Arizona Wildcats wore mono-red with navy helmets against the Boise State University Broncos, who — like clockwork — wore blue/white/orange, a combination that isn’t the worst to wear in this particular game.

• Georgia Tech vs. Miss. State (played on Wednesday, December 31st, 2014): Here’s a rare site: the Georgia Institute of Technology Yellow Jackets not wearing white. They instead wore blue jerseys with gold helmets and pants. They would go up against the Mississippi State University Bulldogs, who wore mono-white with maroon helmets.

• Wisconsin vs. Auburn (played on Thursday, January 1st, 2015): And we exit 2014 to bring you the first game of the new year, featuring the University of Wisconsin-Madison Badgers in their classic white/red/white combo, against the Auburn University Tigers in their equally-classic all-white look. Not the most visually-vibrant game with the one contrasting bit being Wisconsin’s red jerseys, but not an eyesore by any means. One more note includes Auburn wearing #31 decals in honor of slain teammate Jakell Mitchell.

• Baylor vs. Michigan State (played on Thursday, January 1st, 2015): They Baylor University Bears came so close, and yet they fall just short of edging out the Michigan State University Spartans. Mono-green with gold chrome helmets was the choice of wear for Baylor, while Michigan State stuck with green/white/white. Almost makes you wish that they were playing in the Emerald Bowl.

• Minnesota vs. Mizzou (played on Thursday, January 1st, 2015): Another well-fought season by the University of Missouri Tigers (how many Tiger teams doe the SEC have? Jeez), and would finish their season with a bowl game win while wearing mono-white with the standard black helmets. The opposing University of Minnesota Golden Gophers wore solid maroon.

• Oregon vs. Florida State (played on Thursday, January 1st, 2015): Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Trent Reznor! No, it’s my personal favorite bowl game! And this year, it’s a semifinal game with the new playoff system. I love a good-looking and well-played Rose Bowl game, and both were fulfilled this year. Well, assuming if you were cheering for a very-colorful University of Oregon Ducks team. HOLY. I APPROVE. I LIKE THIS SO MUCH THAT IT WARRANTS TYPING MY PRAISE FOR THIS UNIFORM IN ALL-CAPS. But seriously, Oregon was making the opposing Florida State University Seminoles green with envy for more than what was worn, but also for this, and this, and let’s not forget this. Well done, Oregon. Oh, and Florida State wore gold/white/gold. Almost forgot that for a second.

• Alabama vs. Ohio State (played on Thursday, January 1st, 2015): This postseason saw a few familiar faces return to a few particular bowl games. The classic saw the return of Boise State, the Rose Bowl saw the return of Oregon, and the classic in New Orleans (which is the game of focus here) saw the return of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide (wearing what else?). And like clockwork, they would lose that very classic for the third straight time (the other two were against Utah from the 2008 season, and last season’s loss to Oklahoma). Oh well, they had a great season, and the team who will be facing Oregon in the championship game will the The Ohio State University Buckeyes, who wore a more classic version of their usual grey helmets and pants with white jerseys. If anyone has started a petition for Ohio State to switch to those full-time, I’ll be your best friend if you link me to it.

• Pitt vs. Houston (played on Friday, January 2nd, 2015): Nothing out of the ordinary here: the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in gold helmets and pants with navy jerseys (and the script Pitt on the helmets, of course) versus the red/white/white-clad University of Houston Cougars.

• Tennessee vs. Iowa (played on Friday, January 2nd, 2015): The University of Tennessee Volunteers stepped onto the field in their Adidas uniforms for the last time in none other than white/orange/white against the University of Iowa Hawkeyes in black/white/gold. I feel dumb now. Also note how riddled his jersey is with patches.

• Kansas State vs. UCLA (played on Friday, January 2nd, 2015): While I still long for proper UCLA stripes, I’ll admit to saying that the University of California (Los Angeles) Bruins looked pretty sharp in mono-white with gold helmets. Meanwhile, the Kansas State University Wildcats wore silver helmets and pants with purple jerseys.

• Oklahoma State vs Washington (played on Friday, January 2nd, 2015): In the battle of the chrome domes, the Oklahoma State University-Stillwater Cowboys wore their orange helmets (which aren’t technically chrome, save for the facemask) with matching pants and orange jerseys. By far by favorite non-monochromatic look from this postseason. The University of Washington Huskies wore gold chrome helmets over mono-white.

• Florida vs. East Carolina (played on Saturday, January 3rd, 2015): The University of Florida Gators wore their orange jerseys in this game, which is not something you often see them do for bowls. They wore matching helmets and white pants. They would play the East Carolina University Pirates, who were clad in all-white. A few notes from the game: one bowl game, two teams, III Antonio Morrisons, IV Joey Ivies. The suffixes don’t end there. There’s enough on the Florida team to make you shit yourself. Guess he had the runs after he made that run, didn’t he? Chris Hairston (who normally wears #22 for East Carolina) wore #25 as a tribute to teammate Byron Allen, who tore his ACL during a practice leading up to the bowl game. Also, the game didn’t exactly go East Carolina’s way in the end.

And so we come to another end of the college football season. There were laughs, there were frustrated sighs (especially if have an LSU fan in the house), and plenty of uniforms to spare. It feels weird not talking about today’s bowl game, or about next Monday’s first “true” national championship. But one thing that I want to mention: the past year has been rough on a lot of us. Me especially. There were some gems from 2014, however. Being able to write for this wonderful site is one of them. I am by no means whatsoever a professional writer or anything of that sort. The fact that you guys take the time out of your day to read what I have to say really does make me happy, and it pushes me to want to be better at it. Thank you guys for another great season, and as always, I’ll see you in eight months. Also, let’s hope that we see this go up against this.

Warmest regards,

Terry Duroncelet… Jr.

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Thanks, TJ — and thanks for another fan-fuckin’-tastic season of Sunday Morning Uni Watch! How’s about a HUGE VIRTUAL ROUND OF APPLAUSE for TJ? Awesome, my man. Also, I don’t think it will be 8 months before we hear from you again — we still have one final bowl (are they calling it a bowl?)…so stay tuned evvybody.

Catherine Ryan’s 5 & 1 SPECIAL BOWL 10 & 2 EDIITON

Every Sunday, Catherine will give us the rundown of her best five and one worst uniform matchups from the College Football games played this week.

But we’re done with the regular season now, so it’s time for a very special 5 & 1 season-ending TEN and TWO!

So now, here’s Catherine with one last set for the 2014(-15) season. Enjoy!

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Happy Sunday, UniWatchers! I hope everyone had a Happy New Year and enjoyed what ended up being a great few days of football. Phil brought me back today to present my “10 and 2” for this year’s bowl games. Thanks again to everyone who submitted tips to the tip line! It’s been great hearing from all of you this season. I’ll spare you guys the bowl names and just list the teams. Have a great Sunday!

Let me know what you think! Did I leave any good ones out? Which game did you think was the worst?

The good…

10. Kansas State vs. UCLA

9. Florida State vs. Oregon

8. Ohio State vs. Alabama

7. NC State vs. Central Florida

6. Arizona State vs. Duke

5. BC vs. Penn State

4. Nebraska vs. USC

3. Illinois vs. Louisiana Tech

2. Notre Dame vs. LSU

1. Iowa vs. Tennessee

And the bad…

+1 Air Force vs. Western Michigan

+1 Boise State vs. Arizona

__________

Thanks, Catherine! And thanks for another awesome season of the 5 & 1! Great stuff. Another VIRTUAL STANDING OVATION for Miss Ryan!

OK readers, how’d she do?

UWFFL Premier League
By Rob Holecko

It is time for Week 14 of the UWFFL Premier League season as well as the semifinals in the Division II’s Metro South Conference.

There are some great games in the Premier League this week… The undefeated Anchorage Orcas are taking on the Atlanta Flying Fleet. Can the Fleet hand the Orcas their first lost? San Francisco and Hartford square off, Birmingham plays San Diego, and there is a big Central Division rematch between Detroit and Minnesota. Also in the Central Division Texas and St. Louis will meet in a game that both teams need if they want to try to stay out of the Relegation Zone, and the Vancouver Seawolves and the Miami Cougars face each other in another game that will certainly have playoff implications.

Later you’ll be able to head to our website and vote on these games, but today our focus is again on the minor league playoffs. The UWFFL expanded from 3 to 4 Division II Conferences in 2014, adding the Metro South Conference to the EA, the PCL and the PCC. Today the four highest finishing teams in the MSC’s inaugural campaign will meet in the Conference Semifinals.

Jeremy Baxter’s Charleston Navigators have been a hot team this year. First they won the Spring 2014 UWFFL Developmental League title and breezed into Division II competition, finishing first in the MSC with an 11-2 mark. They will host the #4-seeded 8-5 Little Rock Navigators, also a 2014 D-League graduate, in the first semifinal. Little Rock is wearing their gold lids with white jerseys and brown pants, while Charleston is wearing their standard white helmets, blue jerseys and white panted home uniforms.

Little Rock

Charleston

 

pollcode.com free polls

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In the other semifinal, the #3-seeded 9-4 Florida Geckos will travel to the 9-3-1 second-seed, the Missouri Magnetic. Florida, last year’s Division II National runners-ups, get a second chance this year to move on up to the big leagues, but their first step will be to get past the upstart Magnetic, yet another 2014 D-League graduate.

The Geckos are wearing their white road unis with green pants with their redesigned 2014 helmet, while the mix-and-match Magnetic are pairing a white helmet with a sleek baby blue alt and white pants this week. It is sure to be a barn-burner in the Show Me state when this one kicks off.

Florida

Missouri

 

pollcode.com free polls

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After voting on those semi-finals, be sure to head over to our website, uwfantasyfootballleague.com and vote on this week’s Premier League games.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also this weekend the AAIFA, the UWFFL’s “experimental indoor football league” is having it’s championship game. The St. Joseph Couriers will face off against the Sarasota Spitfires at 6 PM Eastern this evening, and it is sure to be an exciting deal. As I’m sure you all know, there is nothing more exciting than indoor football, and that holds true even if it is imaginary indoor football. And now we’ll get to find out who will take home the James B. Dineen AAIFA Championship Trophy.

To learn more about the AAIFA, check out their Google+ page here. You can go there for an in-depth break down of the game and read “5 Reasons Why Sarasota Wins the AAIFA Championship” or “5 Reasons Why St. Joseph Wins the AAIFA Championship” and much, much more.

The AAIFA matches aren’t determined by voting for uniforms — game outcomes are determined by randomizers, algorithims, lucky eight balls, slide rules, mice eating peach cobbler and dice rolls, or at least one or two of those things — however if you were voting for them by uniform, which team would you vote for? Sarasota or St. Joseph?

Sarasota

St. Joseph

 

pollcode.com free polls

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With the Missouri Magnetic in the MSC semifinals and St. Joseph in the AAIFA Championship, today has shaped up to quite possibly be the biggest weekend for imaginary sports in the Show Me State ever, or at least since Larry Fuller’s team, the “Ain’t No Hasselbeck Girls” in his Independence, Mo., fantasy football league came from 51 points down in a 2002 game when Shaun Alexander had a big day.

With that, we’ll see you next week, and let us be among the last to wish you a Happy New Year’s.

Uni Watch News Ticker:

NFL News: After reading yesterday’s column, and being a Canton, OH native, Tom Pachuta thought about the Canton Bulldogs of the 1920’s NFL. “I knew the team had been moved to Cleveland in 1924, so I checked the schedules from 1920 – 1923. On November 7, 1920, the Bulldogs played at the Cleveland Tigers and won 18-0. On November 13, 1921, the Bulldogs played at the Cleveland Indians and won 7-0. On November 25, 1923, the Bulldogs played at the Cleveland Indians and won 46-10. The second paragraph of this article explains the franchise move.” … LaVeon Bell’s sideline hat has his uniform #26 incorporated into the Steelers logo (thanks to Stephen Hayes). … So, um, what do I win? … In yesterday’s Cards/Panthers game, “Mr. ‘I’m still wearing 2011 shirt’ was still at it, playoff style now.” (thanks to Rob Holecko). Speaking of the Cards and Panthers, yesterday the Panthers wore white at home and the Cardinals went full bloodclot. … In the late game, the Stillers wore their normal black/black/gold, while the Ravens went black/white/black. … NBC has a new score bug (this was also used for EPL matches and the NYD Hockey Game, so it appears to be a network-wide thing). Thanks to Nate Gilbert for the screen shot. … In that new graphic the peacock changes color (nice spot by @YaBoyJoPo). … Jim Harbaugh, now the coach of Michigan, was on the sidelines last night and wearing a Nike jacket (thanks to Ryan Williams), and he also had adidas shoes. Interestingly, he was not wearing khakis (although that’s how he came to the game); h/t to @ZenoJones for that.

College/High School Football News: Here’s a fashion trend that we can only hope is limited to the State of Michigan: “Jim Harbaugh Inspires a Run on Khakis at Michigan” (thanks to TommyTheCPA). … The Toledo Rockets will wearing this on their white helmets during tonight’s penultimate bowl, the “GoDaddy” Bowl (thanks to Trevor Patton). Thank God these only-corporate-sponsor bowls are over. … There was a AllAmerican Army game yesterday (for high school prospects & commits), and here’s what the East wore. I’m not sure who made the unis — little help? Here’s what the West wore. More pics, if you dare, can be seen here. I mean, C’mon man. It’s not just the huge wordmark, but the new trademark treadmarks are now all over the jersey and the pants too. … Hmmm, do you think Braxton knows something…or is he just done with OSU? … Both OSU and UO are sponsored by Nike, of course, but that won’t stop adidas from making shirts (and money) off the matchup (h/t @Believeland_216).

NBA News: In yesterday’s lede, there was a question about the correct jersey worn by the Buffalo Braves in 1971. Now, thanks to Terr Proctor, we have a picture of the jersey that Buffalo wore in 1970-71, their inaugural season. … James Harden was wearing an old jersey last night. NBA logo should be on the back, not the front (from Jose Lopez).

Hockey News: First we had ‘Snakes on a Plane.’ Now we have ‘Snakes on a jersey’. Thanks to Mike Raymer, those are the Columbus Cottonmouths (Georgia) minor league hockey. And yes, those are Alabama and Georgia state flags on the shoulders. … Reader Sara Schieve was playing NHL15 (easports ps3) and “noticed that the flipping Swiss have Nike uniforms! EA has been notorious for butchering national team unis so this stunned me.” … These next two come from Matt Larsen: Craig Adams’ new visor: The announcers said he got bloodied from a fight with Evgeni Malkin during the morning stake on Friday, resulting in stitches in his mouth. Matt adds, “Also, I don’t know which strikes me more: Don Cherry’s jacket, or the logo creep on his turtleneck.” … Meanwhile, at an AHL game, Norfolk Admirals LW John Kurtz had a torn jersey. In pregame warm ups (thanks to Kevin Kurz). … In a move likely designed to combat the mumps epidemic(?), the Rangers have #’d water bottles. Also Rick Nash (#61) appeared to be using Derek Stepan’s (#21) stick (thanks to Chris H.). … Zac Rinaldo’s NHL shield fell off his jersey (nice grab by Tom Drees). … Last night in Topeka it was Star Wars night. Here’s another shot.

Soccer News: Steelers or just Stealers? Chilean Football (Soccer) team uses similar logo to Pittsburgh Steelers. Basically they have historical ties to steel and use the the steel trademark in their logo. Details in article, which is in spanish (thanks to Ramon M.).

College Hoops News: “The back of the Notre Dame warmups look like coffins to me,” writes Warren Junium. “Am I missing something on these?” No, I’d say that’s a pretty good descriptor. … The Arizona Wildcats are going to retire Jason Terry’s jersey. … Yesterday the Georgetown Hoyas did their men against breast cancer thing. Everyone got a shirt (h/t Georgetown Hoyas). Some of the players also had pink laces (h/t Gene Wang). … Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton’s socks had the Batman logo on the back yesterday against Georgia Tech. … South Carolina wore these…um, uniforms last night vs Iowa State (via Skip Caughman).

Grab Bag: You’ve always wanted to own an Apollo 11 tracksuit, right? No? Well, even if you don’t, here’s one you can own (thanks to Brinke for bringing that to our attention).

And that’s it for today — thanks to all who wished me a Happy Birthday yesterday — much appreciated.

Big, HUGE thanks to Terry and Catherine for ALL their great efforts today and throughout the NCAA season. It was a big help and a great addition our Sundays for the past four-plus months. Make sure you thank them below in the comments!

Everyone have a great Sunday, and I will catch you all next weekend. Enjoy the NFL and whatever else sports-wise strikes your fancy) today.

Happy Birthday in Heaven, Pop. Miss ya.

Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

.. … ..

“I hope you make it out to Nassau Coliseum at least once this final year. Do it for Bossy. Or Trottier, Potvin, or Gillies. Or Billy Smith. Mostly, do it for LI Phil.”

— Ben Traxel