By Phil Hecken
Welcome to Weak Week IV of the NCAA Football Season. Like the third Saturday (and Thursday/Friday), this is generally one of the weakest weeks on the schedule in terms of strong matchups. It also means, since we’re still a few days away from Pinktober (and about a month until GIJokevember), that not too much happens, uniform-wise, on the gridirons. But there is always a few different looks going on (like, Oregon wearing school colors, and getting their asses kicked by Utah — this is not Marcus’ team any more).
Anyhoo — we have Terry “TJ” Duroncelet bringing you the main entry, and of course Joe Ringham with the 5 & 1, and three (yep, added a new Tracker for the Big XII this week) trackers — Rex Henry, Dennis Bolt and now Kyle Acker to round things out. Let’s get started. Up first, as always is TJ with today’s …
Sunday Morning Uni Watch
By Terry Duroncelet
The first weekend of Autumn football is always filled with an air of “what’s in store for this season?”, and after what I felt was a weird week, the weekend proved to be a mixture of fun games, not a terrible amount of uni action, and the weather making it feel like it was mid-November, but without the satisfying cold.
From Thursday:
• I don’t talk about Cincinnati’s uniforms enough. This is their first year with Under Armour, and I must say, this is –in my opinion– one of the best modern uniforms in college football at this moment. And thinking about it, they didn’t look too bad even in their Adidas days (although I could’ve done without those grey numbers). Also, Memphis wore new grey uniforms at home. If you have to wear grey at home, this is the way to do it, because you can actually tell the difference between the two teams on the field, as opposed to wearing light grey at home.
From Friday:
• Is this a new thing? The Cavalier Keel? Speaking of which, the Hoos wore navy versions of the helmets that they wore against UCLA in Week 1. Boise State was in all-white.
From Saturday:
• Purdue wore neon-accented lids with their anthracite uniforms for their “Hammer Down Cancer” campaign. They did something similar last year.
• Western Michigan seems to be taking this ‘Row the Boat’ thing pretty seriously (Credit to Douglas Ford for that pic).
• Jim H. was seen at yesterday’s game against BYU wearing a hat that had the Adidas logo on it, an apparent first for him. But I’m more concerned as to why the hat makes him look like Elmer Fudd.
• Indiana’s script helmets from last week were apparently a hit, because they wore a different version of them yesterday against Wake Forest, who had some chrome helmets of their own. Fred Fuchs still could not be reached for comment (credit to Jon Chichwak for that last pic).
• Illinois wore orange/navy/orange, a combo haven’t worn since 2010. I like.
• Syracuse followed suit. By the way, huge bump to Glen Macklin (@GlenMaffews) for catching this: “#57 has wrong style 7 (slashes going wrong way should be like #27) I bet this happens a lot”
• Hook ’em, Horn. Kudos to Dan Medina (@iloveinterwebz) for the pic and the line.
• In addition to one hell of a game, Texas Tech actually looked like the Red Raiders for once, not to mention that the overall game looked pretty nice (especially compared to last year).
• Oregon wore their 2015 Rose Bowl uniforms against Utah, who wore all-white. Needs more duck peni– er, I mean, ferocious Fighting Duck logo on the helmets. I think this is the first time that Oregon has worn a non-specialty helmet with the Oregon ‘O’ in at least a few years (the BCA helmets from 2013 won’t be counted in this case).
• I think it’s safe to say that I have my fair share of grievances regarding UCLA’s 2015 “uniforms”, but it’s especially bad if I have to remind myself constantly that I’m watching UCLA when they’re on the road. Those slashed-up pants stripes look like something you’d find in a futuristic car in an anime. Meanwhile, Arizona wore red chrome helmets in that same game, and if you look closely, it says “HARD EDGE” (one of Rich Rodriguez’s mottos) on the nose bumpers.
• Ole Miss wore their light blue helmets again against Vanderbilt.
• You are now aware that Cal constantly looks like they have bra straps showing. Thanks to Paul Stave for making me see something that cannot be unseen.
And that’ll do it for this week, as we close the book on September and prepare for… The Pinkening. See you next week.
Thanks, TJ! OK, now on to the rest of the SMUW fest…
NCAA Uni Tracking
Back again today with our new feature: NCAA Uniform Tracking.
Once again, it’s Rex Henry (tracking the ACC & SEC) and Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12). If you missed yesterday’s post — we now have a fourth conference tracker (the Big XII) and his name is Kyle Acker.
I hope to have a B1G tracker set up today, but if that doesn’t happen, I will put out the call for someone to do it. If that is the case, check Uni Watch this week for an announcement.
I’d also like to point out that our PAC-12 tracker, Dennis, has added an individual Duck Tracker (continuing the tradition here begun way back in 2009 by Mike Princip and continued from 2012-2014 by Tim E. O’Brien. A link to the Duck Tracker is at the end.
You can click on the images to enlarge and (where appropriate) click the link for additional information/resources.
Rex is up first today:
ACC
More Here.
SEC
And now, here’s Dennis with the PAC-12:
PAC-12
More here.
And finally, here is Kyle with the Big XII:
Big XII
Here is your link to the 2015-16 Duck Tracker.
And that’s all for today — thanks Rex, Dennis and Kyle!
Joe Ringham’s 5 & 1
It’s a NEW NCAA Football Season, and this year we have a NEW 5 & 1 decider — Joe Ringham — who has some big shoes to fill (for Catherine Ryan, who did the 5 & 1 for the past three years, and Jim Vilk before that) but I’m sure he’ll do just fine.
We’re on to week 4 in the NCAA, and this is one of those when there aren’t a lot of traditional “rivalry” games and we always have a few odd pairings. Let’s see if any of those will catch Joe’s fancy. And hey…Oregon wore school colors yesterday! Wonder if they’re on the list…
Here’s Joe:
Good Sunday, everybody! What a wild and wacky Saturday it was, complete with some interesting endings and some fantastic looking match-ups. A great way to end the first month of the season. So, without further delay, on to the countdown!
5) Rice at Baylor — Baylor should just keep wearing this “classic” look. The Bears looked incredibly sharp in their gold/green/gold duds up against the navy/white/navy of the Owls.
4) Southern at Georgia — The Dawgs always look good in their classic home look between the hedges. But what puts this game on the list is how that look matches up rather nicely against Southern’s white/white/blue. Surprised the hell out of me that it looked so good.
3) TCU at Texas Tech — Most likely Tech’s best look so far this young season, going black/red/black. Matched up so well against the Frogs’ white/white/purple. It just made the insane ending of that game look that much sharper.
2) Missouri at Kentucky — I had my eye on this one earlier in the week, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Loved how Mizzou’s black/white/yellow clashed so well against the Wildcats’ blue/grey/blue.
1) North Texas at Iowa — Growing up in Big Ten country, I’ve always rooted against the Hawkeyes. But damn do they have great looking uniforms. And damn, do they look extra sharp up against the green/white/green of the aptly named Mean Green. Very worthy of the top spot this week.
And, finally…
+1) Maryland at West Virginia — Why schools think mono-yellow looks good is totally beyond me.
Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and I’ll see you next week!
Thanks, Joe! Remember, the tip-line email (UW5and1@gmail.com) is back for any games you want Joe take a look at. Pictures of the game/games you want are very much suggested.
Uni Watch News Ticker:
Baseball News: Reader Jolinko Lassiter was watching the 1977 MLB All-Star game introductions and at 11:35, Cleveland Indians’ Dennis Eckersley and Jim Kerns are wearing different Indians uniforms. This wasn’t uncommon in the ’70s — we frequently saw teams with two different colored tops (As for example) wearing them in game. … “Double whammy of offensive name/logo during Saturday’s Mets-Reds game: one of Matt Harvey’s youth coaches wearing a Midland Redskins jacket that just uses Chief Wahoo as a logo,” says Alex Spanko. “Racist and unoriginal!” Add to that the BFBS Mets shirt with a huge visible swoosh and you have the quadfecta. … All kinds of oddities in this 1961 Life Magazine photo featuring the Cincinnati Reds. This is Crosley Field, yet the Reds are wearing their ’61 road uniforms. In spite of that, Frank Robinson is wearing a home cap. “Vada Pinson is wearing one of those white batting caps I ran across earlier this year in a photo of Billy Martin wearing one in 1960. And finally, Manager Fred Hutchison is wearing catcher’s gear” (big thanks to Leo Strawn). … Nice tribute out in Oakland where all the players wore high cuffs for Barry Zito Day. It’s sad, though, that the hosiery is so un-uniform (h/t to Brodie Brazil).
College/High School Football News: Yesterday, Michigan’s Jake Butt had fans at the game wearing different “Butt” jerseys. Of course he did. … St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.) introduced chrome helmets for its game at Baton Rouge Catholic Friday, notes David Steinle. “Catholic has worn the famous Wishbone C for at least the last 30 years, likely longer,” he adds. … Jim Harbaugh presented Michigan man Derek Jeter with a personalized jersey (thanks, Brinke). Also submitted by Chris Flinn (Different article), who adds, “He can’t have that much stuff with his own NOB.” … Heh. I got a kick out of this. … Patrick O’Neill wants everyone to know that Notre Dame is 5-0 when the Pope visits the United States. “Just sayin’,” he adds.
NBA/College/Basketball News: So, those orange “sunset” Oklahoma City Thunder jerseys that were released Friday? Yeah, apparently there are some who are not fans of the new look. … The Atlanta Hawks have unveiled a rendering of their new court design (thanks to Douglas Ford). … Indiana hoops will add 5-stars to back of shorts. “A gimmicky trend to a classic jersey” says Ty Smith.
Hockey News: The Guelph Storm (a major junior ice hockey team based in Guelph, Ontario) leak from a few days ago has been confirmed (thanks to Patrick Thomas). … Both the Kamloops Blazers and Kelowna Rockets are wearing new uniforms this season. Adds submitter Wayne Heidt, “The Kamloops uniforms are a great improvement over the Reebok Edge striping nightmare they wore before. The Kelowna uniforms are throwback to the first uniforms they wore. They are wearing them as the regular uniform all year, just this season, as it is the 25th anniversary of the team.” … The Toronto Furies have unveiled new team logo and jerseys.
Soccer News: Yesterday, Celtic wore special jerseys to remember victims of the Great Irish Famine. Read more here. … Also, yesterday, Liverpool went with a new logo on the front of their shirts (h/t Holy Calamity). … “Was at my 11-year-old daughter’s soccer game in Lafayette Ca and noticed three games all had matchups with no uni-contrast,” laments John Furstenthal. “Navy vs black, navy vs royal, and white vs white.”
Grab Bag: For everyone’s next tailgate party: How to make jello shots in your team’s colors (thanks to Ilana Hardesty).
And that’s it for today folks! Thanks again to TJ, Joe, Rex, Dennis and Kyle. Everyone have a great Sunday — remember — the Cleveland football team is going full turd today. I’m looking forward to MMUW tomorrow. Catch you next Saturday!
Follow me on Twitter @PhilHecken.
Peace.
“The leotard problem isn’t about having stripes on the pants, it’s about wearing contrasting socks. If a team is going to wear colored pants, they need to wear socks of a different color.”
–THE Jeff Provo
Why is it that Iowa can have proper Steelers stripes on their not-really-sleeves-anymore but the actual Steelers can’t?
And both Nike clients. Do they have different jersey style cuts maybe ?
Rutgers wore their traditional red helmet/red jersey/white pants look (link) for Homecoming. A much cleaner combo than their recent silver dome/mono red look (link).
Pac 12 tracker is incorrect Huskies went mono purple against Cal showing gold/purple/gold.
Now fixed.
In looking at Indiana’s script helmets (which I like), I was thinking that given the new oversized and more creative decals, and the modern helmets with more ridges and air flow holes of various sizes and shapes, there is often a conflict of design. How and when do equipment guys decide when to cut a design to open a hole, and when not to do so. Example, the Indy decals apparently were not cut over a rearward hole as it would have interrupted the script. Some of the more severe center ridges on some helmet can buckle a decal into an odd shape at times. Just a thought.
Is that camo on the Horned Frogs’ pants? If so, it should disqualify them from the 5 side of the 5+1. (It’s an overall good look, but still…)
It’s not camo, it’s “frog skin”. No, really.
Syracuse has a “left” and a “right” digit for each numeral?
Jeez. The Minnesota Vikings do this also. Is this going to be a thing, and is it going to be for good or ill?
Also, which one do the single-digit guys get? And who will be the first team to use “backwards leaning” italics for the TV numbers?
How did BYU-Michigan not get any mention? Now *that* was a good looking game:link
Too much dark blue.
Attention BYU Athletics: Heed the call of this article and Just. Go. Back. To. Royal. Blue.
link
Key lines:
*Desperate to generate more revenue off of merchandise, BYU became Nike’s guinea pig. The result was a switch to the more common navy blue
*While navy might be more lucrative in terms of merchandise, the Cougars lost something arguably more important: they lost their brand.
*When fans across the nation think of navy blue and white, they are most likely to think about Penn State. Heck, BYU isn’t even the first team in the state to wear navy blue and white.
To ThresherK, yeah but at least Syracuse’s different digits have the same broad shape. The difference is in the sublimated diagonal stripes. So I’ll take that as a marked improvement over the Minnesota Vikings. But the whole exercise is just so god damn stupid.
The ducks wore regular o helmets in the first game
As a lifelong fan of UVa, I am overall pleased that they haven’t been to gimmicky with their uniforms probably ever. These goofy new helmets are ugly. Stick with the beautiful navy helmet and orange logo please. Jerseys have stayed pretty simple. Not a huge fan of the curved half stripe on the current pants, but it could be worse. Would love to see the wide, bicolored full stripe return, like on their throwbacks. That orange helmet was no good either. Basketball has stayed mostly OK (minus sweatbacks) and baseball has some beauts, but way too much camo.
So, those orange “sunset” Oklahoma City Thunder jerseys that were released Friday? Yeah, apparently there are some who are not fans of the new look.
I am not among that sad group. Make that your primary uniform right now, OKC!
They probably should have called them “sunrise” jerseys though. A sunrise represents a new beginning, a sunset is the end.
Agreed. It’s one thing if you’re an LA (or Tampa Bay) team and you want to show the sun setting over the ocean (or the gulf). Anyone else who uses “sunset” colors is asking for jokes about being a team in decline. Change the name, keep the unis. And make a home white set as well.
They may wanna go back to the drawing boards on that Toronto Furies new logo. Not all bad but Not fantastic.
As a lifelong UVa fan I am glad that they have stayed pretty simple on their unis. These new helemts this year though have got to stop. Hard to beat their normal navy blue helmet and orange logo. Current jerseys haven’t changed much over the years and even the current pants aren’t all that bad even with the curved half stripe. I wish they would go back to the full, bi colored stripe like they have had in the past (see throwbacks from earlier this year). Basketball unis have been pretty good (even the sweatbacks) and baseball has had some nice ones too, though way too much camo this last year.
Seriously. Last year’s Carbon and this year’s Cheetos Fingers helmets are just cheap and unimaginative.
Houston showed up for last night’s home game vs Texas State wearing heretofore unseen red pants. The white-red-red combo bore an unfortunate resemblance to a bottle of ketchup.
link
There’s a small part of me that really loves those Oregon unis. They’re actually the school colors, and there’s not a whole lot of ugly graphics or piping. It’s bright and vivid (instead of blacks/grays/navy). The weird stuff around the collar even looks like it belongs.
If it weren’t the tradition rich NCAA, i’d love it.
Purdue looked terrible. It amazes me that schools do this. Why?????
$$$$$$$$$$$
Overlooked is the fact that (aside from the meh number font) Bowling Green looked great.
Nice list, Joe. Keep up the good work.
I don’t recall USC ever wearing a different colored cuff to the arm sleeves of their jerseys. Did the Trojans change their look?
Interesting that that youth soccer league in the ticker doesn’t have any way of distinguishing between teams with similar or like jersey colors. I’m not talking elaborate change kits or anything. Back in my day, though, there would always seem to be a set of pinnies for the “away” team whenever that was an issue.
I distinctly remember, playing in the local Catholic church/school league, that the team I played on was one of three in our age group for several years from that church (we all wore yellow jerseys & navy shorts). Another team a friend of mine played for wore yellow jerseys with black shorts. And whenever we’d play, one team would wear those pinnies. It always sucked when our team was the one to do so.
That Missouri-Kentucky game is everything wrong with college football uni design. If that hot mess of a game is anywhere near anyone’s 5 & 1, it kind of discredits the entire operation.
I agree that the Iowa/North Texas uniform clash was awesome. In a game that was 62-16, visually it was hard to change the channel.
On another note, I wish Washington State would go back to the style they wore in the late ’80s early 90’s…the script Cougars on a grey helmet, maroon jersey and grey pants…I thought that was a great look.