Your Final Sunday Morning Bowl Wrap (on a Saturday?!)

By Phil Hecken and most of the SMUW Crew
Follow @PhilHecken

The 2017 Bowl Season is now officially over, although there’s still the one playoff championship game yet to go. For almost every Sunday since Labor Day, we’ve had an outstanding cast and crew ably tracking the ins-and-outs of the College Football Season. Today we bring that season to a close. It’s been a great ride, and I can’t thank Terry Duroncelet, Joe Ringham, Rex Henry, Dennis Bolt, Ethan Dimitroff and Kyle Acker enough for all their wonderful contributions over the year.

This past Monday featured the final five bowls, two of which were “playoff” games, pitting the top four ranked teams against one another for a shot at the ultimate title: NCAA Champion.

I’ll begin (as always) with TJ’s wrap followed by Joe’s 5 & 1. After that, there’s a final tracking of the bowls, and then Rex has a special section running down all the uniforms of the ACC.

So, in order from earliest game in the day to the last, here are the final five bowls:

Sunday Saturday Morning Bowl Wrap
By Terry Duroncelet, Jr.

Outback Bowl

│South Carolina vs. Michigan│ The University of South Carolina Gamecocks renew a 5 year matchup against the University of Michigan Wolverines. Both teams wore different uniforms in comparison to the last time they met: black/black/white for South Carolina, and navy/white/white for Michigan.

South Carolina defeats Michigan 26-19

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Peach Bowl

│UCF vs. Auburn│ We begin our last three major bowl games with the white/navy/white Auburn University Tigers squaring off against the gold/white/white University of Central Florida Knights.

Central Florida defeats Auburn 34-27

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Citrus Bowl

│Notre Dame vs. LSU│ If you’re wondering what’s with the sudden appearance of NOBs on the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, for those not in the know, Notre Dame only uses NOBs when they make a bowl appearance. As an aside, the game looked amazing: gold/navy/gold vs. the yellow/white/yellow-clad (deep breath) Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College

Notre Dame defeats Louisiana State 21-17

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Rose Bowl

│Oklahoma vs. Georgia│ In an aptly red-heady Rose Bowl, we have the University of Oklahoma Sooners in crimson helmets and jerseys with cream white pants, and the eventual victors in the form of the University of Georgia Bulldogs in red/white/silver. Who will Georgia’s opponent be on Monday? Well…

Georgia defeats Oklahoma 54-48

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Sugar Bowl

│Clemson vs. Alabama│ Last, but most certainly not least, we have Clemson v. Alabama, Part the Third. We have the Clemson University Tigers in top-to-bottom orange, renewing their third consecutive postseason contest against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide in monochrome white and their signature crimson helmets. After three previous blunders in this same bowl game to the hands of Utah (January 2nd, 2009), Oklahoma (January 2nd, 2014), and Ohio State (January 1st, 2015), Alabama finally found victory, and will face Georgia for all the marbles on January 8th.

Alabama defeats Clemson 24-6

And with THAT… the 2017 college football season comes to a close. Thank you to everyone who contributed all season long, and no matter who wins on Monday, it was a rewarding season for both Georgia and Alabama. I’m gonna go and vegetate for a bit. Until then, I’ll see you next time. Take care!

Joe Ringham’s 5 & 1

Following in the footsteps of the original “5 & 1,” Jim Vilk, and Catherine Ryan after him, Joe Ringham is back again for 2017 to make his “5 & 1” (five good looking and one stinker) uni-vs-uni matchups. Sometimes he’ll have some “honorable mentions” and sometimes there will be more than one “bad” game. You may agree and you may disagree — these are, after all, just opinions and everyone has one. Feel free to let him know what you think in the comments section.

Here’s Joe with your FINAL 5 & 1 for the season:

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Happy Saturday, everyone! If you missed the previous two bowl editions, click here and here.

Now, with only five games on the docket since the last list, that forced a slight alteration to this weeks list. Nevertheless, for the final time this season, let’s get to the list…

5 & +1) Outback Bowl: Michigan vs South Carolina — Had there been more than five games, this would sit alone here. But, since there were just five, this gets the dubious distinction of being on both the good and bad sides of the list. The Gamecocks actually didn’t look too bad in black/black/white. Michigan looked… ok, I guess, in their winged/white/white road look. It made the game look too bland to me, which made it fall on both sides of the list.

4) Peach Bowl: Central Florida vs Auburn — Now, some may use the same argument for this game that I used above. But, I actually liked how this one looked. I’ve always been a fan of Auburn’s somewhat simple white/navy/white look. This time, I thought it matched up quite nicely against the gold/mono-white of the Knights, the striping of the Auburn uniforms particularly making for the perfect contrast here.

3) Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs Clemson — I so very much wanted to put this game higher up on the list. Always love Bama’s simple, classic look, and it almost matches up perfectly with Clemson. However, had to just slightly downgrade this game, due to the Tigers going mono-orange. Not a huge deal, but going white pants here would’ve made me love this game so much more.

2) Rose Bowl: Georgia vs Oklahoma — The Granddaddy did not disappoint at all. Awesome game on the field, and a simple, classic, ridiculously good-looking game uni-wise. Any other year, this game would be #1.

1) Citrus Bowl: Notre Dame vs LSU — Two of the best-looking uniforms in all of college football, and it made for the best looking game of the New Year.

Alright, that will do it for me this season. Huge thanks to everyone for reading (and commenting, good and bad), and an equally huge thanks to Phil for giving me this little piece of the SMUW to take care of. Enjoy the FCS title game today… oh, and that other big game Monday night in Atlanta. Until next time, everybody…

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Thanks Joe! You can follow Joe on the Twitter and let him know what you think of his choices or make a 5 & 1 suggestion of your own!

NCAA Uni Tracking

We’ve got Rex Henry (tracking the ACC), Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12), Kyle Acker (tracking the Big XII), and Ethan Dimitroff (tracking the B1G AND the SEC). Rex, Dennis, and Kyle and are all returning from 2015, and Ethan is back after joining the NCAA Uni Tracking last season. Ethan has stepped into the dual role of both the B1G and the SEC.

And now your FINAL NCAA 2017 Season Uni Tracking for the Power 5 Conferences:

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Rex is up first today (ACC):

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ACC

More Here.
Follow Rex on Twitter here.

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And now, here’s Dennis with the PAC-12:

PAC-12

More here.
Follow Dennis on Twitter here.

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And here is Ethan, with the SEC:

SEC

And be sure to check out Ethan’s WVU Mountaineer Tracker.
Follow Ethan on Twitter here.

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And here is Kyle with the Big XII:

Big XII

Follow Kyle on Twitter here.

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And here’s Ethan with the B1G:

B1G

ACC Uni Roundup

Our ACC Tracker Rex Henry has prepared a special “uni roundup” for the 14 teams of the Atlantic Coastal Conference. Dig (you can click any image to enlarge):

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Boston College

Bandanna Helmet stripe used in one game.

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Clemson

Upgraded to newest Nike jersey template and switched from Purple to Orange Swooshes on white pants and jerseys for the first time with Nike.

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Duke

Script helmet decals in two games and Hellraiser grey uniform against Miami.

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Florida State

Disappointing season deserves a finisher’s .500 bowl trophy/Garnett pants.

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Georgia Tech

Same white jersey all year with gold & white pants and helmets. Adidas next year.

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Louisville

Red Chrome helmets with all White was used white often.

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Miami

Green makes a return to the current uniform style and Miami Nights all-black uniforms introduced.

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North Carolina

Black uniforms replaced with Navy jersey and pants.

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NC State

Wolf head/Mr. Wuf decals worn on helmets from Week 3 on. Black Howl set somehow did not induce gag reflex.

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Pittsburgh

Throwback uniforms used 4 times, including a new away jersey for 2 games.

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Syracuse

Took it easy on they Grey and Blue. Collar logo worn on helmet for Military Appreciation Day.

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Virginia

#HoosTogether patch worn above Swoosh. Same white pants and white helmet all year.

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Virginia Tech

Hokie Stone jersey reprised with White Helmet and pants. New orange elements introduced in separate games.

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Wake Forest

Gold-shouldered Black jersey not used this year. Deacon decal worn against Florida State.

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Thanks, Rex! Great job with that as well as with the tracking.

Be sure to check out Rex’ E-Bay Page, which features soccer jerseys, athletic apparel, and gently worn clothing.

And then there were two…

We’re technically done with all the Bowls now, and two teams remain standing after the two playoff games played in the Rose and Sugar Bowls this past Monday: Both teams happen to be from the SEC — The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs. As the higher seed (#3 for Georgia vs. #4 for Bama), the Dawgs have elected to wear their “home” red jerseys for the final playoff game, which is taking place in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia this Monday, January 8, 2018. No matter how you slice it, it’s going to be a beautiful looking game.

As great as the Georgia team will look, I still have to pick the Tide in this game.

I’m making the pick as it did the 39 bowl games this year — in case anyone is interested, I actually did a little bit better this year, picking 22 games correctly, while missing 16. One game was a push. That’s a 57.9% rate, besting my usual 50%ish.

Alabama is favored by 4.5 points.

There’s always one “cool” uni moment that takes place whenever Alabama is in a championship game (which seems like it’s every year now). When discussing the game, ESPN always pictures the team with the current number of (claimed) national championships during pre-game shows. IF the Tide win, they’ll swap that helmet out for one with a “17” on the side after the game is over. Gotta hope that’s the case this year.

And thanks to Ethan (who tracks the SEC), here’s a graphic for how Monday night’s game will look:

My thanks again to all the SMUWers: Terry Duroncelet, Jr., Joe Ringham, Rex Henry, Dennis Bolt, Ethan Dimitroff and Kyle Evans. They’re as solid a team as we can ask for. Please be sure to shoot them all a nice “THANKS” down in the comments below, OK? OK!

The Ticker
By Anthony Emerson

Baseball News: The Astros have a logo for the World Series Trophy Tour (from @igTXsalazar). … Great shot of Ken “Hawk” Harrelson’s “Hawk” NickNOB from the 1969 season…and it looks like they’re using an upside down “M” for the “W”. (excellent find by @BSmile). … Absolutely gorgeous socks on display at the American Baseball Coaches’ Association Trade Show in Indianapolis (from Steve Krah). … The University of Miami’s new alternate unis were unveiled yesterday (from @LI_Matt). … Frank McGuigan noticed an extra in an orange Mariners T-shirt from a 1982 episode of Silver Spoons. … An absolutely gorgeous vintage jacket from the Class-A Kane County Cougars was shared on Twitter by Rays broadcaster Dave Willis (from Steve Johnston).

NFL News: Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Sonny Jurgensen in a Schlitz Beer toque (excellent find by @NFL_Journal). … The Saints are going mono-black for Sunday’s Wild Card game against the Panthers (from Russell Goutierez). … Related to yesterday’s main post about the Vicis helmet: the NFL is pledging another $16.43 million towards government-sponsored concussion research (thanks, Paul).

College/High School Football News: Georgia’s Instagram account shared some pretty cool retro items recently, including a program from 1931, a pennant with a “UG” monogram from 1911 and a letterman jacket from 1906 (from Jacob Moore). … Speaking of UGA, the team drove to Atlanta in National Championship-branded buses (from @BassinDawg).

Hockey News: Here’s our first look at the new “Olympic Athlete from Russia” sweater for the Winter Olympics (from @TexShark300). … The Sharks’ Joe Thornton lost a chunk of his beard in a fight with the Leafs’ Nazem Kadri (thanks, Paul).

NBA News: Conrad Burry found a whole bunch of new shooting shirts online related to the new “City Edition” jerseys. Teams include (deep breath): The Sixers, the Timberwolves, the Thunder, the Hornets, the Blazers, the Warriors, the Celtics and the Bulls (deep exhale). … Jackson Orin also found one for the Bucks. … Here’s a great story on the writing and resurgence of the Sixers’ anthem “Here Come the Sixers” (thanks, Paul). … The first 5,000 fans at the Bradley Center received a Giannis Antetokounmpo Starting Lineup figurine, which featured the Greek Freak in the old Bucks road uniform (from Marcus Wiegert). … Knicks center Enes Kanter ripped his compression pants at the knee during last night’s game (from Alfie Ramirez). … Color-on-color alert from the G-League! That’s the Iowa Wolves in green and the Sioux Falls Skyforce in red (from @uknowtthatch). … Rockets swingman Gerald Green wore a Hakeem Olajuwon throwback the other day, and the “Houston” wordmark diverges from what Olajuwon actually wore, most noticeably the negative space in the “O”s and the angle of the wordmark’s slant (good spot by Elan Tavor).

College/High School Hoops News: Rutgers is initiating the most crazy/brilliant scheme to distract visiting teams: play bad YouTube videos on the video board during the opponent’s shoot-around (thanks, Paul).

Soccer News: Scottish side Motherwell’s left-back Steven Hammell is retiring at the end of the month after almost 20 years at the club. Motherwell’s media arm posted an image showing Hammell in 20 years worth of Motherwell kits (from our own Jamie Rathjen). … Columbus Crew’s 2018 away kit was released on Thursday, showing . … The kits the referees will be wearing at the 2018 World Cup have been released, albeit without World Cup patches on them (from Josh Hinton).

Grab Bag: This is so cool: someone made an animation of the evolution of major brands’ logos from 1900 to 2017 (from Christophe Davy and Mary Bakija). … Lindsey Vonn wore a Captain America ski suit yesterday (from @igTXsalazar). … A North Carolina journalist compiled pictures of the state’s last four governors in their “emergency management outfit.” Here’s Mike Easley (2001-2009), Bev Perdue (2009-2013), Pat McCrory (2013-2017) and Roy Cooper (2017-present) showing the evolution of the North Carolina gubernatorial emergency management outfit (from James Gilbert).