Sunday Morning Bowl Wrap – Finale

By Phil Hecken and the SMUW crew
Follow @PhilHecken

Except for tomorrow night’s National Championship Game between (surprise!) Alabama and Clemson, the 2018 College Football Season, including all the bowls, has now concluded. It was another great year featuring my entire SMUW crew: Terry Duroncelet, Joe Ringham, Rex Hanry, Dennis Bolt, Ethan Dimitroff and Kyle Acker. They’ve all done OUTSTANDING work (sometimes in some very trying situations) this year. Before I go any further, I want to thank each and every SMUW crew member for their tremendous and yeoman work. Please take a moment in the comments below to thank them all for their efforts. Great job all around.

The final set of bowls took place this past week on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, and we’ll cover them all below.

TJ will have all the individual games, but I did want to point out that Oregon, who had worn monochromatic outfits all season, finally mixed it up a little bit for their Bowl game, going with a very-Oregonlike yellow/green/yellow combo that (IMO) looked divine. Sadly, Sparty, their opponents in said bowl, went mono-white. Had they gone green/white/green, that would have been a really great looking game.

With some sadness, then (and a bit of relief), I bring you the SMUW crew one last time with the Bowl wraps, the 5 & 1, the Uni Trackers AND one last Duck Tracker for 2018. As always, Terry is up first, with the rest to follow. Here’s TJ with your…

• • •

Sunday Morning Bowl Wrap
By Terry Duroncelet

Happy New Year, everyone! (even though I’m south of a week late to the punch) Only two days of bowl games, but damn it to heck if those two days weren’t jam-packed with a little bit of everything: nail-biters, the most gelatinous of flops from a scoring standpoint, reassuring Pomp and Circumstance, and PLENTY of eye-catching uni matchups… ESPECIALLY New Year’s Eve, which had hardly any bad-looking games on-screen (“hardly” being the operative word). Granted, some could have been better-looking from a known potential standpoint, but still easy on the eyes nevertheless. So in the words of Nick D’Virgilio, let’s get into the details, right now.

From Monday, December 31st, 2018

│Virginia Tech vs Cincinnati│ We begin our 2018 closer run with a good back-and-forth between the Hokies of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (one of three 14 mile-long names we’ll look at) in maroon/maroon/white, and the Bearcats of the University of Cincinnati in red/white/red. I’m very thankful for how dark maroon is, because if VT’s primary color was cardinal or crimson, then this matchup doesn’t look anywhere near as good.

│Pitt vs Stanford│ Well, this game certainly lived up to its name. This bowl game features the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in all-navy, facing off against the Leland Stanford Junior University Cardinal in… well, NOT cardinal. On a serious note, this was a nice game to watch, but we all know what would’ve taken this game from GOOD to GREAT. Additionally, the #79 on Pitt’s uniforms is in honor of Bill Fralic, the Pitt Panther (79 was his jersey number) turned Atlanta Falcon and Detroit Lion, and the father of the Pancake Block, who passed away weeks prior to the bowl game.

│Oregon vs Michigan State│ Ah yes, the most important and exciting game of the season that’s taking place in Santa Clara, California… is not this bowl game. And boy, did the score reflect that. Regardless, both teams wore their Best Looks to close out 2018. We have the University of Oregon Webfoots Dighting Fucks Swooshies Ducks in yellow helmets and pants (and a big, green O on the back of their lids!), with green jerseys. They played against the Michigan State University Spartans, who wore my favorite Spartans look of all-white (sorry Penn State, but Michigan State and Texas do it better, FIGHT ME). Also, the Endzone Art Blues continue (you can still see the 49ers two-bar helmet peaking through).

│Oklahoma State vs Mizzou│ I love a good diamond jubilee. The 60th edition of this bowl game also serve as a bowl game rematch from the recent past, as well as a renewal of two old Big XII squads, we have the Dallas Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Cowboys in all-black, facing off against the University of Missouri Tigers in all-white, and CHECK. OUT. THOSE. DECALS. Sadly for Mizzou, the results of year’s past were not duplicated this time around.

│Utah vs Northwestern│ Okay, before I go any further, I HAVE to give a HUGE shoutout to my high school band for their parade appearance! As for the game itself, we have University of Utah Utes in white/red/white, and the Northwestern University Wildcats in black/white/white. Definitely the weakest-looking game of the day, but still nice, regardless.

│Texas A&M vs NC State│ Wait… didn’t we cover this game earlier? In our final football game of 2018 , we have the Texas A&M University Aggies in maroon/maroon/white, and the North Carolina State University Wolfpack (one word) in red/white/red. A nice-looking game, but a not-so-nice beatdown, with NC State on the receiving end of it all. But with each end, comes a new beginning…

From Tuesday, January 1st, 2019

│Iowa vs Miss State│ Start the New Year in style with University of Iowa Hawkeyes— no, Hawkeyes— DAMMIT, EYE(S), NOT EYE! PLURAL! AND NON-FICTION! HAWKEYES! Thank you. Anyway, the University of Iowa Hawkeyes wore the Rooney Special, as they’re wont to do, and the Bulldogs of The Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science (number 2 of 3) in maroon/white/white. For Iowa, it was the perfect way to begin 2019.

│Penn State vs Kentucky│ Kentucky, go home. You had one too many on NYE. Without a shadow of a doubt the worst matchup uni-wise, at least on one side of the ball. The University of Kentucky Wildcats wore chrome/white/white, and The Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions wore a considerably better white/navy/white. It did have its good moments, however.

│LSU vs UCF│ What a game. On one side, we have the University of Central Florida Knights in white/anthracite/white, and the *deep breath* Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College Tigers in The Classics.

│Ohio State vs Washington│ Welp. This is my favorite bowl game ever. I will never not love this game, and this year’s edition is between two Rose Bowl veterans, and is the last dance for Urban Meyer. We have The Ohio State University Buckeyes, wearing good ol’ fashioned buckeye-encrusted helmets, scarlet jerseys, and (very light) grey pants. Their opponent also has one last song to sing: the University of Washington Huskies, who not only wore gold/white/purple, but also played their last football game in a Nike uniform for the foreseeable future on Tuesday. Outstanding-looking game. One last bath.

│Georgia vs Texas│ This game was a meme from the start. The University of Georgia Bulldogs wore red/red/silver (britches), against The University of Texas at Austin Longhorns, who wore all-white, to wrap up NYD.

And THAT… will do it for the 2018 college football season. It had it all: ups, downs, lefts, rights… more ups. But seriously, thank you to everyone who makes this possible, from everyone who submitted tips from games that I can’t catch, to Blaise D’Sylva for being the ultimate helmet czar and catching every little detail that would otherwise slip under my radar, and of course, to Phil, for all of his help with pictures, and continued friendship. Only one more game left, but that’ll have to work itself out, because as always… I’ll see you in 8 months, and then we’re gonna party like it’s 1869. I’ll be in the comments today answering any question you may have. Apart from that, 8 months. Toodles!

• • •

Awesome, and thanks (again) TJ, for another incredible season bringing us these Sunday Morning uniform watches. We’ll see you in a (short) 8 months!

OK, now on to Joe and the trackers and the remainder of your SMUW crew’s final uni wrap for the season!

Joe Ringham’s 5 & 1

Following in the footsteps of the original “5 & 1,” Jim Vilk, and Catherine Ryan after him, Joe Ringham returned in 2018 to make his “5 & 1” (five good looking and one stinker) uni-vs-uni matchups. Sometimes he had 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. Now that the regular season has ended and the bowls are here, Joe will bring us 3 final 5 & 1’s: one each for each Sunday covering all the Bowl games (except for the National Championship Game).

Here’s Joe:

. . .

Good Sunday everyone, and a very late Happy New Year! Now that the last of the bowls have come and gone, lets go to the list one final time…

5) Armed Forces Bowl: Cincinnati vs Virginia Tech – This was the first game I saw on New Years Eve and immediately loved what I saw. Really liked the Bearcats in red/white/red, one of their best looks in my opinion. I thought it really paired up well against the maroon/maroon/white of the Hokies.

4) TaxSlayer Bowl: North Carolina State vs Texas A&M – This was the last game I saw on New Years Eve, and, just like the game above, immediately pegged this one for the good side of the list. Pretty much everything I said about the game above you can say about this game, so I won’t repeat myself here.

3) Sugar Bowl: Texas vs Georgia – Two classic, simple jerseys playing in one of the traditional, iconic major New Years Day bowls. Don’t really need to say anything else.

2) Fiesta Bowl: LSU vs Central Florida – Had this been any other year, this probably would be at the top spot on the list. Everyone should know by know just how much I love LSU’s unis, but UCF going white/anthracite/white matched up perfectly here and made this game stand out that much more to me.

1) Rose Bowl: Washington vs Ohio State – The Granddaddy was a no-brainer here. Pure beauty in Pasadena.

And, finally…

+1) Redbox Bowl: Michigan State vs Oregon – This is here because, well, someone has to go here. I think it was just the combo of Sparty going mono-white up against one of the Ducks menagerie of combos that just made this game not look good at all to me.

So, with that, my time is done. Enjoy the championship game! Until next time…

• • •

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

Uni Watch again tracked the uniform combinations worn by the “Power 5” conferences throughout the regular season, and now that we’ve moved into Bowl Season, we’ve got you covered as well.

Back for the 2018 bowls are: 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 a couple seasons ago. Ethan continues his dual role of tracking both the B1G and the SEC.

Here are the Uni Trackers for the Power 5 Conferences:

+ + + + + + + + + +

Rex is up first today (ACC), with 11 total ACC teams reaching bowls:

• • •

ACC

More Here.
Follow Rex on Twitter here.

• • •

And now, here’s Dennis with the PAC-12, with seven PAC teams earning spots in bowls:

PAC-12

More here.
Follow Dennis on Twitter here.

• • •

And here is Ethan, with the SEC (11 total teams played):

SEC

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

• • •

And here is Kyle with the Big XII (seven total games, two of which were played this past week):

Big XII

(The previous 5 games can be seen here)

Follow Kyle on Twitter here.

• • •

And here’s Ethan with the B1G (nine teams total reached bowls):

B1G

Welcome to the 2018 Oregon Ducks Uni Tracker. This little project was originally begun way back in 2008-09 by Michael Princip, who retired after several seasons, whereupon the project was continued by Tim E. O’Brien. He, too, retired from the tracking, but the project has been ably kept up by the man who also tracks the Pac12, Dennis Bolt.

The Ducks reached the RedBox “San Francisco” Bowl in 2018, and for the first time all season, did NOT go monochrome! Here’s that Uniform Combo for the Ducks (you can click to enlarge):

You can read about this uniform, and MUCH MORE, by checking out the Duck Tracker here!

Thanks Dennis!

Coming Soon!

If you read Uni Watch during the month of August, you know that I had the pleasure of again running a uniform design contest in conjunction with the Grand Rapids Griffins (the AHL-affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings). This year’s winner was Matt Harvey (you can see his winning design here). Subsequently, I also interviewed Matt, who showed off his design chops in other ways.

The Griffins have now created Matt’s jersey, and I’ll be back with Matt to talk about the design process he undertook with the Griffins, and to also let him show off a few new uniform designs he’s done across different sports.

A couple weeks ago, as we were preparing for the Griffins jersey unveiling, Matt let me know he had some other projects, including one which I’ll preview below. Here’s Matt to briefly set that up:

In Extra News:

Also, I had submitted my design for the Spokane Chiefs jersey design contest. This is for their St. Patrick’s day game.

I designed a new alternate logo and everything for it.

I hope you like it.

Enjoy!

Matt Harvey

Thanks, Matt. We’ll be back shortly with more of Matt’s designs and thoughts on the Griffins jersey. Stay tuned!

Uni Watch News Ticker
By Phil

Baseball News: Our pal Ignacio Salazar scored an incredible deal on a used 1965 Houston Astros throwback jersey — which is the best uni (thought not the signature) that team has ever worn. Fight me. … A few teams have revealed their Spring Training caps, but most have not. Nick Schiavo asks, is this the SF Giants new BP cap? (We’ve already seen the new caps for the Nats and the Reds. … Oooohhh, check out this gorgeous pinwheel of pennants (from Adam Vitcavage).

NFL/Pro Football News: The Washington Post has released a list of the world’s most incredible and depressing collection of ‘skins QB jerseys (from Mark Smith and Tom Turner). Great line from the story: “It’s a mess, but it’s my mess,” a local teacher said of the ‘skins jerseys he’s purchased over the past 14 years. … A Tampa Bay Bucs fan made a lucky discovery at a Goodwill store as he sorted through a stack of team gear, appearing to have belonged to former Buccaneers head coach Dirk Koetter (from Mike Edgerley). … The Alliance of American Football (AAF) looks like they will be using a red/white/blue striped ball (from @sesaee). … Good spot by Brinke, who noticed the sponsor advertiser patch on this practice jersey didn’t make it to this Dak Prescott TV spot. … During last night’s playoff game, Cowboys QB Dak Prescott’s star suffered a turf stain (from @BringinThe44). Also sent in by Bud Brooks.

College/High School Football News: This first item comes from our own Lloyd Alaban, who writes, “The paper I write for is about a two-minute walk from the national championship’s outdoor exhibit, so I thought I’d snap a few pics. Complete with annoying logo creep. :) I’ll send some more to you if I can find anything really noteworthy.” … Just so you know, we’re not the only ones (here at Uni Watch) who do “playoff” football uni reviews. But we’re still the best ;). … The best way to sum these up is with this quote: “The numbers on the white uniform in the All-American Bowl are…something.” Well said, Shaun Meulemans.

Hockey News: From 2 to 98, the Edmonton Oilers share the stories behind their jersey numbers. … YOWSA! Check out the all white uniforms for the University of Michigan from yesterday’s outdoor game vs. Notre Dame. … OOPS! Someone on the lids website doesn’t know this isn’t Whalers merch but actually the Canucks (from Dan Walker).

NBA News: Before they were the Golden State Warriors, they were the San Francisco Warriors (and before that, the Philadelphia Warriors). They will again become the San Francisco Warrior, and boy, check out the progress of their future arena (thanks, Brinke). … Here’s Steph Curry signaling if he had number 13 on his jersey (same number as Harden) he wouldn’t have been called for a travel (from Mike Chamernik). … Also from Mike, here’s Dirk Nowitski reppin’ the ‘boys.

College/High School Hoops News: So, the Michigan Spartans have BFBS uniforms with a neon greenish font/number (good spot by @LeylandsLung). … Yesterday, the Georgetown Hoyas wore their 82 throwback unis, creating a vivid color-vs-color matchup (from bryanwdc) against St. John’s. Here’s a closer look (from Pam Chvotkin). … Also going the color-vs-color route yesterday were Syracuse and Notre Dame (from Michael Alper). … Sweet! Check out this squad in Fairbanks, Alaska with the sweet warm up pants! Monroe Catholic Rams (from Aaron Walling). … As we’ve noted before, there are good color-vs-color games, and then there are bad ones. That’s K-State in purple vs. Texas Tech in dark gray (from Adam Franz). … Here’s a Jimmer Vilk special: New Mexico with completely illegible numbers vs. Nevada. Yellow numbers stroked in red on a yellow uni (from Will Wyss.

Soccer News: Adidas will release a new football kit typeface in 2019. Set to be used for many Adidas team’s kits such as the brand’s Copa America 2019 jerseys, the new Adidas 2019 kit font replaces the infamous Adidas 2018 World Cup typeface. Says submitter Josh Hinton, “Finally! Adidas will get rid of their horrendous kit font that was featured in 2018!” … Kevin Oliviera writes, “Gotta love that full arc of a name for Shrewsbury Town’s Aaron Amadi-Holloway in the FA Cup against Stoke. At least they’re playing better than they look.” … Blood jersey? “Looks like an @officialpompey player was on the field for @EmiratesFACup without a number?” (from bryant_rf). … For those who follow or who are interested in the AFC Asian Cup 2019: Here are the kits of all 24 countries in the tournament. … Mexican club Pumas UNAM’s third kit has leaked (from Josh Hinton). … Also from Josh Hinton, more images of Club America’s third kit have leaked.

Grab Bag: This head to head bowler metric is from the Australia/India Test Series in Sydney. Submitter John Muir notes, “Initially, the data points seem fairly innocuous except for some overlapping black marks on the right. As the comparison is explained, the “camera” “pans” up to show the whole wicket and it becomes clear that the random black dots are time appropriate shadow marks of the balls bowled. This is an incredible level of detail to capture a fairly mundane element of the match.” … Four retired NFL pro bowlers living in Nashville are trying to qualify for the 2022 Olympics in curling (via Paul). … Here’s a panorama shot of all the boys and girls teams at the Japanese high school volleyball championship (from Pacific Rim correspondent Jeremy Brahm).