Sconny loses Paul Bunyan’s Axe for the first time since before Twitter was invented, UVA just completely falls apart for a 14th straight year, OU/WVU is a barn-burner, LSU and Texas A&M just went to another OT, and Texas doesn’t cover versus lowly Kansas. But rivalry weekend and the Big 12 semifinals still had their fair share of weird uniforms. Let’s dive in.
Please note: I am no trained uniform connoisseur. I call them like I see them.
#6 Oklahoma
Kit:”Rough Rider” - Red/White/Red
Result: W 59-56 @ #13 West Virginia
I really don’t like it when schools that are known for traditional uniforms get funky with how they do things, and OU’s “Rough Rider” kits fall into that category. Make the jersey all white instead of having these weird red shoulders and things get instantly better. The single thicker-than-normal stripe on the helmets and the whole matte-but-also-chrome schtick there are also just weird.
Grade: B-
Texas State
Kit: Maroon/Gray/Maroon
Result: L 7-33 vs Arkansas State
There is....a lot going on on this jersey, and not much of it is good. The maroon helmet and pants are pretty simple and look fine on their own, so we’ll ignore those for now, but these gray jerseys....oof. The gold used for the numerals doesn't look like it matches any other usage of gold on the kit, the maroon outline on those gold numerals looks strange, and the weird adidas tire-track pattern PLUS doing a gray jersey for its own sake (it’s listed as an accent color, NOT a primary color) is not doing the whole ensemble any favors. I can get behind the Texas state shoulder decals, though.
Grade: C-
Air Force
Kit: APLS AC-130 - Black/Gray/Gray
Result: W 27-19 vs Colorado State
I’ll refrain from commenting on the actual badges used on the helmets and shoulders here because each of those has a very unique design, but overall, I really like these uniforms. With the all-gray design and the patches, the whole ensemble just screams Air Force in every way, shape, and form. I wish they went with gray helmets though.
Grade: A
Missouri
Kit: “Blackout” - Black/Black/Blackout
Result: W 38-0 vs Arkansas
Like last week’s whiteout winner, this week’s Mizzou uniforms are a blackout winner. They also get bonus points for black actually being a color in their palette. Still iffy on the pant stripes, but I’ll let it slide this time. The block M looks great in black too.
Grade: A
#15 Kentucky
Kit: Chrome/White/White
Result: W 56-10 @ Louisville
I really like how Kentucky went all-white to clash with Louisville’s all-red, but I am suuuuuuper iffy on the decision to go with chrome helmets. While the helmet decal matches their jerseys, that is literally the only thing about these helmets that makes sense. These probably should have been blue chrome — that would have looked a lot better.
Grade: B
Tulane
Kit: White/Black/White
Result: W 29-28 vs Navy
Objectively, this is a very strange combination of colors - a black jersey doesn’t go super well with white pants and a white helmet. But I’m a fan of some of the individual elements at play in this kit - notably, how the helmet stripe, shoulder stripes, and pant stripes all match; the usage of the Angry Wave decal on the helmet; and how the green facemask meshes with the white helmet. However, that black jersey is still not doing it for me.
Grade: C+
#8 Washington State
Kit: Gray/Red/Red
Result: L 15-28 vs #16 Washington
Script Cougars on the helmet - yessssss
But does it match the rest of the uniform? No... (womp womp)
Sad day and sadder Apple Cup for Wazzu, but I’ll give them some points for script on the helmet!
Grade: B+
#9 UCF
Kit: “War on I-4” - Gray/White/Black
Result: W 31-10 @ USF
Good stuff from the 2017 National Champs. I love the fact that the equipment staff customized the helmet decals with players’ home states and I really like the numeral colors matching the pants’ color. Along with the gray helmet, everything seems to come together better here than with their usual gold helmets.
Grade: A
#5 Athens Community College
Kit: Garbage
Result: Not talking about it
Like I said, we’re not talking about it.
Grade: F-
Got any uni thoughts? Let me know in the comments!