Akshay Eye for the Uniform Guy: Week 14

Bama rolled on, OU took out Texas to clinch a playoff berth, the MWC title game got weird on Boise’s blue turf, and Army/Navy square off later this week in their annual pre-bowl showdown. But we’re here to talk uniforms, not rankings - so let’s get to it.

Note: No #AkshayEye next week with no games on and finals week on the Flats, but it will be back for bowl season!

Please note: I am no trained uniform connoisseur. I call them like I see them.

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Appalachian State

Kit: Black/Black/Black

Result: W 30-19 vs LA Tech (Sun Belt Championship)

Image courtesy of App State Football on Twitter

App State’s uniforms are so great. I got nothing to analyze here; just look at this picture above in awe.

Grade: A+

Army

Kit: “Big Red One” - Black/Black/Black

Result: TBD vs Navy

Image courtesy of the United States Military Academy and Nike

Oh, yes. Nike once again does Army up really nice for Army/Navy. I am a massive sucker for historic tie-ins to uniforms and Army kills it at that every year for these uniform sets every year. The pentagon “1” badge on the helmet and shoulders, the military nameplate style “BIG RED ONE” on the chest, the collar insignias - every element on this kit connects so well with the history of “The Fighting First” Division (which you can read more about on the amazing uniform reveal site). While I wish the numerals and shoulder designs also had red fills, those are minor nitpicks. This is, once again, great work from Army and Nike.

Grade: A

Boise State

Kit: Blue/Blue/Blue

Result: L 16-19 vs Fresno State (MWC Championship)

Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images

A note on this game before the uniform review: wow, this might have been the best conference championship game of the night slate (with OU/Texas and UCF/Memphis tied for best of the day). Two very evenly-matched teams, the effect of snowfall, and the back-and-forth flow of the game itself all made for an enthralling watch. Go find a replay online if you didn't catch it live.

Now on to Boise’s uniforms: I love basically everything about these other than one thing - the gradient fill on the numerals. If there was no orange outline on the numerals, these would look even worse than they already do. There’s no reason for these to have a gradient fill; just roll with solid white numerals, Boise - c’mon now.

Grade: A-

Buffalo Bulls

Kit: Blue/Black/Black

Result: L 29-30 vs Northern Illinois (MAC Championship)

Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

I dig the matte blue helmets with the silver-trimmed bull logo. I don’t know why; I just do. Everything else looked pretty, pretty good: the blue outline on the white numerals was nice, plus the black jerseys and black pants contrasted well with the blue helmet. I know I give programs a lot of [Styx] for using black jerseys when their color palette doesn’t include black (and Buffalo is no exception), but this whole ensemble looked good.

Grade: A

California

Kit: Navy/Navy/Navy

Result: L 13-23 vs Stanford (Big Game)

D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

Whoever re-did Cal’s uniforms when they moved to Under Armour a few years ago — thank you. Cal’s uniforms under Nike were....a mixed bag. But now, everything in this jersey screams Cal: the “fault line” pattern on the shoulders and pants; the deep ocean-like shade of navy; the sans serif numerals that look historic, yet modern; that bright sunny California gold — everything just comes together so well.

Grade: A+

Middle Tennessee State

Kit: Black/Black/Black

Result: L 25-27 vs UAB (CUSA Championship)

Image courtesy of Middle Tennessee FB on Twitter

There are so many blackout uniforms on #AkshayEye today, but these are probably the best ones (well, tied with App State). The matte helmet with chrome stickers, the striping inside the helmet stripe, the blue outlines on the numerals — everything really pops here. The only reason this doesn’t get an A+ is the gray collar and accents, which should be blue to match everything else. However, this ensemble is still awesome.

Grade: A

#5 Athens Community College

Kit: Pain

Result: Schadenfreude

Ya just love to see it.

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Got any uni thoughts? Let me know in the comments!