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NCAA Bowl Pool Predictions – Part I

NCAA Bowl Logos 2010-2011 (1-18) hed

By Phil Hecken, with Tod Hess

Now that the NCAA College Football Bowls have all been announced, I’ve teamed up with Tod Hess to bring you the First Annual Uni Watch NCAA Football Pool. We’ll go over the first half of the bowls (there are 35) today, and finish up with the second half tomorrow. There are two ways to set up the pool: “straight” picks (where you simply have to pick the outright winner) and “confidence” picks, where you rank your picks on get 1-35 points for a correct pick). What we’re going to do right now is ask you which type of pool you’d prefer. The “straight” pool is probably much easier, but the “confidence” pool may be more strategic.

Tod has already set up the pool and the group, which we’ll reveal tomorrow, but today we just want to know which type you’d like. Please vote below:


Check back tomorrow for Part II of the review, the user group and ID. OK? OK! Now, on to the Bowls:

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All the Bowl Matchups graphics (which list time & channel) below are courtesy of Zach Brady. The uniform montages were compiled by yours truly.

Tod and I will be using our own methods to select our choices. I’m basing all my picks, give or take, on which team has the better uniform. That’s all subjective, of course. There are some real slam-dunks, and some others where either both uniforms are equally good, or equally bad, or pretty close. I won’t likely win the pool this way, but you never know. You, of course, should use whatever system you feel will win you the pool. All spreads are as of Friday, December 10. The lines will probably move before the games, so use them only as a guide. Since the pool doesn’t involve picking ATS (against the spread), the actual number listed will tell you the current favorite. Over/Under will also be listed.

December 18, 2010

New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM): UTEP (+9.5) vs. BYU (O/U 49.5)

Tod Hess: In a game that should be renamed the Alphabet Bowl. I think that BYU will win this bowl and they definitely have the better uniforms. On a side note, I think this is the best trophy of all the bowls. Each year is a specially made trophy and no two are the same.

Phil Hecken: Based on these two uni matchups, this one is a slam dunk. BYU. This team has a white helmet with two blue stripes, and a set of blue and white tops and bottoms, with northwestern stripes. They seem to mix and match at random, but their unis are still miles above UTEP.

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Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, ID): Northern Illinois (-3) vs. Fresno State (O/U 50)

TH: I will start by saying I don’t like Fresno in monochrome and NIU will have the better uniform if Fresno goes with that look. However, since Northern Illinois’ Head Coach Jerry Kill is now at Minnesota, I will take Fresno to win this game.

PH: Both of these teams uniforms leave a lot to be desired. However, Fresno is slightly superior (or, less inferior). Not a fan of the monochrome or the drop shadow on the numbers, but there’s no garish side piping or bumper stickers either. I’ll grudgingly take Fresno.

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New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA): Ohio (-2.5) vs. Troy (O/U 58)

TH: I like both uniforms and if forced to pick it would be Troy by a nose. I have not seen Troy at all this season and have seen Ohio a few, so I am going with Ohio for no real reason other than they are a MAC school.

PH: In a matchup of two pretty nice unis, there is no way Ohio doesn’t get the nod. Beautiful green color, classic shoulder loops, smart helmet. Troy might get the edge against a lot of teams, but not against Ohio.

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December 21, 2010

Beef “O” Brady’s Bowl (St. Petersburg, FL): Louisville (+2.5) vs. Southern Miss (O/U 57)

TH: No matter who wears what the poor turf at the Tropicana Dome will make it look bad.I am going with Southern Miss in game but Louisville will look better.

PH: Ugh. This is one of those games where both teams will likely look awful. But, at least Southern Miss wears school colors. Louisville’s BFBS and “The Ville” and their stars & stripes helmet motif on September 11 are enough to tip the scales in favor of Southern Miss. The Beef “O” Brady’s Bowl…Really?

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December 22, 2010

Maaco Bowl (Las Vegas, NV): Utah (+15) vs. Boise State (O/U 61)

TH: Utah will have the better uniforms hands down but that won’t help them as they will get rolled by Boise State.

PH: I have to take Utah, right? Despite the wounded warrior garbage and the monochrome and the bumper sticker side piping? But, yes, Boise State is worse, unless they were to wear their pro combat costumes. But overall, Utah will get my pick. Not getting the points scares the hell out of me, but the laundry wins.

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December 23, 2010

Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA): San Diego State (-2.5) vs. Navy (O/U 59.5)

TH: Give me Navy to win the game and look the best as San Diego State in all black is just wrong. Besides isn’t Un-American to pick against the service academies?

PH: No contest here. The Academy would beat most teams in a uni-matchup, but it isn’t even a fair fight against SD State. Anchors aweigh, I shall take Navy.

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December 24, 2010

Hawaii Bowl (Hololulu, HI): Hawaii (-8) vs. Tulsa (O/U 73)

TH: I think Hawaii will win at home and will look better than Tulsa.

PH: Yet another matchup that won’t be pretty. Hawai’i is really pretty bad, but it’s still better than almost anything the Golden Cane will put out there. Seriously, I’ll be watching A Christmas Story for the 200th time before I watch this game. Still — gotta pick Hawai’i.

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December 26, 2010

Little Caesar’s Bowl (Detroit, MI): Toledo (-5) vs. Florida International (O/U 56)

TH: Toledo is about 45 minutes from Ford Field in the battle of monochrome uniforms and will have a huge cheering section. Give me Toledo to win but FIU will look better.

PH: Boxing Day yields as uni-unwatchable a game as Christmas Eve. Yeesh. Guess the NFL will get all the viewers. In a very grudging pick, the lesser of two very evils, give me Florida International.

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December 27, 2010

Independence Bowl (Shereveport, LA): Georgia Tech (+2.5) vs. Air Force (O/U 56)

TH: I love both uniforms but will give the nod to Air Force in both the game and the uniforms in a game that may not feature more than five passes total.

PH: I’m not in love with either of these uniforms, but the Ramblin’ Wreck has been going downhill in that department lately. And they have two different white (home) uni sets. Granted, they wear white for almost every game, but c’mon. I’m kind of hoping AF will break out the Thunderbird costume, but either way, I’ll take Air Force.

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December 28, 2010

Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL): North Carolina State (+4) vs. West Virginia (O/U 48.5)

TH: I think West Virginia will look the best and win this game over the Wolfpack.

PH: WVU has one or two combos I like, but most of them try too hard. If they didn’t have the inconsistent (and thick) piping, I’d probably like them more, but the coal miner’s daughter pro combat costume actually may have looked better than some of their normal looks — and that’s not saying much. I’m hoping NC State won’t go mono red, but overall their unis are just a tad better. Sorry Bernard. Give me NC State, grudgingly.

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Insight Bowl (Tempe, AZ): Missouri (-3) vs. Iowa (O/U 47.5)

TH: I have always loved Iowa’s uniforms over Missouri’s but Missouri will beat the Hawkeyes on the field.

PH: This one’s a layup, uni-wise. Missouri has such great colors, but such crappy unis, with the unnecessary piping and weird amorphous pants stripes(?). Iowa, on the other hand, is just drop dead gorgeous. ANF (“America Needs Farmers”), and I’ll take Iowa FTW (“for the win”).

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December 29, 2010

Military Bowl (Washington, DC): East Carolina (+8) vs. Maryland (O/U 68)

TH: Why isn’t there a military academy playing in this game? Maryland looks better and will win what basically amounts to a home game.

PH: It’s hard to imagine a team looking worse than ECU. But, yet, we have Maryland. For a school with really great colors, the UA designers sure manage to screw the design up. It’s really tough to pick the purple menace, but yet, I feel I must. In a very anti-Lukasian pick, I’ll grudgingly take, East Carolina.

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Texas Bowl (Houston, TX): Baylor (-2) vs. Illinois (O/U 62)

TH: I like Baylor to look sharp and beat Illinois in this bowl.

PH: Both teams have great helmets, and nice colorschemes. But neither team saw a side panel or amorphous shape they didn’t want to try to wedge where it doesn’t belong. Normally the Bears’ “diamond” shape thing would eliminate them, but their awfulness is trumped by the Illini’s swoosh-things. And the Waco kids’ colors are better too. Give me, because I have to choose, Baylor.

~~~

Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX): Arizona (+7) vs. Oklahoma State (O/U 66)

TH: I never really like Arizona uniforms and have always have been partial Oklahoma State’s jerseys. On the field Oklahoma State wins this game.

PH: Two teams who give new meaning to “mix and match.” Fellas, you’re not Oregon. Pick one look and stick with it please. That being said, I have to give the nod to the Wildcats (barely) because the Cowboys have this propensity to wedge diamond striping under the pits. Not a good look. Truncated stripes or no, I’ll take Arizona.

~~~

December 30, 2010

Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX): Army (+7.5) vs. Southern Methodist (O/U 51)

TH: Army will be the better looking team but SMU is basically at home for this game. Give me the Mustangs to win the game.

PH: Up until this year, Army was guaranteed (well, almost) to be in black and gold, and they could be counted upon to don a golden dome. But they have broken out full camo and a “dress gray” uni with a black helmet. The Mustangs always looks good. In what should be a nice looking bowl game, I will side with SMU.

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Pinstripe Bowl (Bronx, NY): Syracuse (even) vs. Kansas State (O/U 47)

TH: Syracuse should have a good crowd at the game and Kansas State will have the better uniforms. I have gone back and forth on this game since it was announced and will take Kansas State to win.

PH: You can count on two things in this bowl: Syracuse will wear an orange helmet and pants, and Kansas State will wear a silver helmet and pants. After a couple years of *experimentation,* the Orange have seemed to settle in to a very nice home/away uni scheme, while K-State is also pretty classic. It’s almost a uni-tossup, but I have to give the slight edge to Kansas State.

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Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN): North Carolina (even) vs. Tennessee (O/U 50)

TH: I like North Carolina better in the Carolina Blue but they will still look better and play better than Tennessee. Tarheels will win.

PH: Not a huge fan of creamsicle, but I do think the Vols have a pretty great uni. The ‘Heels uni isn’t bad, and I can even kinda dig that “state outline” pant stripe, and God knows that Carolina blue is gorgeous. Still, the Vols uni just works a bit better. So, I’ll take Tennessee.

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Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA): Nebraska (-14) vs. Washington (O/U 53)

TH: Nebraska will look much better and crush Washington in the game.

PH: The last bowl we’re picking today is probably the easiest pick. The Huskers wear either white over red or red over white. That’s it. No messing around. Simple & classic. Washington’s unis have been getting better, but when they chose to go BFBS this year it made this one the “lock of the (first) day.” Nebraska, hands down.

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OK, folks. That takes us through the first half of the Bowl Season. Make sure you take out your number 2 pencils and mark your ballots today for your first 18. And don’t forget to vote as to whether you want the Uni Watch NCAA Football Bowl Pool to be “straight” or “confidence.” We’ll tabluate the results overnight and be back with the final 17 games and the pool, so be sure to check back in tomorrow.

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browns rups

Stirrups from a Fan

I don’t often get “fan mail” (but feel free to send it in). However, I received this wonderful note last Sunday from a fantastic reader. The E-mail speaks for itself.

This comes from Gary Baumstark, and it’s really great.:

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Phil,

I love to follow Uniwatch—-every day! I really look forward to reading it.

It provided inspiration fo the attached photos. Graham Curry my grandson and I at the Cooperstown Under 12 Tourney this past summer. While at Cooperstown another parent saw my Brownie stirrups and commented “you must follow Uniwatch-I love them!”. Graham’s regular team in St. Louis is the Browns in sweet uniforms (In my opinion) I helped design.

I’m 65 years old — an old school guy — and particularly enjoy that element of your blog.

(See attached file: Cooperstown Graham & Poppy & See
attached file: Browns Championship 2009)

Gary Baumstark

Wow. Thanks Gary. That’s a great little story. Beautiful uniforms, and of course, both the team’s socks and your stirrups.

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all sport uni tweaks

Uni Tweaks

Lots and lots of tweaks keep pouring in, so obviously this is a popular feature. A bunch new to get to today. If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

Remember, if possible, try to keep your descriptions to ~50 words (give or take) per tweak. You guys have been great a keeping to that, and it’s much appreciated!

I had actually meant to run these two weekends ago, but I inadvertently left them off. It includes the three gentlemen whose tweaks I neglected to post, plus a very interesting *bonus.*

Now, on to today’s this set of tweaks I forgot to post 2 weeks ago:

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Starting off the show is Mike Andrews, who starts with a Titans tweak:

Hey Phil,

I promise I had worked up this tweak Tennessee Titans’ home and road uniforms prior to seeing your Nov. 7 column. Just a couple of quick notes about the concept:

Home and Road

HELMET ”“ I personally prefer the look of teams that have matching helmets and pants with contrasting jerseys for both the road and home (Packers, 49ers, etc.). I thought the Titans could go this route and be unique as the only team in the league with a light blue helmet. I also swapped the sleeve and helmet logos because I’ve always wanted to see the sword on the helmet.

STRIPING ”“ When the team first played in Tennessee as the Oilers, the helmet and pants stripes matched and were also mimicked on the sleeve cuff and socks (this image is a good example). I tried to pay homage to that striping consistency with this set.

JERSEY ”“ I thought that keeping the shoulders light blue was a bit too much, but I still wanted the jersey to be more than just a solid color like the Oilers wore. So, I opted for a light blue sleeve and collar. Also, to prevent the monochromatic look, I eliminated the light blue jersey altogether.

Thanks for giving it a look.

Mike Andrews

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Next up is Dustin Smith who has just what the NFL needs:

I’ve been noticing the wounded warrior jerseys lately and I though it would be nice if the NFL were to get behind it. I have attached to concepts that I have made. The one with the yellow jersey is in a way me just messing around with color swap but I thought yellow may be a nice touch with these unis because of the yellow military ribbons. My favorite of the two which is a subtle change is the white away uniform. I’m going to work on one with the Falcons old alternate black jersey (aka The Cards new alternate jersey). But let me know what you think of the idea. I think the NFL would actually get on board with the idea. I mean they do a whole month in pink. Why not get with another worthy cause. Also I am available to do some color swapping if you guys need any help.

Thanks, Dustin Smith

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Next up is Kyle Allebach with a new look for the Colts:

Hey Uniwatch,

I watched the Eagles vs. Colts game with the 1956 throwback unis, and I felt that a cool uniform could be made with the Colt’s blue helmet. First, I changed the shade of blue to the same color, because that bugged me. For the home, I stayed white pants, but for the away, I thought blue with white stripe would look good. Here they are, thanks.

-Kyle Allebach

PS: There are quite a few mistakes, and I’m sorry. This is my first edit and I was using Photobucket.

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And finally, a pretty *interesting* set of tweaks, sent my way just after the “Nike Fakes” had gone viral, by Elliot Schunke. I asked Elliot if he was responsible for any of the “fakes,” but he has denied any involvement. But check these out (and you may wish to wear goggles). All I can say is HOLY SHIT “wow”:

Since a Nike Combat template PSD leaked or was created by a third party (I’m not sure which) and said company is getting the NFL rights, I decided to make some of horridly ugly uniforms for NFL teams.

—-

If there’s anything I like more than football it is wildlife, and more specifically, birds. Because of that, I’ve always wondered why the Eagles have green as their primary color. Now this is more like it. Brown body, white head, white tail, yellow bill and feet … much better.

—-

I made the Dolphins a little more gaudy. Orange sun rays on the jersey and a wave adorns the pants. In a similar move as the eagle, I made the dolphin gray on a team color backdrop on the helmet.

—-

As for the Bengals, we’re moving to a white tiger motif. A large subdued logo on the chest with orange accents all around.

—-

Keeping it in the jungle cat realm, the Jaguars. Spots all around and I really like a user’s past tweek with the jags changing the teal to green so I incorporated that.

—-

For the Rams, I went back to the colors of the past, made the horn a little more rugged and added various ram graphics. Also included is the Arch in the pants.

—-

The Ravens will make a switch to a alternate logo as the primary, lose some purple (just for you) and have a not-so-subtle addition of the Maryland flag to the uni on the socks, sleeves and belt. Not to mention a cameo from Mr. Poe himself.

—-

We may as well make the Bills move to Canada official.

—-

Lastly, being a die-hard Bear fan, I had to make a certain rival a little more cheesy.

Thanks. More possibly to come.

Elliot Schunke

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Thanks to all the tweakers. Back tomorrow with more.

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duckback3

Is This The New Duck Uni?

No. At least not unless Michael Princip (who created that) is on the Nike design committee. But it appears as though the Ducks will have new uniforms for their BCS Title Game against Auburn next month.

And the Ducks won’t be alone in getting new costumes for the playoffs bowl season. According to this release from yesterday, “Nike on Tuesday will unveil the BCS National Championship game uniforms that the Oregon Ducks will wear in their Jan. 10 title game against the Auburn Tigers.”

Sweet. Since the Ducks have worn 12 different uniform combinations this year, it’s not like one more will hurt. Wait — that will make 13. Isn’t that considered unlucky? Oh, right, we’re talking Oregon here.

But it won’t just be the Webfoots who are being outfitted for new duds. The Swoosh will also be unveiling “the BCS uniforms for the TCU Horned Frogs, Boise State Broncos and Florida Gators. TCU and Florida have worn helmets this season specially designed by Nike and painted by a Dundee, Ore., company, Hydro Graphics.”

I didn’t realize now that teams going to bowls get to wear specially designed uniforms, but I guess that time has now arrived. It won’t change any of my Bowl Predictions, but it’s just one further nail in the tradition coffin.

And check out the last paragraph in that article: “Auburn, by the way, does not wear Nike-sponsored gear. Even worse, in Nike’s view, the Tigers are affiliated with Under Armour, a chief Nike competitor in the collegiate football world. That competition is expected to be a continuing back story in the buildup to the title game.”

Excuse me? Is this what college football has come to? It’s not just a matchup of the two best teams in the nation, but now it’s a matchup of Nike versus Under Armour? Are you EFFING kidding me? We all know Oregon is “Team Nike,” but now the title game is shaping up to be a battle between two uniform manufacturers? Seriously?

Simply amazing. Maybe we should all hope the Mayans were right.

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OK, Uni Watchers, that’s a lot to digest for today. Make sure you vote on what type of pool you’d like for the NCAA Bowls, and get your selections ready for the first 18 bowls. Tod & I will finish off the preview tomorrow, and we’ll open the pool up then. To paraphrase Ty Webb, “We’ve got a poll and a pool. The poll would be good for you though.”

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If MLB would spring for the box of 64 crayons instead of the 8 box, I could live with white at home, gray on the road. — Jim Mothersunbowlvilker

 
  
 
Comments (118)

    This has probably been mentioned before, but I’m just now noticing it. Is there a swoosh on the thigh pad on these Nike templates?
    link

    Graham,

    That would have been me who commented on your St. Louis Browns stirrups in Cooperstown this past summer. My son played for the CBC Cougars out of Charlotte, NC and I remember the day very well. The Uni-Watch family is everywhere!

    Randy Rollyson
    Charlotte, NC

    I am EXTREMELY jealous of those kids in the Browns unis.

    That’s one way to have a happy childhood…

    -Jet

    As for Schunke’s tweaks, I have one word for them: alien. They look like they belong on another planet.

    Eh, his Ravens helmet looks alright.

    Everything else is a bit on the scary side though.

    You think my color vs color obsession is bad, at least I’m still keeping the uniforms relatively normal looking. :P

    The logo is alright (sort of). But the execution of a mostly black logo on a burgundy helmet doesn’t work.

    This is inspired:
    link
    Make the numbers bigger, though.

    This? Oooooooooh yeah!
    link
    I’d wear that, eh?

    The rest remind me of the 90s “CFL in the US” uni-adventure.

    That Dolphins helmet reminds me of this proposed one that was around 1990:

    link

    found here:

    link

    Off of that, I’d like the Seahawks, Texans and maybe the Jaguars helmet on the left.

    “Auburn, by the way, does not wear Nike-sponsored gear. Even worse, in Nike’s view, the Tigers are affiliated with Under Armour, a chief Nike competitor in the collegiate football world. That competition is expected to be a continuing back story in the buildup to the title game.”

    This is the sign that things have gone too far. This corporate douchery at its worse. Who gives a SHIT how Nike or Under Armour feels! What, are the two going to have a grand battle royal about whose products are most superior?? What, does Nike think “how DARE Under Armour for existing!” ?

    Just another example of why Nike is no good.

    This is new to college football, but it is not new in the sports world. The Nike-Adidas (and Puma) rivalry is a running storyline in soccer. It comes up in every World Cup. You hear Adidas guys on Nike teams and visa versa, Nike-vs-Adidas in the final, and so on. Nike guys criticizing the Adidas ball is a quadrennial tradition. Remember the controversy over the World Cup ball this year? It happens all the time. Nike man Roberto Carlos claimed in 1998 that the Adidas World Cup ball wouldn’t allow him to put as much curl on his devastating free kicks, for example.

    College football hasn’t had this issue because Under Armor is so new and because Adidas has a disastrous track record of sponsoring teams. You ask, “What are you talking about?” I think this is one of the great un-mentioned storylines in college football. Over the past ten or so years Adidas has sought to sponsor some of the biggest schools in the NCAA, and their success has been dreadful.

    UCLA. Notre Dame. Nebraska. Tennessee. Texas A&M. Traditional powers mired and mediocrity, outfitted with Adidas uniforms. I am a Michigan fan, and when I heard Michigan was moving to Adidas, I got a sinking feeling in my gut. The result? Michigan’s worst stretch of football in living memory. Adidas is the kiss of death. Not just to the big names, either–up-and-coming programs like Arizona State and Arkansas seriously lost momentum when they donned Adidas gear, and a number of teams have improved after leaving Adidas.

    I’m not superstitious, and I don’t think that there is something about the Adidas uniforms that actually hurt teams, but the coincidental trends are startling.

    I found it hilarious that Michigan can’t even wear “Maize and Blue” because Nike trademarked the color “Maize”. Adidas had to make a new color (“Sun”) for them.

    It’s still the nasty Process Yellow color that they’ve been wearing for quite a while, just under a different name. You sympathize with any manufacturer that deals with Michigan in that there’s much more use for Process Yellow than Michigan’s actual maize color, which the University defines as PMS 109.

    Then again, if Michigan really wanted it, they could demand it. Notre Dame and UCLA have a very decent gold color on their gear(what Adidas defines as “sandstorm”); surely Adidas could come up with a better maize color than this.

    I don’t follow soccer at all. But that’s pretty sorry that there’s “Nike guys” and “Adidas guys” having hissy fits & fighting over as their respective corporate tools. It’s really ridiculous. And what’s it take for schools to change their loyalty? A better uniform contract I suppose. I don’t think there’s a curse on Adidas uniforms, that’s silly.

    Like if I worked for Pepsi, it wouldn’t stop me from drinking Coca-Cola. It’s just that Pepsi tastes like watered-down malted battery acid as opposed to Coke as better tasting malted battery acid.

    Um, everybody criticised the 2010 World Cup ball. Nike guys, Adidas guys, guys that played barefoot…

    That said, you don’t hear too much criticism of the Adidas ball used in the UEFA Champions League.

    Armed Forces Bowl will not be played at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth. Instead it will be played at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, because of the renovations taking place at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

    “well-rendered” how? A lot of the detail & gloss is due to the concept program they’re created with.

    That’s what I meant. I mean, I’ve seen concepts on this site rendered in colored pencils and such, that appear as if done by a six-year old. Such rendering detracts from the effort. I personally use ink markers for my recreational sketching and drawing, and I suspect that if I scanned them for consumption here, the results wouldn’t be visually appealing, either.

    We’ll be the judge of that :P

    Those watercolor paintings of uni’s would be the huge exception to the rule. My personal rule is to create my own template (whether it be from an actual pic or alter another template) to work on so it fits to my drawing style. I see templates that have faded gray lines to designate the jersey’s multiple fabric cuts and patterns, but I think that extra unnecessary detail always looks like shit.

    Completely biased opinion- except for the awful black pit stain blotches the NIU uniforms are outstanding. Particularly the red over black home.

    “Since the Ducks have worn 12 different uniform combinations this year, it’s not like one more will hurt.”

    So they’ve only used 12 of the 2,456 possible combinations, and yet they feel the need to design yet another uniform? Sheesh, what a waste.

    To address a point of Phil’s from earlier this week, that’s a big difference between the Ducks and the ’77-’84 Pirates. Not only were the Pirate unis always recognizable as team colors, but there were nine jersey/pants combinations which were worn for 162 games a year (averaging 18 per combination), not 12 or 13 games in the course of a season where combos are one-and-done.

    wasn’t exactly my point, jerry

    my point was that what oregon does, and what the bucs did, was to be *unique* in the way they wore their uniforms…and i think we’ve found more than 9 different combos, if you include all the caps and stirrups, but that’s not the point — no baseball team (unless it were designed by ben traxel) could possibly wear 162 different uni combos, unless they had about 27 colors

    i liked what the bucs did (even if i hated the double wide pins) and i really didn’t like the mix and match aspect — but they and they alone did it — it was different, cool, unique…

    what oregon has done — to wear a different uni combo for every game (which is possible when you introduce 2 non-school colors plus the mandatory white) — was unique…but now you’ve got a mess of other schools who are trying to do it — it will ruin it for oregon and it won’t look good for the other schools…

    just as if say, the cubs (hypothetically say they had a blue and red solid, plus pins) and the mets (blue and orange solids plus pins) did what the bucs did…it wouldn’t have looked good OR been unique…just a stupid copy catter

    kind of how the A’s were unique in the 1960’s-70’s with their white/seafoam (or whatever color charley o called it) green/and gold…with white shoes

    was it loud? gaudy? sure…but it screamed “OAKLAND” — if everyone had done something similar, especially with the white shoes (which don’t belong in baseball, unless you’re the a’s)…it would have ruined it for the a’s

    anyway, sorry for babbling and if you misconstrued my comparison, i apologize — wasn’t trying to equate the buc’s combos with what oregon’s doing — just that what both did (do) was unique to them

    Mike Andrews, the only thing wrong with your Titans tweak isn’t even your fault. The Titans have a crappy font but you’ve designed a great uniform around it. Great job!

    The 4s in particular bug me. They look incomplete.
    link
    Arizona uses the same font in college, and I don’t like it on them, either.
    link

    It’s a trendy fad font but not as bad as the Oregon one. Those 2’s on the Ducks unis are subprime mortgage bad. link

    I really don’t know how you can call it a trendy fad font… they’re the only NFL team using it. Are there a bunch of colleges other than Arizona using it? I can’t think of any, but I don’t really watch much college ball. Unless the trendy part is just “not being varsity block”, in which case, fine, but I still like it.

    Agreed on the tites fours.

    The Patriots number font has always caused some sort of uneasyness to me. The wider verticles, skinnier horizontals, but on a block font. Don’t like or dislike it, it just always grabs my attention for some reason and gets me off balance.

    There are other colleges (can’t name them off the top of my head, though) and lots of high schools using the Titans font. Same with the Eagles font (of which I’m not real fond, either). In fact, I was at a high school basketball game last night and the visiting team had the Eagles font on their jerseys. So yeah, I’d call them trendy.

    Total trendy fad font. Round the corners, play with the thickness, couple of eccentric digits for cuteness, the whole let’s be different for different’s sake (LBDFDS?). Yep. Definately a trendy fad font. Not saying everything has to be varsity block, I like UCLA’s old curly font among many others, but that looks like a mid 90’s corporate fabricated boy band font.

    I never liked the Titans numbers. Too gimmicky, too clunky; looks too much like they came off a computer screen from the early 1980s:

    link

    “so I am going with Ohio for no real reason other than they are a MAC school.”

    Tod, I went to a MAC school and even I wouldn’t pick a MAC school…unless you’re picking strictly on unis. In that case, yes, Ohio gets a slight nod.

    “the coal miner’s daughter pro combat costume actually may have looked better than some of their normal looks”

    Um, no.

    The toy combat uni is worse than any of WVU’s regular looks.

    Beef O Bradys is a goofy name for a restaurant, and even worse for a bowl game. I’m calling it the St. Petersburg Bowl.

    As for the Independence Bowl, GT and AF could wear monochrome black vs. camouflage pink and I’d still watch it, because they both run the option.

    Couldn’t agree more, I normally don’t watch 6-6 teams in bowl games, this this is the exception. Tech may be getting their starting QB back for this game, too. The Yellow Jackets lost him early in the season to injury.

    the best bowl pools are ATS, otherwise you are a fool to leave huge amounts of points on the table, and nobody does. there is nothing like picking a double-digit or three toutie dog to win only to have them lose by one, and you are left saying to yourself, that should have been a win.

    agreed, teh rob…that’s why our internal thingy will remain ATS…however, you apparently can’t set up the yahoo pools to pick the games ATS — so it’s either straight or confidence

    im hoping the voters will go with confidence, as it will add some strategery

    on another note…

    hooah

    I take it you haven’t clicked the “view results” link up there. The voters clearly have no confidence in their prognosticating abilities.

    Either that or they’re not secure enough in their sexuality to pick anything but the “straight” option.

    I only gamble when I order takeout, so I don’t need lots of complications. I voted for the straight option. My being secure didn’t factor into it.

    If I was doing a 5&1 for the schools that know how to put on a postseason, I’d say New Hampshire/Delaware is a candidate for #1:
    link
    Now THAT’s a number font:
    link

    “know how to put on a postseason”

    Why. Why O Why. Can the NCAA not figure it out. TCU, you were not eligible to play for anything but funsies. I’d demand a letter from the NCAA that says so.

    I really hope TCU wins the Rose Bowl by around 35 points or so, while Oregon & Auburn end up in a close, low scoring game decided by a last second field goal.

    “TCU, you were not eligible to play for anything but funsies”

    so, undefeated teams don’t deserve a title shot? ever?

    what if auburn had lost the iron bowl? texas christian gets bubkes?

    cry babies. every year it’s the same thing, you say you want the system to break, and it doesn’t. tcu is a very good team, very good, but they are also not as good as oregon or auburn, i’m sorry. news flash, auburn didn’t lose the iron bowl, so your ifs and buts are useless, the two best teams this year are playing for the trophy, bully for them. tcu plays in the freaking mountain west, tcu gets to play in the rose bowl, the freaking rose bowl people, that is the biggest plum there is outside the title game, so stop crying for them. the big 10 and pac 8 gave up that slot to teams like tcu when they decided to join the bcs, and tcu should be ecstatic to be there, and i think they are. it isn’t for funsies. if the rosebowl is just about funsies, then all the bowls are funsies, which also leads back to stop crying. there are tons of great matchups, the rose bowl being one of them, what is so god awful about how things shook out?! screw you little school cry babies, your broken record makes me want to puke every year. no system would stop teams from getting left out(see msu this year even if there was a playoff), and a playoff just plain rots to any legit college football fan. that’s right, if you like a playoff you fail to see what is awesome about the college game, go watch to nfl. anybody who sits down to watch army-navy today and says things like this is what college football is about should be against a playoff. you can not speak out of both sides of your mouth. this ruined my day, i hate this crap, that’s twice this week i got my blood pressure up, and had to talk about playoffs, you guys can have the boards today, i’m gone. i am not going to sit around and look at the weak pro-playoff arguments. sconnie is not the kind of offensive team that is prone to rolling teams, but by corn they better just destroy the horned frogs, i mean give them a big ten beat down like they havenever had before. but if tcu does win, they are number 2, and an undefeated rose bowl champion, that’s a frigin great season, what is so wrong with that? i would pass up the title in 02 to have played ryan leaf in the rose bowl, and just seen where the chips would have fallen. maybe we were 1, but maybe not, either way we beat michigan, won the conference, and won the rose bowl, what the hell else do i want for my team? they are 18 to 22 year old kids for corn’s sake, enough already, i get enough entertainment out of their free labour. let’s just hope the bowls are entertaining and stop trying to root for bad games. why would you sit down to watch something and say, boy i hope this sucks, wouldn’t that be great.

    on wisconsin!

    Ah traditionalists… aren’t they great?

    3 teams win all their games. 2 of them get to play for the championship, the other doesn’t even have a chance. What a great system. But hey, they get to play in the sacred Rose Bowl. Woo-hoo!

    Sorry RPM, a playoff doesn’t hurt anything about college football. The integrity and importance of the regular season would still be there (have to be a conference champ to get an automatic bid, have to be one of the top handful of non-champs to get an at large spot).

    And there would be an actual national champion (like in every other level of every other sport sponsored by the NCAA), decided beginning to end on the field, with subjective personal biases minimized.

    As soon as I started this, I realized, “Aw no, I just poked the Marshall bear again.” Second time this week I did that…

    Love the passion, but doesn’t mean I agree – Army/Navy IS what college football is about, AND the FBS needs a bowl-friendly playoff. Anyway, agree to disagree and all that. See you in a few days, Robert.

    Switching gears, the Akron Zips soccer team (huh?) is playing tomorrow afternoon in the national championship game against Louisville.
    The Zips link look a bit uninspiring link (love the NNOB but the font is too small and skinny), but they look slightly better than Louisville link and a LOT better than the Zips football team.
    link
    Not a matchup you want to see on HDTV, but it should be a good game.

    I watched them last night against Michigan. College soccer is not a big sport, so it doesn’t get a lot of good uniform attention, and teams wear white at home. Even Michigan, which really should wear maize (or whatever you want to call it). Akron’s uniform was uninspiring, Michigan’s was a stock blue Adidas template with too much white. Eh, whatever. North Carolina’s blues were nice, but they’re out too.

    I see from highlights that the Timberwolves wore black at home against the Pistons. Was this pointed out yesterday?

    a few things…
    1. that is totally why the revolution has not folded up the tents. that was just great.

    2. elliot~ you made me cringe, horrific, but like any classic horror movie, i loved it.

    3. phil, you rotten sack of potatoes, nebraska? ncs? navy? tough to pick a team that has a twin…wisconsin south, stanford east, and notre dame of the sea(notrefishes?). washington should get props for the best colour combo, they are the only purple(primary) school that looks good. and sds, don’t they get any props for having a modern ucla-esque stripe that actually goes around? and don’t tell me monochrome is the reason, that is totally above board in the college game. i like the colour of that aztec helmet too. obviously, horchata.

    4. i don’t know that utah is necessarily a slam dunk winner over BCC uni wise. oh wait, that nike special thing will probably be a tragedy, but more importantly, is anybody else bothered by the fact that they are getting all greek with their city-state name. boise state? is that in the union? since the bengals already have idaho state, may i suggest a return to boise community college? i know three teams i will be rooting hard against, boise, tcu, and florida. thank corn THE didn’t okay anything for their bowl, i was sweating bullets reading that.

    not that they will, but what makes you think THE won’t wear their pro combat costume (either this year’s or last year’s)? the four teams identified sound like they’re getting brand new toy costumes — that doesn’t mean some won’t be rewearing their old ones

    “what makes you think THE won’t wear their pro combat costume”

    I don’t have a pro combat costume yet. :(

    You must not have noticed how often Phil refers to me as THE. I was just being my usual smartass self, I have no school.

    I want to thank Elliot for these; link, link, & what has to be the ugliest uniform concept ever designed…….link You may say teal green, however, it’s more like Seahawks lime green meetslink I was seriously taken aback by these, totally original, and totally fucked up. Bravo! Now, all that being said, you did actually hit upon some good stuff here; the MD flag link is fantastic, and going back to thelink is a great idea.
     

    While I agree the Jaguar concept overall is horrendous, I actually think the jaguar-print helmet, with a black facemask, would be amazing.

    With the way they use aqua print these days, it would be an easy thing to do. Now that Nike’s influence will be on the NFL playing field, it’s a trend that might start developing in the next few years. Like almost anything, it’s really about the design, and in some ways it could work very well. However, in the wrong hands it could be disastrous.

    You know.. like a month ago when I e-mailed Paul about Oregon possibly having a new uniform for the “championship” game.. I was half kidding. Unfortunately.. Nike didn’t think so.. I swear.. those helmets are going to look like the crystal trophy.. I can see it now.

    Per Scooter Berry (D-lineman)’s Twitter, WVU will be wearing their Pro Combat uniforms in the Champs Sports Bowl against NC State.

    link

    Does that sway your crappy opinion at all, Phil? ;)

    When I was looking for some cheetah prints, couple post above, I came across this linkPerdy slick how those three jagged stripes go right down the center of his back, then on either side you get the normal cheetah markings. Just envisioning a football team called the King Cheetahs with three jagged center stripes down the middle of their helmets. Just a beautiful animal.

    Elliot Schunke, inspired work. If you’re going change things for the sake of change, make it bold, right?

    Not so sure about the uniforms, but those helmets– in every case but the Bengals (which should remain orange)–are superior to the current lids. Love them!

    “Lots and lots of tweaks keep pouring in, so obviously this is a popular feature. ”

    Maybe among the folks who think they know how to design a uniform. I have to tell you though that it is the one part of the column that I always skip past. I suspect I am not alone in that sentiment.

    that’s fine

    i personally skip the “culinary corner” paul runs — but obviously it’s popular; and since i’ll never buy anything off eBay, i skip those too

    to each his own; however, judging by the amount of tweaks sent my way, it’s a popular feature

    Man, my Christmas presents ONLY come from eBay. Where else could you get Giants SGA bobbles from this year- or a special edition Corgi Aston Martin DB5 only sold @ Marks & Spencer in London?

    The Bay is the place.

    The Blazers wore their red alternates for the first time last night against the Suns. The striping that runs from the front of the jersey down one side of the shorts changed from previous seasons.

    OLD – link

    NEW – link

    Also, the photo of Aldridge last night shows him wearing a red sleeve… don’t recall seeing a colored one worn in the NBA. Aren’t players limited to wearing either white or black sleeves?

    Michigan’s yellow throwbacks against Michigan State’s green away uniform, a color vs color in the Big Chill right now.

    Michigan’s sweaters look fantastic. Old style big numbers, NNOB, very simple and clean except the “old” Adidas logo in the middle of the jersey.

    You’ve got the old school UM look versus the new Michigan State Nike look.

    And a great crowd on hand.

    Beat me to it, though we have different opinions. I don’t mind the cut of the jersey as much as I thought I would.

    The varying shades of Maize on the helmets and the jersey are bothering me though. The jersey itself is nice, but matched up with the helmet, it frustrates me.

    It is a quirk of Michigan athletics. The officially used color of “Maize” is pantone 109 or 116, which is what you see on the basketball, hockey, and other non-football uniforms. Football uses something lighter on the pants, jersey numbers, and helmets. The hockey team uses the football team’s helmet pattern and coloration, but the regular color for everything else.

    A careful observer will note that the football field markings are the lighter color as well, but that is because this is a new field; the old field’s markings were a darker “maize” and clashed visibly with the football uniforms.

    Michigan’s normal hockey jerseys are dazzle, which masks the difference somewhat. They moved back to the dazzle fabric in the middle of the ’02-’03 season. They had begun the year with redesigned jerseys in matte fabric. Among other features, the jerseys had small “pit stain” color patches. I remember seeing them in the maize jerseys for the first time and being horrified by the look of the jerseys and the clash of colors (the previous generation was also matte, but it didn’t seem to clash quite as badly). After New Year’s, they took the ice in dazzle-fabric jerseys with similar-but-not-identical designs lacking the pit stains and the clashing problem was no longer an issue. I never heard the story of this, but I gather that Coach Berenson was unhappy with the new designs and ordered new ones that didn’t come until halfway through the year.

    Ever since the end of the game I’ve been trying to find a place online that is selling the Michigan jerseys from today. I cannot stand the University of Michigan but would wear one of those throwbacks in a heartbeat.

    I could see a reduced version of those shoulder stripes on the Michigan football uniforms, home and away. The road
    Michigan jersey has had a wandering yellow line the last several years, it adds nothing.

    That jersey is begging for a DIY version. I think one of our more talented uniwatchers could handle that.

    Warning: Adidas replica hockey jerseys are not very substantial. I’ve heard complaints from Michigan fans and have checked them out when in Michigan, and they’re not fabulous. I haven’t seen the throwback replicas, though.

    You’d be surprised what you can see from those seats. I was at the Cold War in Spartan Stadium in the upper deck, and my view was pretty good. That shot is from reasonably high up–I would take that view and would be able to follow the action without much trouble. Following a puck in person is a lot easier than on tv, even in HD.

    The bad seats are down low. Michigan Stadium’s lower rows are very shallow, and the view of the ice would not be very good.

    The Big Chill is on, and Michigan’s throwbacks are… unfortunate. As I’ve observed before, the “Maize” of the jerseys is a different color than the “Maize” on the helmets. This is a long-standing trend, but the non-dazzle fabric, lighting, and HD make it stand out.

    I’m not normally a griper–I like Michigan’s maize hockey jerseys, but the throwback is not my favorite look.

    The throwback Adidas logo is kind of cool, though.

    Maple Leafs have some tribute up their sleeves tonight. Current third “retro” jerseys, but during the warm-ups, Dion Phaneuf’s jersey read SITTLER 27, not his own name and number.
    Teebz, got the scoop?

    Agree on Louisville’s stars-and-stripes 9/11 motif, but the school’s colors are red and black, so they are not wearing BFBS. In fact, they had black helmets at least as early as 1983:

    link

    ok, the Elliot Tweaks:

    only one i would think is good, and that one is the jags. the rest of them look like a 4 year old or a really disturbed individual designed them. They looked shitty, almost like they belonged to the year 2098. All I can say is the nike designs, fake or not, really pushed me over a cliff. I like some gaudiness (like the seahawks neon jerseys, but believe me, if I ever saw the Steelers trotting out in those pieces of crap, I would die laughing my a$$ off.

    Obviously my username gives away my bias, but Navy over SDSU? Really? SDSU is going to absolutely obliterate Navy. Navy has ZERO pass defense and SDSU has a 3500+ yd passer plus 2 1000+ yd WR’s, and the freshman of the year in the MWC, Ronnie Hillman. That same Ronnie Hillman just happened to run for 191 and 2 TDS against Air Force, the one opponent both teams have in common. Navy managed just 209 rush yds as an entire team against Air Force. Oh and Hillman broke Marshall Faulk’s freshman rushing record at SDSU. The kid is pretty good.

    As for the all-black argument…SDSU has been wearing red helmet/black jersey/black pants for its home games (with a handful of exceptions) since the Don Coryell days.

    How is Louiville doing black for blacks sake, but Southern Miss isn’t? Both teams have black in their main logo. The Cardinal’s logo has black in it, so they used black. Same with the eagle for Southern Miss.

    What exactly is the difference?

    The day of the year is our day too, as college football and especially fans of TCU and Wisconsin. I’m a crazy fan of TCU and can’t wait. After night of celebrations, I want to pass the day too celebrating!

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