Sunday Morning Uni Watch

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By Phil Hecken and the SMUW squad

Week 11 brought out lots of Veterans Day/’murica stuff in the NCAA, but the game that certainly stood out as the, ahem, brightest of them all was the University of Maryland/OSU tilt yesterday afternoon. Maryland wore the brightest red unis I have personally ever seen — introducing a new “Red Ops” costume to go with their all-black Black Ops’ and all-white White Ops. If you didn’t watch this game, count yourself as lucky. Not that being taken behind the woodshed will cause these unis to be forever shelved, but it certainly didn’t hurt. If you’re going to dress in the biggest, brightest unis ever to grace the gridiron, the least you can do is not get your ass kicked while doing so. TJ will have more on this game, but you can see more of these unis here, here or here.

OK. Now on to the rest of the show. Here’s TJ Duroncelet with your…

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Sunday Morning Uni Watch
By Terry Duroncelet, Jr.

If nothing else, here’s one thing we can all get behind… DOGGO!!! Also, da hell happened with Blue, Clamp, and the (northwest) Dawgs?

From Tuesday:

• Eastern Michigan wore their VOTE helmets against Ball State, who wore the average S&S fare (closer look here).

From Wednesday:

• As mentioned earlier in the week, Bowling Green wore S&S/camo combo helmet decals, with the center stripe adorned with names of every past BGSU student who died in combat. As for Akron, they wore a full ‘roo on their lids. Of course, I have to thank Uniswag on Instagram for the clutch pic, because I actually had terrible luck with finding linkable photos that were clear enough, so I refer you to this photo gallery for more shots from that game.

• Meanwhile, Northern Illinois played at White Sox Park, and wore those (admittedly) pretty-snazzy Sox/Skyline/Flag uniforms against Toledo, although I have a never-ending distaste for printed names and numbers. Okay technically, this is sublimation, which in all fairness, is a better-looking (and I would assume longer-lasting) than straight-up screenprinting, but I just wish that they were tackle twill.

From Thursday:

• So much blue. So. Much. BLUE. Not that I’m complaining, since both unis are solid designs. This is to be expected with these two teams, and I’ve seen worse, so I’ll take it. Duke also wore these sweet decals in Thursday night’s game. More Duke photos can be found here.

From Saturday:

• Normally, people get Wisconsin and Nebraska mixed up, not Wisconsin and Louisville (with credit to Paul Dorsey for that second pic).

• Identity crisis: Nate Cole wears #84, but his jersey on Saturday couldn’t decide between Cole or Kevin Mouhon (#48). We all have our not-so bright moments. For example, I stupidly referred Central Florida as the Black Knights last week (oops). But at least that can be edited. This can’t (with credit to Doug Baumgartner for the pic). In that same game, UCF wore S&S decals over the weekend on one side of the helmets, and on the other, players wore a decal of the military branch of their choice (again, H/T to Uniswag, this time on Twitter). Oddly enough, the in-game branch decals were smaller than the ones teased earlier in the week. They also seem to be wearing anthracite jerseys over black pants.

• Not to be left out, there were various “Salute to Service” partakers over the weekend (this’ll cover anything “standard issue”, such as stars & stripes and camouflage), including, but most certainly are not limited to: Troy, Arkansas State, SMU and East Carolina (who extended the treatment to the field), Syracuse (closer look), Indiana (who also wore their [mostly] fantastic vertical stripe unis for the second time this season against Penn State), Charlotte (closer look), Iowa, and probably many, many more that I missed.

• Touching on Charlotte a bit more, one thing I missed for quite a long time was their ‘PR1’ helmet decal, which is in memory of their offensive line coach Phil Ratliff, who passed away last year (specifically, August 9th, 2015). They’ve apparently been wearing the decal since last season.

• Louisville wore, more-or-less, the same look as Mississippi State did last week, but to better effect due to the matching black helmets. These were a tribute to POW/MIA soldiers.

• One of the nicer November tributes I saw from Saturday was Florida’s *post* Veterans Day gesture, in which they honored 12 military personnel with simple decals. Here’s a shot of Gators OL Tyler Jordan‘s helmet with the initials ‘JR’, for U.S. Army Staff Sergeant John A. Reiners.

• Michigan State wore their alternate home unis (complete with bronze helmets) against Rutgers.

• Colorful SEC tilt between Kentucky and Tennessee, although mono-orange typically isn’t my first choice for a Vols uni.

• One of the more unique camouflage looks from Week 11 (with credit to RedditCFB).

• New look lids for Houston.

• Uni audibles seem to be growing in popularity this season. Oklahoma State for example, were set to wear mono-black uniforms with orange helmets on Saturday. And from the shoulders-down, they did, but they came out with some new “Barbed Wire” helmets instead (much better look here). Not sure how to feel about the barb stripe, but in their defense, the overall lids do match better with mono-black than the orange did. More game photos here.

• It’s been eons since I’ve mentioned Maryland, and apparently, they were unhappy enough to the point where they began seeing red. HOLY SHIT that’s a lot of red. Like… A LOT a lot. Well, at least they’re one G Gundam reference away from the grand slam. Lady Gaga could not be reached for comment.

• Virginia wore their orange helmets for the first time this season against Miami, but correct me if I’m wrong.

• Notre Dame wore their Shamrock Series uniforms against Army. My verdict: Compared to what we’ve seen since 2011, these are by far, the best ones I’ve seen to-date. That helmet is especially a winner.

• Christmas may not be for another month-and-a-half, but that didn’t stop Arizona on Saturday night.

• It’s hard to see because of the graphic overlay, but Air Force brought back their Sharktooth uniforms (originally debuted in the Sep. 10th game against Georgia State) against Colorado State.

• Washington wore S&S decals against USC, as they’ve done many times in the past, but this year, they went a bit further by wearing all-black, and had nametag patches with the last name of a veteran associated with the school on them. Promo pics (with the backstory) can be viewed here. I also found this… “classy” sign from the game.

• UCLA went into G.I. Joevember mode against Oregon State. The core uniform was actually pretty mice! But that helmet… bellowing woof, that helmet. Also, the billing on that nose bumper should be R/W/B, not R/B/W. Why not just wear this and be done with it? But a neat event from that game involved the UCLA band’s halftime performance, which also gives us a good shot of the endzone treatment (another one here).

• In the past, Marshall has honored the memories of the 75 football players and staff who died in that horrific plane crash from 1970 on their helmets. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the Young Thundering Herd from 1971, named so because so many players on that ’71 team were freshman (the NCAA didn’t allow freshmen on varsity teams at that time, but Marshall was able to obtain a waiver so they could field a team that year). This year’s helmets were a nod to both of those squads (closer look, with credit to the Marshall Equipment Twitter account). In addition, Marshall QB Chase Litton (who normally wears #1) was granted permission to wear #14, the number of Thundering Herd QB Teddy Shoebridge, who was one of the victims of 46 years ago.

And that’ll do it for a very action-packed (uni and gameplay-wise) Week 11. See you in seven days.

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Thanks, TJ — BANG UP job today — lots of stuff to cover, and cover it you did! OK, now on to the rest of your SMUW…

NCAA Uni Tracking

Uni Watch will again track the uniform combinations worn by the “Power 5” conferences. Most of the 2015 trackers are back, with one new tracker added:

We’ve got Rex Henry (tracking the ACC), Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12), Kyle Acker (tracking the Big XII), and Ethan Dimitroff (now tracking the B1G AND the SEC). Rex, Dennis, and Kyle and are all returning from 2015, and Ethan is new to the NCAA Uni Tracking this season. Ethan has stepped into the dual role (thanks, man!) of both the B1G and the SEC after one of my previous trackers could no longer provide the B1G.

Here are the Uni Trackers for WEEK ELEVEN of the NCAA Season.

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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.

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And here is Ethan, with the SEC:

SEC

And be sure to check out Ethan’s WVU Mountaineer Tracker.

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And here is Kyle with the Big XII:

Big XII

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And here’s Ethan with the B1G:

B1G

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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 for 2016 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:

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Good Sunday, everyone! Let’s get right to the list for this week, shall we?

5) Wyoming at UNLV — We start off in Sin City this week. Vegas looks great in black/red/black at home (and I love the Rebel helmet decal). It looks even better against the white/white/yellow of the Cowboys, who a few of you out there have been kind of clamoring for me to get on the list the last few weeks or so.

4) Northwestern at Purdue — A game featuring two teams who should always go with these respective looks. Northwestern going purple/white/purple on the road in West Lafayette and looking great in doing so. Same with the Boilers, going gold/black/gold at home and looking great.

3) Minnesota at Nebraska — The Huskers have one of those classic looking home jerseys, one that I am a huge fan of. This week, it matches up superbly with the yellow/white/yellow road set the Gophers busted out, one of their best road looks and a favorite of mine.

2) Boise State at Hawaii — I’ve been tying to get Boise State on here for the last few weeks and they came through for me huge this week. Really like their blue/white/blue road set this week. Hawaii looks just as excellent with their white/green/grey home set.

1) North Carolina at Duke — For a rivalry better known for the hardwood than the gridiron, this game looked excellent. I always enjoy UNC’s blue/white/blue look on the road, which I think is one of their best looks. Match that up against Duke’s blue/blue/white home set, and you’ve got yourself a game worthy of this week’s #1.

And, finally…

+1) Ohio State at Maryland — You would’ve thought that, by now, I’d have a game involving the Terps on the bad side of the list. It took until today, and their “red-ops” look to get them here. Not a good look at all…

Enjoy the week, and I’ll see you all next Sunday!

Welcome to the 2016 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.

Here’s this week’s 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!

UW’s Friday Flashback

With the Chargers having worn their powder blue alternates last Sunday, Paul’s latest Friday Flashback piece on ESPN takes a look at the team’s original powder era (as exemplified by John Hadl and Lance Alworth, shown here), which was more varied and nuanced than you might think.

Check out the Friday Flashback here.

Enjoy!

Uni Watch News Ticker
By Phil

Baseball News: Yesterday I posted some reader photos showing some uniform changes for the Arizona Diamondbacks — they’re apparently official now (though I knew they were coming) — and our pal Chris Creamer has a nice post detailing the changes (from Robert Hayes). Besides some minor color tweaks, the biggest changes (and for the better) are the snakeskin pattern on the pants is gone and they also fixed the truncated pants stripe, which now extends the full length of the pants to the hip.

NFL News: The camopander in the NFL continues today, and the Eagles will give out these rally towels to fans (from ThomPucks). … Several things here from Joseph Bailey, who officiated a HS football game at the Bills (New Era) stadium Friday night: “The first is the sign on the door of the locker room we officials used. It is usually for the NFL chain crew. We were told that the regular officials’ locker room had ‘too much concussion protocol equipment in there that we didn’t’ want to move’ so we got this locker room. The next photo is of the carpet in the locker room. It certainly has the colors of the Bills. However, it seems like the colors match the shitty Drew Bledsoe era uniforms. The next couple of images are from a sign that was posted outside the locker rooms for media credentials. Seems like a pretty big deal. Oh, the last shot is me wearing my Browns jacket at midfield.” … For all you COLLECTOR’S CORNER folks — here’s one that ends soon — as in before the regular CC will run Tuesday — a lot of VINTAGE NFL Posters (thanks Brinke).

College/High School Football News: Seems like most colleges have some kind of “signature” chant, or “thing” that is unique to them — most are pretty cool and quaint. Did you know the University of Pennsylvania students do a “toast toss” between the third and fourth quarters?

Hockey News: The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs did the whole ‘murica & camo thing for Veterans Day (h/t OTS Hockey). … New goalie mask for the Ottawa Senators’ Mike Condon. … Yesterday was Military Appreciation Night for the Arizona Coyotes who wore these jerseys during warm up (from Joe Bags). … Milwaukee Admirals goalie Marek Mazanec was wearing his Nashville Predators breezers last evening (from Bill Sak-son). .. Speaking of camopander, the Kalamazoo Wings did that last night (from Jeff Tasca). Looks like they even used the bloody flag motif. … Also from Jeff, the Reading Royals joined in the camopander fun.

NBA News: Last night the Toronto Raptors Huskies did up their court in a Husky motif (h/t Josh Burton). Here’s more on that (from Brian Smith). … Here’s the the unis the Raptors wore, and here they are in action — Knicks also threw back (more video here). … The Memphis Grizzlies wore Sager Strong shooting shirts (via Memphis Grizzlies). … Here’s a great shot of Carmelo Anthony’s 70th Anniversary patch about to fall off from Hit The Glass. … Looks like James Ennis of the Grizz has gone from this NOBs to this RNOB (good spot by Zachary Loesl).

College/High School Hoops News: A new edition to the Georgetown Hoops court for this season: Kente in front of the scorers’ and press tables! … Youngstown State University had a special Coaches vs Cancer shooting shirt yesterday (from Robert Hayes). Also from Robert, check out this alternate Home Uniform for last night’s Coaches Vs. Cancer game against Akron. Honoring Carmine Cassese on the shorts. … That game featured YSU wearing pink/white and the Zips of Akron in purple (from Michael Moamis). … Good look at the new Marquette Men’s Hoops unis here and in this gallery (h/t Squirrel over Janis). … Do you like mis-matched colors for pants & shorts (everyone but Jimmer Vilk, feel free to answer that)? Then check out these interesting looking hoops unis for Franklin-Simpson HS in Kentucky (h/t Josh Claywell). … “This came out last year, but since the ’16-’17 UNC uniform has changed from ’15-’16, might be worth another visit” says James Gilbert.

Soccer News: Whenever someone says some kit is the “worst ever” I get skeptical. Josh Hinton says “Probably the worst kit in football history. Worst than the UNAM Pumas goalkeeper kit I sent earlier this year.” I think I have to agree. Holy shit is that bad.

Grab Bag: Samford University has some new secondary mark for their baseball hats, and a slightly tweaked workmark (from BJ Millican). They also have a new primary mark, secondary mark & helmet logo. More information here.

And that’s it for today. Thanks to the whole SMUW crew: TJ, Joe, Dennis, Rex, Kyle & Ethan! Terrific job, all around, as always.

Everyone have a great Sunday (get ready for more GIJoevember shenanigans in the NFL, and at least one team — Washington — will be wearing “throwbacks”).

Looking forward to getting back on the sheet tonight with Paul (and Doug & Omoy) as we look to improve on our perfect (1-0) record in curling. This weeks pants won’t be quite so wild as last weeks, but they’re pretty spiffy nonetheless. Hopefully Paul will post a pic of a victorious squad tomorrow.

I’ll be back next weekend with more good stuff! But until then, follow me on the Twitter @PhilHecken.

Peace.

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“The 80s were an awesome time–George Michael and Wham! on the radio, George Michael and The Sports Machine on TV.”

— Jimmer Vilk