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Good Sunday Morning, Uni Watch. Welcome to Week 3 of your 2023 SMUW season. (In a non-NCAAFB note, in case you missed it, yeserday evening the Boston Bruins unveiled three new sweaters for the 2023-24 season.)
On Friday night, the Maryland Terrapins debuted their new all-black uniforms, in a game against the Virginia Cavaliers. The new uniforms are in the same template as the team’s red and white uniforms, and are basically throwbacks (all the deets are in the linked article).
The game featured an all-black uniform vs. an all-white uniform, but in a twist from your typical “icy whites” vs. “Darth Vaders,” both uniforms were not only in school colors, but both looked really, really good. Unlike the current trends featuring stripeless uniforms (or at least pants), both teams featured helmet, jerseys AND pants with striping.
For those with OCD (I myself have a minor form), it was almost striping perfection. Virginia has “perfect” orange/navy striping on helmet, sleeves and pants, while Maryland is so, so close. Their helmets and pants have a white/red/white stripe, but the sleeves (in a nod to tradition), are slightly different with a white/gold/red pattern.
It’s not everyday a mono-black vs. mono-white matchup looks so good (and in school colors!), so let’s celebrate this one as the best so far this year…and possibly the best of the season.
And in a nice gesture, Maryland wore a helmet decal memorializing the three slain Virginia players towards the end of the 2022 season.
How’d the rest of the NCAA do, uni-wise, in week three? I now turn the rest of this section over to TJ who brings you your…
• • • • •
Sunday Morning Uni Watch by Terry Duroncelet
Week 3 proved to be fairly-chill from my vantagepoint, and I’m a little under the weather with an ear infection, so sorry for the lower energy today. With that said, here’s Week 3:
• Notre Dame/Central Michigan: I had a time trying to find pics, but Notre Dame’s pants looked ESPECIALLY yellow in yesterday’s game against the Chippewas.
• LA Tech/North Texas: Color-vs-color action, and I’m always up for it! Too bad that this specific combo presents an… ISSUE. Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it, I guess.
• Texas Tech/Tarleton State: Throwbacks for the Red Raiders.
• Nebraska/Northern Illinois: Ah, yes. The Northern Illinois University HUSKIES.
• Colorado/Colorado State: As several readers mentioned, Colorado’s actually gold-inclusive primary home uniforms still have the Flywire collar, an old bit of Nike tech that dates back… gosh, 12 years now?
And that’ll do it for Week 3. I should be better by this time next week, so expect much more content for Week 4. Until then, have a good day, everyone! Oh, and don’t forget to check out Blaise D’Sylva’s Twitter, it’s an actual goldmine of all of the little helmet details that I undoubtedly missed.
• • • • •
Canadian University Uni Watch
Returning for 2023 is Canadian University Uni Watcher Wade Heidt, who will bring us some looks at three-down, 110-yard Canadian university football from up north. That’s Wade to the right side of your screen (you can even click to enlarge). The shirt Wade is wearing was created by the one and only Wafflebored! Wade’s rundown will appear every week on SMUW until the season ends.
Enjoy!
• • • • •
Canadian University Uni Watch by Wade Heidt
You know what time it is! Time for some university football uniform watching Canadian rules style! It’s time for the CUUW!
The games are getting real. Teams beginning to establish their territory in the standings on the way to the Vanier Cup. The U Sports schools have not disappointed aesthetically either. Many teams breaking out new and different uniform combos each weekend. Let’s take a look at a few games. The CUUW crossing the country from east to west as it is famous for.
We will look at a couple of games in the Atlantic conference (AUS).
• It was a rainy Friday night in Halifax. The Saint Mary’s Huskies wore their white/maroon/maroon combo at home. The maroon looking a bit darker than usual under the lights and wet from the rain. The Mount Allison Mounties thankfully not wearing black Friday night. It was white over gold for Mount A on the road.
• The Bishop’s Gaiters wore purple over purple at home in Lennoxville, QC. The Gaiters really should wear grey pants at home. The visiting Acadia Axemen went white over white. The numbers on the new road jerseys this year are navy trimmed in red compared to the red numbers on the old white jerseys.
• Moving over to the only game in the Quebec conference (RSEQ) before CUUW deadline. We had Concordia hosting McGill in Montreal. The Concordia Stingers went with their maroon over white combo for this game. Not a bad look! The McGill Redbirds going white over white.
• In the Ontario conference (OUA), we had the battle of two Waterloo-based schools. The Laurier Golden Hawks wore a great home uniform combo. The looked good wearing the white/purple/white combo. The visiting Waterloo Warriors wore their white over white combo.
We head out west for two games. Finishing off with some action in the Canada West conference.
• There was another team called the Huskies with a home game. This one in Saskatoon. The Saskatchewan Huskies wearing green over grey. The Alberta Golden Bears appear to be trying to get into the CUUW every week. Mixing up the uniform combo again. Going with a white/yellow/yellow combo on the road. Another weekend in U Sports featuring a yellow jersey as a light road uniform. The Golden Bears have better combos, but this one worked for a big upset. Saskatchewan was the no. 3 ranked team in the country. Now the Golden Bears have jumped them in the standings and are 3-0 for the first time since 2005.
• It felt like summer weather in Vancouver on Saturday. The UBC Thunderbirds wore navy over navy at home at the Point Grey campus. There has been a minor change to the Thunderbirds helmet this season. They are wearing their numbers on the right side now and the logo on the left side. Previously, the helmet featured the logo on both sides. The visiting Manitoba Bisons wearing their white over white on the road.
That’s it and that’s all from the CUUW this week! Over and out!
• • • • •
Thanks, Wade! Great stuff — looking forward to another great season.
Jimmer Vilk's Five and One
Jimmer Vilk’s 5 & 1
Welcome to the Five and One for 2023!
Once again, Jim “Jimmer” Vilk (the original “5 & 1” decider) has returned.
The original concept of the 5 & 1 was simple: Jim picked five good matchups and one awful matchup. He’s still calling the project “5 & 1” but with a new twist.
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.
If you have a game you feel is “worthy” of consideration for the 5 & 1, please either post it in the comments below or tweet Mr. Vilk @JVfromOhio.
Here’s today’s 5 & 1:
• • • • •
Still too many cupcakes on the schedule for my taste. And yet there are none to be found on this week’s list. Bring on the big boys!
5. The “Team Colors…What A Pre-90s Concept!” Matchup:
Northwestern/Duke
No BFBS to be found on either team!
__________
4. The “Thanks For Not Wearing The Chrome Helmets Game”:
Western Kentucky/Ohio State
Really nice contrast between two schools with similar colors.
__________
3. The “Black And White Done Right” Matchup:
Virginia/Maryland
Proper striping makes SUCH a difference!
__________
2. The “I’d Love This Matchup Even Without White Facemasks” Game:
BYU/Arkansas
Classic, baby.
__________
1. Simply The Best:
Minnesota/North Carolina
I love it when the Golden Gophers go for the gold, especially against a great looking opponent.
__________
& 1. The “Why Do You Hate The Color Blind?” Bowl:
North Texas/Louisiana Tech
Lots of boring b&w games yesterday, but at least they had contrast that everyone could see.
See you next week!
• • • • •
Thanks, Jim! OK readers? What say you? Agree or disagree with Jimmer’s selections? Let him know in the comments below.
NCAA Uni and Duck Tracking
NCAA Uni Tracking
Uni Watch will again track the uniform combinations worn by college football conferences. New this year are Zachary Wooldridge, who is tracking the SEC, and Noah Safari, who I expect will be tracking the B1G. If anyone with some extra time and graphical skills is interested in tracking the Big XII, please get in touch with me (Phil.Hecken@gmail) and we’ll set something up.
Long-time trackers Rex Henry (tracking the ACC), and Dennis Bolt (tracking the PAC-12) are returning for another season. Following the tracking, Dennis again returns with his Duck Tracking (which is the longest continuously-running feature on SMUW!)
Welcome to the 2023 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.
Very disappointed Tennessee didn’t wear the orange britches. Would have made a MUCH better game to watch even if Florida did the mono-crap.
Very disappointed the Vols forgot to show up for the game. (Vols alum here)
Great choices Jimmer. Hard to disagree with #1
Thanks!
I thought someone would echo Phil’s question to me when I turned in the list:
“How come the Toppers can’t wear chrome but the Gophers can?”
While I’d prefer to not have any chrome helmets, the gold ones aren’t as harsh as the silver ones. Kind of like how I prefer writing on yellow notebook paper instead of white.
Plus, the big M logo and the stripe cut down on the chrome-ness a bit.
I agree with Jimmer’s general inclination against chrome, but we are talking about the Golden Gophers!! Though I prefer Minnesota golden meaning golden-rod, I do like these lids!
BYU/Hogs is about as clean as it gets
BYU/Arkansas was absolutely the best looking game. The royal blue and red were both vibrant and really popped. This game should be one of the best looking games of the year.
I flirted with putting that game in the top spot. In the end I was just too excited that Minnesota looked like Minnesota. They don’t often enough, between their BFBS and their maroon helmets.
I don’t mind when they wear white helmets (as long as they don’t go mono), because of their past history. For the most part, though, I prefer golden domes for Golden Gophers.
I also liked the three-color look vs two-color Carolina.
How about my beloved alma mater (Go Heels!!) getting top spot in 2 of the first 3 weeks of the season!
Agreed. Bold, bright colors, two uniforms that are great on their own, no dumb custom number fonts, maximum contrast, and PANTS STRIPES. Just easily the best looking game of the weekend.
Regarding the colorblind matchup, how come only the fans are ever brought up? I remember for the I think Bills Jets color rush years ago, the main concern was how it’d look for colorblind fans. But it’s such a common trait, especially in men, that surely several of the players are affected too!
North Texas wears a vivid shade of grass-green, so my color-blindness was not triggered. I’m glad someone bought up that players can have Daltonism, too.
Walter brings up another reason this game ended up as the &1: Grass green on grass green on grass bothers as much as Boise Smurfing it up on the blue turf.
If UNC ever played USC (California), would that rank higher, lower or the same as UCLA vs USC if hypothetically USC fielded two teams and played both UNC and UCLA on the same day?
I’d rank USC/UNC higher.
The Bruins’ current numbers don’t contrast as well as they used to.
UCLA’s blue used to look similar to UNC back in the 1960s and 70s. Then they started to go more San Diego Chargers blue. I liked it when they were slightly more of a bold light blue, but now it’s almost a royal blue. As a USC alum it’s hard for me to not pick USC/UCLA, but because of UCLA’s darker shade now, I might pick USC/UNC. However setting matters, and the USC/UCLA game is played in two of the best settings for CFB, the Rose Bowl and LA Coliseum.
Mount Allison is back to looking good!
My favorite matchup was Alberta/Saskatchewan though.
This year, Alberta has become a school like Guelph, Laurier, Montreal, Calgary. More than 1 helmet colour and multiple uniform combinations that are different every game. Not Oregon Ducks different ever game. Still looking like their main looks but the colours for helmet/jersey/pants different.
Saskatchewan looks better going green over grey. They use a throwback “S” logo with the modern look. Though I do miss their old uniforms in the late 1980s. When the current “S” logo was from an time ever before the late 1980s uniforms. Late 80s uniforms with kelly green and silver were amazing. Featured the double stripe trim similar to what was worn by Washington and the Toronto Argonauts during that era.
Straight stripes down the side of pants are always better
I am digging the Maryland uniforms. Black trimmed with red and yellow just looks good when done right.
Correction: USC did not have a bye. It could be said that they were “idle” or “off,” but they did not have a bye. A bye indicates advancement; USC did not advance, they simply didn’t participate.
Incorrect:
“ Similar to the round-robin context, in league sports with weekly regular-season play such as gridiron football or rugby, a team not scheduled to play on a given week or fixture (competition period) can be said to be on its “bye week”.[3] Byes are necessary if there is an odd number of teams, but may be used even with an even number of teams, such as to provide rest breaks as has been done in the National Football League (NFL).”
I liked the Terps uniforms too (and am not usually all that keen on all-black), but feel like it needed yellow somewhere else other than the shoulder stripe (“nod to tradition” or not).
Not too often you see a college team copy a high school team! Usually it’s the other way around haha link
Terps football looked good but Terps hoops will look horrible this season thanks to the same supplier insisting on HUGE brand logos on the Maryland hoops uniforms. The Jim choices were all beautiful and I agree with the number one: both schools looked at their best.
Very disappointed Tennessee didn’t wear the orange britches. Would have made a MUCH better game to watch even if Florida did the mono-crap.
Very disappointed the Vols forgot to show up for the game. (Vols alum here)
Great choices Jimmer. Hard to disagree with #1
Thanks!
I thought someone would echo Phil’s question to me when I turned in the list:
“How come the Toppers can’t wear chrome but the Gophers can?”
While I’d prefer to not have any chrome helmets, the gold ones aren’t as harsh as the silver ones. Kind of like how I prefer writing on yellow notebook paper instead of white.
Plus, the big M logo and the stripe cut down on the chrome-ness a bit.
I agree with Jimmer’s general inclination against chrome, but we are talking about the Golden Gophers!! Though I prefer Minnesota golden meaning golden-rod, I do like these lids!
BYU/Hogs is about as clean as it gets
BYU/Arkansas was absolutely the best looking game. The royal blue and red were both vibrant and really popped. This game should be one of the best looking games of the year.
I flirted with putting that game in the top spot. In the end I was just too excited that Minnesota looked like Minnesota. They don’t often enough, between their BFBS and their maroon helmets.
I don’t mind when they wear white helmets (as long as they don’t go mono), because of their past history. For the most part, though, I prefer golden domes for Golden Gophers.
I also liked the three-color look vs two-color Carolina.
How about my beloved alma mater (Go Heels!!) getting top spot in 2 of the first 3 weeks of the season!
Agreed. Bold, bright colors, two uniforms that are great on their own, no dumb custom number fonts, maximum contrast, and PANTS STRIPES. Just easily the best looking game of the weekend.
Regarding the colorblind matchup, how come only the fans are ever brought up? I remember for the I think Bills Jets color rush years ago, the main concern was how it’d look for colorblind fans. But it’s such a common trait, especially in men, that surely several of the players are affected too!
North Texas wears a vivid shade of grass-green, so my color-blindness was not triggered. I’m glad someone bought up that players can have Daltonism, too.
Walter brings up another reason this game ended up as the &1: Grass green on grass green on grass bothers as much as Boise Smurfing it up on the blue turf.
If UNC ever played USC (California), would that rank higher, lower or the same as UCLA vs USC if hypothetically USC fielded two teams and played both UNC and UCLA on the same day?
I’d rank USC/UNC higher.
The Bruins’ current numbers don’t contrast as well as they used to.
UCLA’s blue used to look similar to UNC back in the 1960s and 70s. Then they started to go more San Diego Chargers blue. I liked it when they were slightly more of a bold light blue, but now it’s almost a royal blue. As a USC alum it’s hard for me to not pick USC/UCLA, but because of UCLA’s darker shade now, I might pick USC/UNC. However setting matters, and the USC/UCLA game is played in two of the best settings for CFB, the Rose Bowl and LA Coliseum.
Mount Allison is back to looking good!
My favorite matchup was Alberta/Saskatchewan though.
This year, Alberta has become a school like Guelph, Laurier, Montreal, Calgary. More than 1 helmet colour and multiple uniform combinations that are different every game. Not Oregon Ducks different ever game. Still looking like their main looks but the colours for helmet/jersey/pants different.
Saskatchewan looks better going green over grey. They use a throwback “S” logo with the modern look. Though I do miss their old uniforms in the late 1980s. When the current “S” logo was from an time ever before the late 1980s uniforms. Late 80s uniforms with kelly green and silver were amazing. Featured the double stripe trim similar to what was worn by Washington and the Toronto Argonauts during that era.
link
Straight stripes down the side of pants are always better
I am digging the Maryland uniforms. Black trimmed with red and yellow just looks good when done right.
Correction: USC did not have a bye. It could be said that they were “idle” or “off,” but they did not have a bye. A bye indicates advancement; USC did not advance, they simply didn’t participate.
Incorrect:
“ Similar to the round-robin context, in league sports with weekly regular-season play such as gridiron football or rugby, a team not scheduled to play on a given week or fixture (competition period) can be said to be on its “bye week”.[3] Byes are necessary if there is an odd number of teams, but may be used even with an even number of teams, such as to provide rest breaks as has been done in the National Football League (NFL).”
I liked the Terps uniforms too (and am not usually all that keen on all-black), but feel like it needed yellow somewhere else other than the shoulder stripe (“nod to tradition” or not).
Not too often you see a college team copy a high school team! Usually it’s the other way around haha
link
Terps football looked good but Terps hoops will look horrible this season thanks to the same supplier insisting on HUGE brand logos on the Maryland hoops uniforms. The Jim choices were all beautiful and I agree with the number one: both schools looked at their best.