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Good Sunday morning, Uni Watchers — I hope everyone has enjoyed an “extra” hour of sleep, since now we’ve moved to the worst time of the year Standard time. If you haven’t moved your clocks back an hour, now’s a good time to do that.
Now that we’re into the month of November, teams will begin breaking out various S&S and camopander uniforms and affects, and the Florida Gators wasted no time playing their “Saluting Those Who Serve” game yesterday. What better way to “honor members of the armed forces, veterans and local first responders” than by busting out their first ever full-mono BFBS set?
I heard on the radio yesterday that the Gators were the “only” Florida team to have never worn a black uniform — I’m not sure this is 100% correct, but certainly they’re the only Power Five team not to do so. They made sure to remedy that. And why not break out full black uniforms in 89° degree weather with 40% humidity? What could go wrong?
I guess as far as BFBS unis go, these weren’t the worst we’ve ever seen. At least the helmet, sleeve caps and pants all featured an orange/blue/white/blue/orange striping pattern, so they weren’t solid black. Man, BFBS does NOT suit UF at all. But hey, it was all in support of the troops, vets and first responders, so it’s all good!
A couple things of note: for the first time ever, the Gators wore helmet stickers, and “each helmet will feature a certain amount of stickers compared to their production this season, which is why some will have more than others.”
In addition, players did not have their own names on back, instead wearing one of five terms, which were selected by a representative of each branch of the military and first responders: Commitment, Courage, Excellence, Honor and Integrity.
• Texas Tech/TCU: The true MVP from Thursday night’s Big XII matchup. Oh, and the uni matchup was quite nice, too.
• Duke/Wake Forest: Duke is 2 days too late to the party. C’mon, guys; you had ALL OF OCTOBER to wear these, and you didn’t capitalize on that? Shame.
__________
From Saturday:
• Georgia/Mizzou: Bright-colored facemasks are probably the most underappreciated element on a football uniform (also, that SEC Graduate patch is bleeding into that Captain’s ‘C’).
• Oklahoma State/Oklahoma: Honestly, the Cowboys are almost incapable of coming up with a bad uni combination.
• Clemson/Notre Dame: So… this happened. I have only one thing to say. Out of all the things that found their way onto my 2023 bingo card, seeing the Fighting Irish in white trou was NOT one I would’ve seen coming in a million years. Never do this again.
• Tennessee/UConn: You may have noticed that the vols were wearing blue accent pieces in their game against UConn. This was their Homecoming tribute to legendary Lady Vols basketball coach Pat Summitt, who died back in 2016, two weeks to the day after her 64th birthday. The Lady Vols that she coached over the years always wore light blue, which came to be known as “Summitt Blue” around Knoxville. I’ve always dug the addition of the light blue on the basketball uniforms, so it’s nice to see a little nod to it.
• Navy/Temple: I know November tends to be grey, but Temple is taking things a bit far, don’t ya think?
• UAB/FAU: UAB broke out the Children’s Harbor uniforms for the rare second??? game against Florida Atlantic.
• Baylor/Houston: *sigh* so much colorful potential, WASTED. Also, white at home for Baylor.
• Cincinnati/UCF: This shot sums up this helmet matchup quite nicely (Cincy decal lore here).
• Tulsa/Charlotte: Golden shirts for the Red Hurricane.
• • • • •
Thanks, TJ! [Thanks also to Michael Lindsey for the “Excellence” NOB photo above.]
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
What time is it? Time for some university football uniform watching Canadian rules style! It’s time for the CUUW!
It’s playoff time. We will take a rapid fire look at more games than usual. We will look at all of the conference semifinal games on Saturday. Travelling from east to west as the CUUW is known to do.
Starting with the Atlantic conference. The AUS Semifinals.
• The St. Francis Xavier X-Men wore navy over navy at home in Antigonish, NS. The visiting Saint Mary’s Huskies went with their white over white combo. It is notable Saint Mary’s has fairly large letters in their nameplates.
• The Bishop’s Gaiters went with their purple over purple combo at home in Lennoxville, QC. The black was back for the playoffs for the Mount Allison Mounties. Mount A going with a white over black combo.
We move over to the Quebec conference. The RSEQ Semifinals.
• Technically, Quebec City is farther east than Lennoxville. So the CUUW will break its rule and travel back a bit east. The Laval Rouge et Or wore their gold/red/red combo at home. They have worn multiple uniform combos this season. The visiting Concordia Stingers went white over white. Big late comeback by Concordia in this one to force overtime but the Stingers could not manage the upset.
• The Montreal Carabins went back to the usual blue jerseys at home after a couple of games wearing their black ones. It was the white/blue/blue combo for the Carabins. The visiting Sherbrooke Vert & Or wore their gold/white/white combo.
We continue our journey to Ontario. The OUA Semifinals.
• In Waterloo, the Laurier Golden Hawks wore their white/purple/white combo at home. The Windsor Lancers went with their white over white combo. The game was tight but Laurier won as expected. Moving on to their first OUA Yates Cup Final since 2017.
• The Western Mustangs wore purple over purple at home as usual in London. The Queen’s Gaels of course wore the mono-yellow. As this is the only uniform for Queen’s, we ended up with another weekend with colour vs. colour in U Sports football.
West we go. The Canada West Semifinals.
• In Edmonton, the Alberta Golden Bears wore a white/yellow/yellow combo for their first home playoff game since 2005. They have some new decals on the white helmet. The Smirking Bear logo making an appearance on the white helmet rather than the “A” logo. White/yellow/yellow combo not the best look for Alberta. The Saskatchewan Huskies went with white over green on the road. Noticed Canada West helmets have poppy decals for upcoming Remembrance Day. I do enjoy the large numbers on the back of the helmets for both these schools.
• After the heavy rains it was an absolutely balmy day in Vancouver when this game started. No jacket required as Phil Collins would say. The UBC Thunderbirds went with their navy over navy combo at home. The Manitoba Bisons wore white over white.
Another great weekend of exciting U Sports football! The conference finals are up next weekend. The chance for a school to fill the trophy case with each win on the way to the big one, the Vanier Cup.
• • • • •
Thanks, Wade! Great stuff once again.
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:
• • • • •
Standard /standerd/ – used or accepted as normal or average.
Happy Standard Time!!! Today’s Five is going to be a celebration of The Most Wonderful Time (change) of the Year, and a celebration of normality. Now before you say “What else is new?”, I do spotlight some occasional out-there looks. Not today! But first, some more random thoughts:
• Anthracite and Buffalo’s least objectionable look is pretty good in the snow.
• The Irish and Yellow Jackets need to get over their “white gilt” complexes. Too bright and shiny.
Speaking of Tech, this picture makes me wonder…who started the Dirty Dancing TD celebration, and when is it going to stop?
• I came to see a football game and got a Civil War reenactment instead. I honestly don’t know how I feel about this one.
OK, on to the Standard Five!
__________
5. The “Silver Helmets Are Nice, Too…” Game:
Kansas State/Texas
…but the rest of the games all have gold or yellow-gold helmets.
___________
4. The “Perfect Striping Vs. Imperfect Striping” Matchup:
Charlotte/Tulsa
It would be nice, Adidas, if I could feature Tulsa when they’re *not* wearing throwbacks for a change.
__________
3. The “I Love It When Washington Looks Like Washington” Game:
Washington/USC
Purple pants, gold pants, whatever…just as long as you wear that classic helmet.
__________
2. The “Color Palette Special” Matchup:
Florida State/Pitt
&1. The “Speaking Of ‘White Gilt’…” Game:
UCF/Cincinnati
The only thing worse than a bad number font is the Knights’ practically invisible font.
Enjoy the darkness. 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.
Power Five Uni Tracking
Uni Watch will again track the uniform combinations worn by college football conferences. New this year is Zachary Wooldridge, who is tracking the SEC. And joining the SMUW crew to track the Big XII is Matt Tomelleri, so we again have all Power Five conferences tracked this season.
Long-time trackers Rex Henry (tracking the ACC and the B1G this year), 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.
Based on the suggestion of long-time reader/contributor Jimmy Corcoran, we’ve introduced a new “game” on Uni Watch, which is similar to the popular “Guess the Game from the Scoreboard” (GTGFTS), only this one asked readers to identify the game based on the uniforms worn by teams.
Like GTGFTS, readers will be asked to guess the date, location and final score of the game from the clues provided in the photo. Sometimes the game should be somewhat easy to ascertain, while in other instances, it might be quite difficult. There will usually be a visual clue (something odd or unique to one or both of the uniforms) that will make a positive identification of one and only one game possible. Other times, there may be something significant about the game in question, like the last time a particular uniform was ever worn (one of Jimmy’s original suggestions). It’s up to YOU to figure out the game and date.
Today’s GTGFTU comes from Charlie Schick.
Good luck and please post your guess/answer in the comments below.
And finally...
…that’s a wrap for today. As always, my sincere thanks to the entire SMUW crew: Terry, Wade, Jimmer, Rex, Dennis, Zach and Matt! Wonderful job again today!
Everyone have a good week…enjoy the darkness my old friends.
Bright-colored facemasks are probably the most underappreciated element on a football uniform
YES.
It’s why Wazzu’s all anthracite became my guilty uni-pleasure, and one of the reasons why I loved the 2017 LA Rams look so much.
And yet there’s folks who think they should always be gray!
YVVM ; )
GTGFTU:
Week 3, Sept. 18, 1994
The Dolphins beat the great looking Jets 28-14.
May not have been an accurate throwback, but I really liked it. My second favorite look for them after the Broadway Joe era.
A good look for sure…not as good as ‘78 pre-season (Sack Exchange helmet, Namath jersey/pants) though.
While it was a bit surprising to see any Florida team wearing all black uniforms during the day, I would like to point out that, according to the National Weather Service, the temp at kickoff yesterday was Partly sunny, 76 degrees with 22% relative humidity and a light breeze. It was beautiful weather in the sunshine state yesterday,
I think the Kansas State/Texas game was the best looking of the weekend…… Simple and clean.
I can’t believe Florida finally caved to the Nike BFBS uniforms. After all these years of not doing it, they finally caved. Napier won’t wear the orange jerseys. But, he will wear those horrible ones.
Per the Big Ten Uniform Tracker, I find it completely inappropriate that Purdue, apparently, did not wear pants against Michigan. Maybe the Boilers were trying to distract the Wolverines? (Purdue in no pants would still look better than Michigan’s navy pants.)
“(Florida) players did not have their own names on back, instead wearing one of five terms)
– Had the Gators decided to salute the Boy Scouts, they would have had twelve terms to chose from: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
I disagree with Jimmer’s “The Most Wonderful Time (change) of the Year” comment ~ I hate that it gets dark so early
DST and and I have always had a problem since I was a little kid surfing and had to end the day early. Screw George Hudson and Ben Franklin for that.
Did Michigan steal Purdue’s pants from the B1G tracker?
Nevermind, it got updated.
Apparently Purdue got the pants beat off of them because they didn’t even show up in the B1G tracker!
It’s been updated
Cal has a Nike jersey and UA pants.
The Saskatchewan at Alberta game was still going on when the CUUW was completed and I had to go do some Saturday night stuff.
Here is a closer look at the new decals on the white Alberta Golden Bears helmet. Alberta does wear the Smirking Bear logo regularly now on their yellow helmets but it is a larger version and not within an oval like the new decals on the white helmet.
Maryland/Penn State image link had some issues for me, this worked better link
“White gilt”… That’s brilliant.
I know, right? When Jimmer conveyed that phrase to me in a DM yesterday, I told him he had to use that in today’s writeup.
Thanks!
Have the Badgers ever worn a black uni?
“Gators were the “only” Florida team to have never worn a black uniform — I’m not sure this is 100% correct, but certainly they’re the only Power Five team not to do so.”
I feel like this can’t be true but
I think the announcer wasn’t clear in what was said. I heard prior to the game the the football team was the only U of F team that had not previously worn black. Basketball, baseball, etc all have.
New template pushes everything SO LOW those gator numbers are on the players’ waists basically
I loved the temple grays yesterday being there in person but also thank you babe for going with the namesake colored jersey probably the only other gripe I have is temple should’ve used the Cherry helmets instead of the white
How did navy go from navy to babe darn auto correct
After a few weeks of solid unis across the FBS, this week was a huge step back- so many terrible looks. In order of worstness: Temple, Oregon, UAB, Memphis, Toledo, UCF, Florida, Notre Dame, Duke, Michigan.
I am not sure if it is due to “military appreciation” month or just bad aesthetics. I know this has been talked about on uni-watch before, but I wish we would do something simple like the poppy patch they do in English soccer. In the EPL they auction game worn jerseys to support veterans not to increase the profits of big uni.
Thank you navy for going with the home uniform look vs temple
I feel like the teams wearing the same set every week (mostly SEC) should be excluded from the 5 & 1. It’s like grading the NFL. Someone else needs to win Employee of the Week
Yeah, but LSU/’bama is freakin’ gorgeous.
It’d be one thing if Jimmer picked one particular uni he loves and T5’ed it every week, but he’s very judicious with those. It’s the matchup he’s “ranking,” not the individual unis. It’s like when Dallas (Cowboys) meet the Packers or 49ers. Those may only happen once a season, but when they do, they’re exquisite.
Someone else needs to design better uniforms.
Be prepared to be disappointed when you see Florida/LSU next week. I’ve been holding back with the Tigers, but this is the time of year to let them loose!
Seriously, why punish two teams for looking their best and doing it consistently?
And you can blame Temple. If they went with their normal cherry/cherry/white and Navy countered with their normal gold/white/blue, I might have picked that game for the top spot.
LSU and Bama can say what the Pantene shampoo spokesperson said back in the 80s: “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.” link
That FSU/Pitt game was a visual beauty.
Are there any worse team names than “Golden Hurricane” and “Golden Flashes”?
Hot diggity-Tulsa was friggin’ gorgeous, as were those Laurier Golden Hawks!
Temple never looks good when they de-emphasize the cherry…the sweat outfits are just awful.
Sad that the Saskatchewan Huskies won’t be appearing in CUUW report…easily my favo(u)rite uniforms north of the border.
Yeah the defending Canada West champs are out. Expected a closer game. Saskatchewan has had many various good looking uniforms over the decades. U of S has a really nice campus too. Not my old school but I have stayed on campus there visiting a friend.
I’m starting to think Michigan’s yellow pants are becoming alternates.
The orange ballet tights once again sullied what should have been a nice look for Oklahoma State.
Bama – LSU and Texas – K State just easily the best looking games of the weekend.
I like standard time. I prefer having earlier sunrises rather than it being dark until 8am.
No word on Mississippi State’s 1998 faux-backs against Kentucky? Complete with corresponding end zones and midfield logos!
My beloved UCF has been a big disappointment on the uniform front this year. I can’t stand their number font and color choices. It’s boring and hard to read. Gives me two reasons to not want to watch them – they look ugly and play ugly. Next week is their annual Space Game, which is usually where they bust out awesome uniforms. Even that uniform is boring and disappointing this year. Kind of a theme going on here.
I know this is probably conversation for tomorrow, but doesn’t Cleveland kicker Hopkins’ helmet look more matted than every other Browns player?
It is.
It’s real. And it’s spectacular.
Glad to know it wasn’t my TV
1. I’m surprised Penn State/Maryland wasn’t the &1. That getup Maryland was wearing was absolutely awful.
2. If Washington was going to look like Washington, they’s have gold helmets, white tops and gold pants with white/purple stripes.
Wow those Florida unis are so disgusting I honestly can’t believe they were not the &1. Duke was terrible too.
Bright-colored facemasks are probably the most underappreciated element on a football uniform
YES.
It’s why Wazzu’s all anthracite became my guilty uni-pleasure, and one of the reasons why I loved the 2017 LA Rams look so much.
And yet there’s folks who think they should always be gray!
YVVM ; )
GTGFTU:
Week 3, Sept. 18, 1994
The Dolphins beat the great looking Jets 28-14.
May not have been an accurate throwback, but I really liked it. My second favorite look for them after the Broadway Joe era.
A good look for sure…not as good as ‘78 pre-season (Sack Exchange helmet, Namath jersey/pants) though.
While it was a bit surprising to see any Florida team wearing all black uniforms during the day, I would like to point out that, according to the National Weather Service, the temp at kickoff yesterday was Partly sunny, 76 degrees with 22% relative humidity and a light breeze. It was beautiful weather in the sunshine state yesterday,
I think the Kansas State/Texas game was the best looking of the weekend…… Simple and clean.
I can’t believe Florida finally caved to the Nike BFBS uniforms. After all these years of not doing it, they finally caved. Napier won’t wear the orange jerseys. But, he will wear those horrible ones.
Per the Big Ten Uniform Tracker, I find it completely inappropriate that Purdue, apparently, did not wear pants against Michigan. Maybe the Boilers were trying to distract the Wolverines? (Purdue in no pants would still look better than Michigan’s navy pants.)
“(Florida) players did not have their own names on back, instead wearing one of five terms)
– Had the Gators decided to salute the Boy Scouts, they would have had twelve terms to chose from: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.
I disagree with Jimmer’s “The Most Wonderful Time (change) of the Year” comment ~ I hate that it gets dark so early
DST and and I have always had a problem since I was a little kid surfing and had to end the day early. Screw George Hudson and Ben Franklin for that.
Did Michigan steal Purdue’s pants from the B1G tracker?
Nevermind, it got updated.
Apparently Purdue got the pants beat off of them because they didn’t even show up in the B1G tracker!
It’s been updated
Cal has a Nike jersey and UA pants.
The Saskatchewan at Alberta game was still going on when the CUUW was completed and I had to go do some Saturday night stuff.
Here is a closer look at the new decals on the white Alberta Golden Bears helmet. Alberta does wear the Smirking Bear logo regularly now on their yellow helmets but it is a larger version and not within an oval like the new decals on the white helmet.
link
Maryland/Penn State image link had some issues for me, this worked better
link
“White gilt”… That’s brilliant.
I know, right? When Jimmer conveyed that phrase to me in a DM yesterday, I told him he had to use that in today’s writeup.
Thanks!
Have the Badgers ever worn a black uni?
“Gators were the “only” Florida team to have never worn a black uniform — I’m not sure this is 100% correct, but certainly they’re the only Power Five team not to do so.”
I feel like this can’t be true but
I think the announcer wasn’t clear in what was said. I heard prior to the game the the football team was the only U of F team that had not previously worn black. Basketball, baseball, etc all have.
New template pushes everything SO LOW those gator numbers are on the players’ waists basically
I loved the temple grays yesterday being there in person but also thank you babe for going with the namesake colored jersey probably the only other gripe I have is temple should’ve used the Cherry helmets instead of the white
How did navy go from navy to babe darn auto correct
After a few weeks of solid unis across the FBS, this week was a huge step back- so many terrible looks. In order of worstness: Temple, Oregon, UAB, Memphis, Toledo, UCF, Florida, Notre Dame, Duke, Michigan.
I am not sure if it is due to “military appreciation” month or just bad aesthetics. I know this has been talked about on uni-watch before, but I wish we would do something simple like the poppy patch they do in English soccer. In the EPL they auction game worn jerseys to support veterans not to increase the profits of big uni.
Thank you navy for going with the home uniform look vs temple
I feel like the teams wearing the same set every week (mostly SEC) should be excluded from the 5 & 1. It’s like grading the NFL. Someone else needs to win Employee of the Week
Yeah, but LSU/’bama is freakin’ gorgeous.
It’d be one thing if Jimmer picked one particular uni he loves and T5’ed it every week, but he’s very judicious with those. It’s the matchup he’s “ranking,” not the individual unis. It’s like when Dallas (Cowboys) meet the Packers or 49ers. Those may only happen once a season, but when they do, they’re exquisite.
Someone else needs to design better uniforms.
Be prepared to be disappointed when you see Florida/LSU next week. I’ve been holding back with the Tigers, but this is the time of year to let them loose!
Seriously, why punish two teams for looking their best and doing it consistently?
And you can blame Temple. If they went with their normal cherry/cherry/white and Navy countered with their normal gold/white/blue, I might have picked that game for the top spot.
LSU and Bama can say what the Pantene shampoo spokesperson said back in the 80s: “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.”
link
That FSU/Pitt game was a visual beauty.
Are there any worse team names than “Golden Hurricane” and “Golden Flashes”?
Hot diggity-Tulsa was friggin’ gorgeous, as were those Laurier Golden Hawks!
Temple never looks good when they de-emphasize the cherry…the sweat outfits are just awful.
Sad that the Saskatchewan Huskies won’t be appearing in CUUW report…easily my favo(u)rite uniforms north of the border.
Yeah the defending Canada West champs are out. Expected a closer game. Saskatchewan has had many various good looking uniforms over the decades. U of S has a really nice campus too. Not my old school but I have stayed on campus there visiting a friend.
I’m starting to think Michigan’s yellow pants are becoming alternates.
The orange ballet tights once again sullied what should have been a nice look for Oklahoma State.
Bama – LSU and Texas – K State just easily the best looking games of the weekend.
I like standard time. I prefer having earlier sunrises rather than it being dark until 8am.
No word on Mississippi State’s 1998 faux-backs against Kentucky? Complete with corresponding end zones and midfield logos!
link
My beloved UCF has been a big disappointment on the uniform front this year. I can’t stand their number font and color choices. It’s boring and hard to read. Gives me two reasons to not want to watch them – they look ugly and play ugly. Next week is their annual Space Game, which is usually where they bust out awesome uniforms. Even that uniform is boring and disappointing this year. Kind of a theme going on here.
I know this is probably conversation for tomorrow, but doesn’t Cleveland kicker Hopkins’ helmet look more matted than every other Browns player?
It is.
It’s real. And it’s spectacular.
Glad to know it wasn’t my TV
1. I’m surprised Penn State/Maryland wasn’t the &1. That getup Maryland was wearing was absolutely awful.
2. If Washington was going to look like Washington, they’s have gold helmets, white tops and gold pants with white/purple stripes.
Wow those Florida unis are so disgusting I honestly can’t believe they were not the &1. Duke was terrible too.