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The Ohio State University to Go Mono-Gray vs. Iowa

The venerable scarlet and gray will be a lot less scarlet, and a lot more gray, when they take on B1G rival Iowa this Saturday.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have announced — via video — they’ll break out the all-gray uniforms against the Hawkeyes at the Shoe. It’s actually a pretty well-produced video, so you may wish to check it out.

The all-gray alternate was first introduced last season, and the team wore them for a single game, destroying Michigan State by a 38-3 final score. Here’s how those unis looked then.

That game marked only the second time that TOSU has gone mono gray. The first time was in 2017, but that uniform was markedly different, containing absolutely no scarlet at all. Well, not quite — the team create special buckeye helmet decals that featured scarlet buckeye leaves. But the remainter of the uniform was various shades of gray and black. In that game, TOSU was down by 18 points to (then) undefeated Penn State, ekeing out the victory 39-38 in the game’s final minutes.

If you look closely at the helmet and the numbers, you’ll notice a “wolf fur” pattern. It was only visible in the closeups. But the helmet was specifically created for this game.

The uniform must not have been especially popular, because it was a “one and done.”

For the 2023 game (as well as tomorrow’s game against Iowa), the team used their regular helmets and pants, and created a new gray jersey which perfectly mirrored the gray shade from the helmet and pants, with sleeve stripes that also matched both. Scarlet numbers were outlined in white, with all red block NOB lettering. The team mostly wore matching gray socks.

While I don’t normally like mono uniforms, I actually really liked the 2023 edition quite a bit. As someone diagnosed with a minor form of OCD, the matching colors and striping on the helmets, jersey and pants was quite pleasing to me.

They’ll be revising this look again tomorrow.

Here are a couple more looks at the uniform which was unveiled last year:

What do you guys think of the mono-gray? It’s (obviously) a school color, and because the pants have stripes, the yoga pants look with the gray socks is considerably improved. It is, IMO, a much better look than when the team has gone mono-scarlet, (and the team did not pair that with a scarlet helmet), or the popular mono-BFBS alternate.

I’d prefer TOSU stick to their regular red jerseys at home and white jerseys on the road, but the players and fans obviously enjoy seeing the alternates. Do you?

 
  
 
Comments (12)

    I actually like these. Gray is an Ohio State color and these look good. I prefer legit throwbacks but for an alternate these are the best. I would have liked a red helmet with the all scarlet. Oh well.

    “I’d prefer TOSU stick to their regular red jerseys at home and white jerseys on the road…”

    Ditto. THE uniforms are iconic.

    The 2017 unis with red buckeye leaves were abhorrent. We’re scarlet and gray, not anthracite and black. At least you can tell it’s THE Ohio State University in the newer mono-grays.

    Can’t say I care for these as an OSU fan. They look cheap but only slightly better than the BFBS slop they’ve worn in the past

    This is the way you do an alternate uniform in school colors. Red socks would be better but if they all wear red shoes it will be a wash

    OSU fan and Ohio native. I can get behind these as long as it’s once a year. I do appreciate the striping consistency on this uniform more than the scarlet jerseys. I prefer the Woody stripes on the scarlet jersey over the current Earle Bruce stripes they wear in the regular season. Be a great Uni-Watch deep dive one day: The difference and preference of The Ohio State primary jersey.

    These grey unis look better than their previous grey combos, but mono is never going to look as good as contrasting jerseys and pants.

    As a diehard Ohio State fan, I can tell you with great certainty that the gray uniforms do not match the silver helmets. The gray is too dark, it should have been lightened up a bit. As someone who has wanted OSU to wear gray jerseys since I was a kid, the gray being too dark kind of ruins it for me.

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