I think a good name for Week 10 would be: Scripts, Stars ‘n’ Stripes, and Seasonal Stupidity (that last bit will be explained shortly).

From Tuesday
• FIU/New Mexico State: We begin with one of many teams wearing script decals for this week: Florida International. First these cheesy (but charming) togs, now this Florida-as-all-hell name (so much more fun than just ‘Panthers’). Now, I was only able to find info in fragments, so my apologies if I get any important details wrong, but from my understanding, the ‘Sunblazers’ moniker dates back to their D-II days from the ’60s, ’70s, and most of the ’80s. However, upon entering D-I in the late ’80s, they changed the name to ‘Golden Panthers’ (a local around the area), and then eventually simplifying it to just ‘Panthers’ in 2011. As for NM State, their lids were also quite nice.
From Wednesday
• Liberty/Jax State: There’s something Vaudevillian, something Felix-like about Jacksonville State’s helmets here (closer look). (JV: My # 6 Matchup)
• WKU/Kennesaw State: Appropriate all-black attire on All Hallows’ Eve Eve (not a typo) for the Hilltoppers.
From Thursday
• Tulane/Charlotte: The lids may not have been black, but the Green Black Wave definitely understood the assignment for Fright Night. Appropriate for a city rich in spooky lore like New Orleans. Also, this was technically a color-vs-color game.
From Friday
• Boise State/San Diego State: Now that October is officially over, we’re no longer subjected to teams being encouraged to wear the most outlandish non-colors and cursed combinations, so we can fully expect teams to comply with their actual school colors, almost as if there was some sort of school pride or something behind wearing said colors… RIGHT? Ugh. Boise State, you’re a day too late to the party. Do better. Also, this is a future Pac 12 Reloaded matchup.
• FAU/South Florida: Another team that thinks they can just wear BFBS the day after Halloween because they think it’s “close enough”: Florida Atlantic. How many times do I have to say it?! You come correct during the appropriate time of year, or don’t come at all. By that logic, stores would have all of their Christmas stuff on full display by mid-Septemb– …y’know what? I’m just gonna move on to Saturday.
From Saturday
• Rice/Navy: There were SEVERAL teams that did some sort of Salute to Service game, and I’m sure I’m gonna miss a number of them, but we’ll start with Rice, who wore these helmets against Navy (closer look). It’s giving 1976 Dallas Cowboys vibes, but with more Voting Season sprinkled on top.
• Miami (The U)/Duke: I hate this angle, but the Canes got in on the BECOME AMERICA train by camouflaging their endzone wordmark (it’s really the Dolphins’ wordmark, but still). They also wore their seldom-seen greens.
• Iowa/Wisconsin: Contrast Matters: Maryland without the Maryland Edition.
• Houston/K-State: …Who’s gonna tell them that Halloween is over?
• Michigan State/Indiana: I know black and bronze were Michigan State’s, original colors, but still. They probably should change their school colors to black and blue after getting boxed up by a surprisingly successful Indiana squad.
• Ole Miss/Arkansas: Light blue roadies for Ole Miss.
• Illinois/Minnesota: Illinois wore all-orange against the Golden Gophers. Additionally, they wore decals featuring 10 stars; one for each of the 10 Illinois football players who died between WWII and the Vietnam War. They also wore helmet stripes that featured 189 names, all of whom were students and alumni who also lost their lives during WWI (closer look).
• Oklahoma/Maine: …Yeah sure, why not? (JV: You had me at “why”)
• Purdue/Northwestern: There were A LOT of script helmets over the weekend, and much like the GI Joevember demonstrations, I’m certain I’m gonna miss a handful,. but of the many teams scripting things was Northwestern, while Purdue wore white/black/white. Honestly? I like this look for the Boilermakers. I wouldn’t want to see it every week, but it’s a great alternate home look.
• UAB/Tulsa: The Blazers wore their Children’s Harbor uniforms against Tulsa.
• Oklahoma State/Arizona State: Oklahoma State unveiled some cool striped components for their Homecoming game against Arizona State. It’s just that… most of them didn’t wear the cool striped long sleeved undershirts. The ones that… they had special-ordered… for the HOMECOMING GAME. I’m honestly surprised that a decent chunk of them even bothered with the socks.
• UCF/Arizona: In a game that features two teams that weren’t playing in the Big XII two years ago, UCF wore the newest iteration of their Citronauts/Space U uniforms (more info here). (JV: Forget what I said earlier…*this* was my # 6 matchup)
• Troy/Coastal Carolina: Troy took the script bandwagon and turned it to 11 (closer look at the helmets).
• Fresno State/Hawai’i: Native-themed helmets for Fresno State (hype video).
• South Alabama/Georgia Southern: S&S decals for the appropriately-acronymed USA (University of South Alabama).
• Baylor/TCU: Apparently, all the freaks that were supposed to go bump in the night on Thursday decided to save their shenanigans for the beginning of November.
• Tennessee/Kentucky: This is the only BFBS look I’ll accept, simply because of how well-put together this is, the high rate of contrast between the numbers and jersey color, even in the shadows. (JV: I love this too…just wish they wore it against a better looking opponent)
That’ll do it for Week 10! As always, be sure to check out Blaise D’Sylva for all your helmet needs, including the plethora of script and S&S/GI Joevember lids that I probably missed. See you next week!

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Thanks, Terry!