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A Uni Watch Look at the Conference Championship Uniform Matchups

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Good morning, Uni Watchers. It’s Friday — we made it!

Now that the NCAA regular season is over (well, except for that Army/Navy game next Saturday), the Conference Championship games are upon us. These games will actually give us the “first” four seeds in the newly-expanded NCAA Playoff, which now includes 12 teams. Allow me to briefly explain how that will work.

The first-ever 12-team playoff bracket will consist of the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions receive the top four seeds and a first-round bye — so clinching a Top 4 seed could be crucial. You may have noticed I said the “five highest-ranked conference champions,” which means at least one non-Power 4 school will reach the playoff (and probably only one). You’d think the winners of the Power Four (ACC, SEC, B1G and Big XII) would get the top four seeds, but that might not happen this year. There’s a chance that if Boise State (who plays in the Mountain West), ranked No. 10 and 11-1 on the season, wins tonight against UNLV, they will be ranked higher than the ACC Champion (but that depends on which team wins the ACC). They’ll also almost assuredly be ranked higher than the Big XII champ too. I’ll explain that a bit more within the matchups.

Teams that end up ranked in the top four but do not win a conference championship will be seeded beginning at the No. 5 spot. That could mean a loser of the B1G or SEC championship games. Here are the current CFP rankings. You’ll note that Notre Dame is currently No. 4 — so why wouldn’t they get one of the top four seeds? Well, they agreed to forego eligibility for a first-round bye in order to continue competing as an independent. So the best Notre Dame could do is a No. 5 seed, which means they’d need to play an extra game in order to win the CFP title.

If things play out with the higher ranked teams all winning the five games below, Boise State will probably finish the season as the fourth highest ranked conference champion — and thus be seeded #4. However, if Clemson (currently ranked No. 17) wins, facing No.8 SMU, Boise State would assuredly be ranked above the ACC Champion. Then there is the Big XII. Right now the two teams playing for that Conference Title are ASU (ranked No. 15) and Iowa State (ranked No. 16). It’s also possible Boise State — if they win — will be ranked higher than the Big XII champ. That would be another way they could secure the #4 seed. It’s also still possible (though unlikely) that Boise would be ranked higher than both the ACC and Big XII champs, so a #3 seed, almost impossible to fathom for a non-Power 4 school, could actually happen.

As the standings now sit, eight of the top 10 ranked teams are either in the SEC or B1G (excluding Notre Dame, which plays without conference affiliation). SMU is currently ranked No. 8 (they play in the ACC). No. 10 is Boise State. The highest Big XII-ranked team is Arizona State (No. 15). So, no matter what happens, there are going to be a lot of SEC and B1G teams in the tournament/playoff — not surprising since both are on the verge of becoming Super Conferences, and likely to dominate the CFP for years to come.

I’m going to give a quick rundown of the uniforms for each of those five Championship games (there are other Conferences playing tomorrow, but none of them will impact the CFP). All but two teams have, as of late Friday evening, unveiled their uniforms. Iowa State and Clemson have not. I’m very confident in what Clemson will wear, much less so with ISU. I’ll update this article accordingly.

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FRIDAY

Mountain West Championship
No. 20 UNLV (10-2, 6-1) vs. No. 10 Boise State (11-1, 7-0)
8:00 pm ET
FOX

The Mountain West will probably get one of the top four seeds (and a first round bye), assuming Boise State takes care of business tonight against UNLV. The game will be color vs. color, albeit mono-color vs. mono-color. UNLV is breaking out an all “silver” (gray) uniform, while the Broncos of Boise State will counter with their preferred mono-blue combo. I’m not sure I’m going to love this matchup from a uni-perspective, but I’m definitely pulling hard for BSU to win and basically lock down the #4 seed.

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SATURDAY

Big XII Championship
No. 16 Iowa State (10-2, 7-2) vs. No. 15 Arizona State (10-2, 7-2)
12:00 noon ET
ABC

As of late last evening, Iowa State hadn’t yet announced their uniforms for this game, so the photo above is as much a placeholder as anything else. Iowa State got new football uniforms this season, so they have several options. In addition, they also unveiled an additional all-white uniform they could wear. We do know that Arizona State will wear gold/maroon/gold (with a Sparky decal on their helmets), so ISU will almost assuredly be wearing white jerseys. Whether they wear white, red or black helmets (or white, red or black pants) is still unknown. If/when they do announce their uniform, I’ll update this section.

I spoke to pal Kary Klismet (an ISU alum) to see if he could find anything out about the unis for tomorrow’s game. Here’s what he said: “It sounds like they are intentionally keeping their uniform combination under wraps for as long as they can. I don’t know if they’ll be able to maintain the secret until game time, but I get the impression that they want it to be as late of a reveal as possible as a way to generate some excitement for the players and fans. You might be able to get an early reveal on the Cyclone equipment managers’ Instagram page (@cycloneequip). But so far, no leaks there!” He adds, “the smart money among the fan base is that the team will be decked out in black and white. My guess is they will wear white helmets, white jerseys, and white pants with black trim.”

I’m really hoping Iowa State goes red/white/white or red/white/red and NOT mono-white or black and white. ASU is wearing their Sunday best for this one, including Sparky on the hats!

UPDATE: The Cyclones will be in mono-white (as Kary correctly predicted!)

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SEC Championship
No. 5 Georgia (10-2, 6-2) vs. No. 2 Texas (11-1, 7-1)
4:00 pm ET
ABC

The SEC Championship will be fantastic-looking, with Georgia in their classic red jerseys and “silver” britches, while Texas will be in Icy Whites (which are their normal road uniforms). Despite being the higher-ranked team, Texas will sport the all-white look (The SEC alternates designated “home” and “road” teams by division, much the same way the NFL does by Conference for Super Bowls). The winner of this game will get one of the Top 4 seeds (likely #2), while the loser faces a first round game. If Texas wins, Georgia will have three losses, and might be on the outside looking in regarding the playoff. It will depend on a few other factors if they’re in or left out. This is must-watch NCAAFB, both for the unis and the football!

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B1G Championship
No. 3 Penn State (11-1, 8-1) vs. No. 1 Oregon (12-0, 9-0)
8:00 pm ET
CBS

Oregon looks to cap off a perfect season and cement itself as the #1 seed in the CFP, so naturally they’re wearing a new uni combo…as Oregon does. They’ll be opposed by Penn State who will, like Texas, be in their Icy Whites (and like Texas, that’s their normal road uniform). If Oregon wins, they’ll get the #1 seed and be the designated “home” team throughout the CFP. A Penn State upset would possibly move them to #1 (but more likely #2 if Texas wins the SEC). This will be a classic old school vs. nu skool uni matchup. Of course I’ll be rooting for the Ducks, but PSU will be the better attired team. An Oregon loss drops them into the bottom eight, and they’ll likely get the No. 5 seed.

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ACC Championship
No. 17 Clemson (9-3, 7-1) vs. No. 8 SMU (11-1, 8-0)
8:00 pm ET
ABC

As of late Thursday evening, Clemson hadn’t officially announced their uniforms for the ACC Championship game, but based on how they’ve treated past Championship games, they’ll almost assuredly be wearing orange pants. SMU has already declared they’ll be going white/blue/white, so it stands to reason Clemson will be wearing white jerseys (although I suppose it’s possible they could go mono-orange). That would make for a good looking color vs. color matchup. If Clemson wins this game, they’ll likely not get one of the coveted Top 4 seeds (assuming Boise beats UNLV tonight), since they’d be ranked lower than BSU. A Clemson loss would mean they’re destined for a lesser Bowl game, and not the CFP at all (no way does a 4-loss team make the CFP). They’re already on the outside looking in as the No. 17 ranked team. An SMU win probably would give them the No. 4 seed, though that’s not guaranteed. If SMU loses, they might not make the Playoff at all. Uni-wise, Clemson always looks good, so no matter what they wear tomorrow, the game will be a looker!

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And there you have it. Your uni rundown for the P-4 and Mountain West Conference games. I’m sure the SMUW crew will have full coverage of these games, as well as the other conference championship games on Sunday. There are two additional games tonight, plus six total games on Saturday (the four covered above, plus two more). The full schedule is here.

What do you think of the unis for the games? I’d venture the mono-gray (silver) vs. mono-blue won’t be the best looking game, but UGa/UT will be a stunner.

 

 
  
 

Guess the Game from the Scoreboard

Guess The Game…

…From The Scoreboard

Today’s scoreboard comes from Nelson Riley.

The premise of the game (GTGFTS) is simple: I’ll post a scoreboard and you guys simply identify the game depicted. In the past, I don’t know if I’ve ever completely stumped you (some are easier than others).

Here’s the Scoreboard. In the comments below, try to identify the game (date and location, as well as final score). If anything noteworthy occurred during the game, please add that in (and if you were AT the game, well bonus points for you!):

Please continue sending these in! You’re welcome to send me any scoreboard photos (with answers please), and I’ll keep running them.

 

 

Guess the Game from the Uniform


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 Jimmy Corcoran himself.

Good luck and please post your guess/answer in the comments below.

 

 

And finally...

…that’s all for the early lede. Later this morning, we’ll have Anthony’s Ticker and a special piece from Jamie. I’ll also have at least one more article plus my preview of Sunday’s NFL uni matchups, so definitely keep checking back in today!

Everyone have a wonderful Friday, and a better weekend. Jimmer Vilk and the SMUW crew will take you through to Monday morning, when I’ll catch you next. Till then…

Peace,

PH

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Comments (29)

    Boise St. in all blue and UNLV in all gray.

    – If the goal is to remind everyone that you are Group of Five teams and not Power Four schools then congrats, mission accomplished. What an ugly matchup.

    “but I get the impression that (Iowa St.) want it to be as late of a reveal as possible as a way to generate some excitement for the players and fans.”

    – As a fan of a major college football team, I have a few different jerseys of theirs to wear. And when I get together with friends to watch my team play in a big game, I like to coordinate my jersey and clothes with the colors my school is going to wear during that game. If I was an Iowa St. fan, I would be pissed, not excited, that I might not know what my team was wearing until last minute, hence robbing my friends and me the opportunity to coordinate our outfits to what the team was wearing as they play for a conference championship. I would be even more pissed if I was attending the game and wore the wrong home or away attire.

    I’m as anti-mono as they come, and would love for Boise State to go with a blue/blue/orange combo, but if you asked me what Boise’s signature look is, and what they are known for paired with the smurf turf, it is the mono blue look. So I think it is cheap to say they look like a non-power school in that uniform. Especially since many “power” schools have much worse uniforms. Not to mention if you are ranking the best programs since 2000, Boise State is better in name recognition and on field results than well more than half of the ~70 “power” school out there.
    UNLV though, yeah, that uniform says minor league.

    Especially since many “power” schools have much worse uniforms

    There isn’t much worse than all-blue on an all-blue turf. Eastern Michigan, Louisville, and most of Buffalo’s combos are the only ones off the top of my head.

    It may be their signature look, but it screams “minor league.”

    I usually only watch CFB on Thanksgiving weekend. This year Boise State was on an early game, and I literally could only watch about two minutes of that game before switching. If you can’t see half the players, what is the point of watching?

    GTGFTU has to be from 1976. The Bucs had the orange numerals with red trim for one season. Sunday, November 28th at the Oakland Coliseum.

    I’d like to see this brought back as a throwback — the white tops with orange numerals instead of the red ones.

    I agree, I think the white tops as a throwback would bring joy to the world! I know that uni would bring joy to me.

    GTGFTU: 28 Nov 1976, Week 12, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16 – 49 Oakland Raiders. First game between the two teams. They would later meet in SB37 and now this Sunday.

    GTGFTS – May 25, 2014 Dodgers 6 @Phillies 0 Josh Beckett No-hitter, Clayton Kershaw would throw another Dodger No-hitter on June 18 making the shortest interval between No-hitters in Dodger history

    “If Texas wins, Georgia will have three losses, and might be on the outside looking in regarding the playoff. ”

    My feeling is that Georgia would stay in, as Alabama is currently in with their 3 losses. The selection committee has stated they aren’t going to penalize loses in championship games the same as an in-season loss, because it’s an extra game other teams didn’t play. So a Georgia at 10-3 should be ranked above a 9-3 Alabama.

    Yeah, UGA’s ticket is punched. The only unanswered question is what happens to SMU if they lose. Methinks the committee tells them to hit the trail.

    I’m most excited for the biggest game of them all tomorrow. MAC Championship. What a uni display that wi be. Miami (OH) vs Ohio Bobcats. Sheer beauty.

    Can we stop using the icy whites term please. Stop giving it validity. It is one thing when you are talking about mono white costumes the teams are intentionally playing into that dumb term, but both Texas and Penn State, as you note, are wearing there standard road uniforms, which have been mono white, and classic looks, forever.
    Can we expect them to be called “white hot” uniforms when the slag changes to that also? As I have bemoaned here before, there is a degree of journalism involved to this site, and I know journalism has devolved a lot in the 21st century, but maybe maintain some of those standards here, and avoid slang and buzzwords when they aren’t necessary.

    “Can we stop using the icy whites term please.”

    I don’t think so. The Longhorns uni tweet literally has a “frozen face” emoji (“Icy”) AND they themselves wrote “It’s about to get icy in ATL ” in their announcement tweet. Icy Whites is now the commonly accepted way of saying “all-white” or “mono-white” — two terms I also use synonymously. Sometimes it’s hard to describe a team’s look using the same adjectives multiple times, or even an element (“helmet” can also be referred to as “bucket,” “lid,” “topper,” or “hat”).

    I won’t use “Icy Whites” exclusively, only synonymously. When a team is dressed in head-to-toe white, there will be several ways to describe that look. One of which is Icy Whites. And when teams wear all black vs. all white teams, we can refer to that as mono-black vs. mono-white, Spy vs. Spy, or blackouts vs Icy Whites.

    Penn State didn’t (and AFAIK has never) call their look Icy Whites (so your point is well-taken there), but Texas — easily as traditional as PSU, and a school that literally has only one helmet, two jerseys (“shirts”) and one pair of pants — used the term “Icy” and used a frozen face outline to describe their regular road look. If they self-describe it like that, I will too.

    Kinda funny to see the center featured in the Boise State hype video. I don’t hate it, just different.

    If Arizona St and Iowa St wear the uniforms you projected, it’s going to be a gorgeous game. Same with Clemson and SMU. The Boise State/UNLV and Oregon/Penn State games, on the other hand, are terrible. Count me among those who think the mono-blue uniform and blue field make Boise State look bush league.

    I generally hate when players have matching pants and leggings, but it’s actually not bad when there’s something to break up the leotard look. In SMU’s tweet, the player with a little knee showing in between his white pants and white socks looks better than the player in front with contrasting pants and leggings.

    Penn State’s road uniforms look much better in outdoors November road games when players wear long blue sleeves and blue socks. It used to be more common, but so many of them have all white base layers. Alas, indoors on Saturday night.

    The SEC decides home team like the Super Bowl. The designation goes to the East champion in even-numbered years and the West champion in odd-numbered years.

    The SEC no longer has divisions, starting this year. I would guess Texas is designated home due to their better conference record (7-1 vs 6-2).

    I wonder if Texas wearing white is meant to be some kind of commentary/motivation about how they’re still SEC outsiders and that Atlanta is UGA’s home away from home. Which it is — UGA has played at least one game, and sometimes multiple, in the new dome every year since it opened in 2017. Being in the SEC Championship every year helps with that.

    It could also be a superstitious move – when Georgia beat Texas in Austin Texas wore their home burnt orange and Georgia wore white so Texas decided to reverse it for the championship game.

    1976 Bucs vs Raiders. The only year they had orange numbers instead of the red ones they sported from 1977-1996.

    The Scoreboard is from Josh Beckett’s no-hitter vs. the Phillies on Sunday, May 25, 2014. I was at this game, sitting in section 330. Was rooting for the Phillies until the Dodgers went up 6-0 in the 7th, then I started rooting for the no-hitter.

    Clemson always wears “orange britches” for championships and vs. South Carolina.

    “Clemson always wears “orange britches” for championships and vs. South Carolina.”

    That’s because they consider their matchup with SCar to be a “championship” — the South Carolina bragging rights championship.

    Palmetto Bowl! They would also wear them if they can clinch an ACC title game birth.

    Purple only on military appreciation day. And no other variation from the standard. Fun fact, a couple of years ago they could clinch the ACC with a win on military appreciation day… purple jerseys with orange britches!

    If Clemson wears orange pants, the ACC Championship will probably be the best looking matchup of all of them IMO.

    You totally lost me at Power 5 schools, conference champions, higher seeds, etc. Why is this the only division in sports that operates this way? The rest of NCAA football actually has real playoffs, that is to say, playoffs like we’ve been accustomed to for the past 50+ years. And don’t get me started on Notre Dame/independent teams. That would be like the Yankees deciding to leave the AL East and just be an independent team, divisions be damned. OK sorry, rant off.

    The Clemson-SMU matchup will easily be the best looker of the weekend, especially if the Tigers wear orange pants. Penn St looks classic yet dull and Oregon is just off their nut not maintaining any semblance of school colors. Earlier this season they rocked some nice green/yellow unis. It’s a shame they can’t be seen tomorrow. I really like Georgia’s red over silver and Texas has the unique Texas burnt orange thing going on. Part of me wonders what the Longhorns would look like with an inverse helmet: burnt orange with a white logo. I know, sacrilege, right? I wish Iowa State would wear the red lid, at least give them some more color. ASU will look great with the Sparky helmet, easily one of my all-time faves. I like UNLV’s red and silver combo but this is just too much. And the mono-blue Broncos at home on Smurf Turf…oh my eyes.

    After looking at the rankings, why are they even having the conference championships? All it does is it opens those teams to injuries by having to play an extra game. While Notre Dame never has to play an extra game. Now, Ohio State for example, gets to sit at home and rest while Penn State/Oregon have to play an extra game. It’s all about $$$$$$$$$. The conference championships make no sense now because the Power 5 schools have already been selected. It just determines the bracket. The conference championships used to mean something as it may knock you out of the “4 teams” selected. I think the SEC dominance is what caused it. The other conferences were missing out on the revenue.

    The flip side is that major-conference teams that win this weekend get the first round of the CFP off. I think that’s worth an extra game in early December. Similarly, Notre Dame doesn’t have to play an extra game now, but they aren’t eligible for a bye in the CFP, so they never get the first week off.

    I kind of like that the Mountain West Championship Game is color-vs-color for the second year in a row. Last year’s probably looked better (UNLV in red over white, BSU still in mono blue), but I’ll take what I can get. I wouldn’t mind more conferences having the CGG color-vs-color when it works out.

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