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And to think…this glorious snow globe of a game was less than an hour away from my house…
Good Sunday morning, everyone, and welcome to the first full day of Winter! I can’t tell you how glad I am that my favorite season has arrived, and is acting properly.
Anyway, the Snow Bowl in today’s featured image was yesterday’s Division III semifinal between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays and the Mount Union Purple Raiders of Alliance, Ohio. I wish I could have gone to the game, but I woke up around the time they kicked off. That game, and every other FCS, D2 and D3 Playoff game will be covered today, but first we kick things off with Terry Duroncelet, Jr. and the FBS Playoff roundup. Take it away!
…..
Let’s go bow– wait, that’s next week. Let’s go… playoff-ing? Welcome to the first round of the new 12-team playoff! As I’ve done in every postseason since 2011, bowl game or otherwise, I will be referring to each school by their full names (at least, based on what Wikipedia tells me), so strap in, and let’s get right into it.
From Friday, December 20th, 2024
• Notre Dame/Indiana: Our first-ever game in the new 12-team playoff format is between two Indiana-based programs: one with bountiful prestige in football, and one the same in basketball. (JV: Couldn’t you have picked a photo of Keith Smart instead of…him?) First up, we have the University of Notre Dame du Lac Fighting Irish, who wore the “classic” (since 2011, at least) golden domes (still the best helmets in college football IMO), navy jerseys, and gold pants. The jerseys are adorned with the seldom-seen NOB, which only appear on Notre Dame uniforms in the event of a postseason berth. On the other side of the ball, we have the Indiana University Hoosiers, who wore their own tried-and-true crimson helmets, with white (or “cream”) jerseys and pants. Wow, Indiana: who’d have thought? Before this season, who was talking en masse about Indiana in any football-related context? As a New Orleans Saints fan from birth, I know the feeling of rooting for a team that people — in good hivemind fashion — like to collectively HATE, to see fail constantly, so that they have a perpetual punching bag to guffaw at year in, year out. I’m actually bummed that the Hoosiers lost, but here’s hoping that this is the beginning of a new era of pigskin prestige in Bloomington (that’s probably the only time you’ll ever hear me using the word “pigskin”). At any rate, this was a visual delight to start the playoffs right. I did not mean for that to rhyme.
From Saturday, December 21st, 2024
• Penn State/SMU: Whole lotta white in this one. Our next playoff game features The Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions in… shockingly not their primary uniforms, but instead, their Generations of Greatness uniforms (more on that here). Meanwhile, the dudes of Dallas (and newcomers to the ACC), the Southern Methodist University Mustangs wore all-white. Not the most exciting-looking matchup, but still solid-enough.
• Texas/Clemson: “Pseudo Orange Bowl” is what popped into my mind when I first tuned in to watch this. On one side of the ball, we have the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns in the classics: burnt orange jerseys, with white helmets and pants. On the other, we have the Clemson University Tigers in the exact flip of that, sans the burnt bit of course. I feel like I never get to see Clemson’s orange pants enough.
• Ohio State/Tennessee: Our last game of this first round features THE… *pause for dramatic effect* Ohio State University Buckeyes in grey helmets, and… mono-scarlet? Uhhhhhhh, okay??? Also, putting the playoff patch underneath the conference patch is… a choice I’ve never seen before. The opposing Volunteers of The University of Tennessee, Knoxville wore a considerably more normal-looking in contrast all-white ensemble.
…..
Thanks, Terry!
More Playoffs!
Next we move on to the semis of the FCS, the Division II national championship, and the Division III semis. We’ll begin with the first FCS semi…
South Dakota State vs. North Dakota State
I’ve been talking up the Bison for a couple of weeks, and then they go mono-green on me this week. They still look good, but paired with the Jackrabbits in blue/white/white, I was a little underwhelmed. Loved the helmet logo matchup, though.
The other FCS semi was South Dakota vs. Montana State.
Because they’re not Nebraska, I can live with the Coyotes wearing black pants. They look good with the white helmet and jersey, and they bring a little balance to an otherwise white-heavy matchup. Lots of great striping as well!
We move on to the D2 national championship: Ferris State vs. Valdosta State.
Properly sized numbers are a great idea. Red numbers on black are never a good idea, though, from a distance. Too bad everyone at the game couldn’t see this much detail.
On to the D3 semis, beginning with Johns Hopkins vs. Mount Union.
As we say in Northeast Ohio, if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.
And it just kept getting better!
No matter what the conditions were, it was a pretty decent matchup. Some pants stripes would have been a big help for the Jays, though.
The final D3 semifinal was Susquehanna vs. North Central.
Those gray pants need to be a lot more gray, Susquehanna. Even up close I had to take a second look to realize you weren’t going mono-white.
2024 Uni Tracking
For today’s Playoff edition of SMUW, we have trackers Rex Henry for the ACC, Dennis Bolt for the B1G, and ZachWooldridge for the SEC.
You know the drill…the five games that caught my eye the most, and the worst-looking one. Agree or disagree, but either way, let’s have some fun with it.
Normally, the game shown in the featured image is one that didn’t make the Top Five, but I bend the rules for snow games. Let’s see how far I bent them as we begin with…
5. The “Well, I Guess I Didn’t Bend Them Very Much” Game:
Johns Hopkins vs. Mount Union
Had it not snowed, it was a toss-up between this one and Tennessee-OSU.
4. The “I’m Still Getting Used To Turf In South Bend” Game:
Indiana/Notre Dame
A little mud would have made this too-clean matchup a little better.
3. The “Now, May I Have A Road Version Of Those As Well?” Game:
SMU vs. Penn State
I really get a kick out of those GofG unis, which should be made permanent.
2. The “Optimal Orange” Matchup:
Clemson vs. Texas
Not too much, not too little, and spread out just right.
1. Simply The Best:
South Dakota vs. Montana State
The white stuff really popped on a cloudy day.
&1…
Ferris State vs. Valdosta State
The Bulldogs looked pretty good in red/white/white with black sleeves, but the Blazers’ red on mono-black couldn’t save Ferris from the bad end of the list.
A Goodbye Before I Say Goodbye
Farewell, and Rest In Peace, Rickey Henderson. I’m sure Phil will want to say more about one of the greatest leadoff hitters in MLB history, so I’ll just leave you with the article I linked to until he does.
Oh, and don’t forget about The Last Vilkmas. Click here if you want a shot at any of the gifts.
Take care, everyone, Merry Christmas (or a very Happy Whatever You’re Celebrating), and I’ll see you next weekend.
I agree with you, Jim – The G of G unis should be Penn State’s primary set. The road version of these would actually look like something a team wears in a game, not what they would wear to practice.
Agreed. I felt like the end of the Paternity era was the perfect time to bring these back permanently. Maintains the classic Penn State look but ushers in the new day.
So disappointed to see tOSU in scarlet jerseys and pants.
Their regular home uniform is one of the best looks in all of college football (IMO), especially late in the season when their helmets are filled with buckeye stickers. Oh well. The other playoff games generally looked really good and the Buckeyes will be the lower seed for any possible future playoff matchups this year, so they’ll probably be in white moving forward.
I agree Ohio State fumbled the ball on that one. If you must do this, wear it for a regular game in the middle of the season. Stick with you primary and best look come playoff time.
A game with a team wearing “BFBS” being number 1. Surprised at the lack of the normal pettiness of teams wearing black that isn’t a team color.
The BFBS unit wasn’t 1, it was the &1… Pettiness intact
I love the new 12-team playoff format. Exciting and the proper way to crown a champ. I had an interest in seeing who is the winner. Cannot say that with all the bowl games.
Yes, Penn State! the stripe on the pants makes the difference.
Also, putting the playoff patch underneath the conference patch is… a choice I’ve never seen before.
Considering how high the Big Ten and Nike logos are placed in relation to the shoulder seam, I think putting the CFP patch there was a necessity.
Love the Penn State numbers on the helmet. I wouldn’t mind if my Trojans broke out helmet numbers like they had in the early 1960s.
Nice to see Buckeyes in red pants. That was a nice treat. Grey socks would have tied it goether nicely. Maybe next round. Lots of red/silver vs kelly green/gold. Would look good.
Please bring back the purple pants and jerseys Clemson!! Not together of course, but I really miss them separately.
I usually hate Texas’ burnt orange, but it seemed a little less burnt with Clemson wearing orange in the opposite helmets and pants.
And Montana State’s unis are gorgeous! Can’t wait to see those again, and across from North Dakota State’s likely yellow jerseys, in the FCS Championship game!
I don’t understand people who say the helmet color should match the jersey and pants. And guess what—even if the pants and jersey are the same color—the helmet can be a different color and still look good! So GTFO…
I might be biased but the Irish beating the Hoosiers looked the best of the bunch to me. As for JV’s comment about Terry’s pick of a pic of a Hoosier hoops player I completely agree with him: never ever show that guy again. So many other good former players from Bloomington to choose from.
Texas versus Clemson would have looked much better with purple pants for the Tigers. That mix would have been a very serious contender for the ND and IU game. Looking forward to the next round!
I agree with you, Jim – The G of G unis should be Penn State’s primary set. The road version of these would actually look like something a team wears in a game, not what they would wear to practice.
Agreed. I felt like the end of the Paternity era was the perfect time to bring these back permanently. Maintains the classic Penn State look but ushers in the new day.
So disappointed to see tOSU in scarlet jerseys and pants.
Their regular home uniform is one of the best looks in all of college football (IMO), especially late in the season when their helmets are filled with buckeye stickers. Oh well. The other playoff games generally looked really good and the Buckeyes will be the lower seed for any possible future playoff matchups this year, so they’ll probably be in white moving forward.
I agree Ohio State fumbled the ball on that one. If you must do this, wear it for a regular game in the middle of the season. Stick with you primary and best look come playoff time.
A game with a team wearing “BFBS” being number 1. Surprised at the lack of the normal pettiness of teams wearing black that isn’t a team color.
The BFBS unit wasn’t 1, it was the &1… Pettiness intact
I love the new 12-team playoff format. Exciting and the proper way to crown a champ. I had an interest in seeing who is the winner. Cannot say that with all the bowl games.
Yes, Penn State! the stripe on the pants makes the difference.
Also, putting the playoff patch underneath the conference patch is… a choice I’ve never seen before.
Considering how high the Big Ten and Nike logos are placed in relation to the shoulder seam, I think putting the CFP patch there was a necessity.
Love the Penn State numbers on the helmet. I wouldn’t mind if my Trojans broke out helmet numbers like they had in the early 1960s.
Nice to see Buckeyes in red pants. That was a nice treat. Grey socks would have tied it goether nicely. Maybe next round. Lots of red/silver vs kelly green/gold. Would look good.
Please bring back the purple pants and jerseys Clemson!! Not together of course, but I really miss them separately.
I usually hate Texas’ burnt orange, but it seemed a little less burnt with Clemson wearing orange in the opposite helmets and pants.
And Montana State’s unis are gorgeous! Can’t wait to see those again, and across from North Dakota State’s likely yellow jerseys, in the FCS Championship game!
I don’t understand people who say the helmet color should match the jersey and pants. And guess what—even if the pants and jersey are the same color—the helmet can be a different color and still look good! So GTFO…
I might be biased but the Irish beating the Hoosiers looked the best of the bunch to me. As for JV’s comment about Terry’s pick of a pic of a Hoosier hoops player I completely agree with him: never ever show that guy again. So many other good former players from Bloomington to choose from.
Texas versus Clemson would have looked much better with purple pants for the Tigers. That mix would have been a very serious contender for the ND and IU game. Looking forward to the next round!