Wednesday, October 10, 2012

CFB Uniform Countdown: #100-76

I recently began a semi-audacious project to rank all FBS uniforms, and this is the continuation of said project.  With the formalities out of the way, here we go:

#100 - Miami Redhawks

This section of the list starts out with a pretty boring entry.  There's nothing special about the M logo, so I don't like seeing it repeated on the jersey, and then again on the pants.  The medium-sized stripes are a little odd, too.

#99 - Air Force Falcons

I've never been a big fan of the lightning bolts everywhere, but these uniforms aren't the worst.  These, on the other hand, are.

#98 - Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Once again, we have a perfectly fine set of regular uniforms with some terrible alternates.  I actually prefer these alternates because they're at least trying something a little exciting.  The faded shoulder look is something I actually like, although I could easily see it being overdone in the future.

#97 - North Texas Mean Green

There's nothing particularly remarkable here.  The shade of green they use has potential, but they don't give it a chance to play off of anything else (a little black trim could work nicely).  Also, they fall victim to that weird swoosh-y leg stripe that's struck other teams as well.

#96 - East Carolina Pirates

As far as purple goes, I'm a pretty big fan of East Carolina's shade.  I just don't like that helmet logo at all.  It's a little too cartoony (it almost make Bruce look tough by comparison), although I must get the number of that pirate's dentist.  The old ones weren't great either, but they were better.

#95 - Utah Utes

We're firmly entrenched in the part of the list where a lot of the teams are just blah.  No real positive or negative comments here; just a forgettable uniform.

#94 - Syracuse Orange

I'm normally a big fan of orange uniforms, but these miss the mark for me.  First, the S helmet isn't great.  I preferred the blank helmet look of yesteryear.  Second, Syracuse's shade of orange is a little too neon for my taste.

#93 - North Carolina Tar Heels

When it comes to sports, North Carolina is first and foremost a basketball school (well, women's soccer is probably actually first).  Thus, it makes sense that a classic basketball uniform fails to make the translation to football.  Much like North Texas's green, UNC's blue doesn't get to play off of much else, and thus fades into the background.

#92 - UConn Huskies

Once again, snappy basketball uniforms just don't translate.  One of the bug culprits here is a poor helmet logo, which the basketball team doesn't have to worry about.  I also wouldn't mind the sharp "UConn" name across the jersey in football as well.

#91 - Wyoming Cowboys

I give Wyoming credit for trying the yellow and brown combination.  However, it just doesn't work that well, in part because of the white helmets.  And then there are these.  I think camo loses it's point when it's the part of the uniform that sticks out the most.  Also, the "WYO" is terrible.  Some team names can be shortened without looking ridiculous, but Wyoming is not one of them.

#90 - Ohio Bobcats

Another matte helmet with a boring logo.  And of course there's a black alternate, because you just can't miss out on that sweet, sweet Ohio Bobcat jersey sales revenue.

#89 - Purdue Boilermakers

I have never liked the elongated P on their helmets, and now I finally have a forum to vent this displeasure.  I'm glad to finally get that off of my chest.

#88 - Idaho Vandals

Once again, there's nothing remarkable here.  I'm rarely one to decry script logos, but the combination with the block I is just a little weird.  Everything else is forgettable, partially because it is Idaho.

#87 - Toledo Rockets

There's just too many different things going on here.  There's this.  And this.  And this.  I'm not exactly sure what they're going for with so many uniform changes.  They don't have the clout or creativity of Oregon, so all they're really accomplishing is creating confusing among casual MACtion fans, of which there are dozens.

#86 - Akron Zips

An example of the hard work I do for this blog:  I had to sort through a lot of pictures of fat Terry Bowden to find a good Akron photo.  It was not pleasant.  Also not pleasant:  The giant swath of white space on the side of Akron's jerseys.

#85 - Southern Miss Golden Eagles

All it takes to drop to 85th on my list is an odd helmet logo and more thin striping.  A sharp color combination is wasted on pretty standard fare.

#84 - Boston College Eagles

These are probably the least inspiring uniforms in all of football, but there's nothing offensive about them, so this is a good place for BC.  I would consider this the mean rating, and thus you can consider BC the Coldplay of uniforms.

#83 - Duke Blue Devils

A snappy jersey is done in by a so-so logo.  Also, we've got another unnecessary black alternate, which looks particularly silly with the blue stripe.  Of course, they've one-upped that by wearing blue pants with the black jersey.  Gross.

#82 - Buffalo Bulls

They're basically a blue Houston (pretty similar logo), which isn't all that bad, but also isn't all that original.  Of course, they get downgrade for a poor choice in black pants, which they made even poorer with the team name down the side.

#81 - Memphis Tigers

I think they pull off the helmet logo pretty well, which is impressive given that integrating a tiger and an M can be difficult (believe me, I've tried).  However, there is the issue of the team name on the side of the pants, which will always get you a downgrade in my book.

#80 - Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies had a pretty classic uniform, but then they went and added a matte helmet and that weird grey shading in the numbers.  Not to mention it still says "ATM" on their helmets.

#79 - Kentucky Wildcats

That's a pretty sharp uniform in spite of the checkerboad trim, which you barely notice anyway.  The all blue design really captures the spirit of the basketball team, which can only be a good thing.  Of course, they've also fallen victim to the black alternate, so this is as high as they get.

#78 - New Mexico Lobos

As silver helmets slowly get phased out by dull gray ones, I grow ever more appreciative of New Mexico's.  The rest of the uniform is pretty standard fare, although I do like the slightly slanted font.

#77 - Mississippi State Bulldogs

I like the sharpness and relative simpleness of the helmet logo, but writing the whole name of the school on the chest is a little much.  There's also a big ole white stripe everywhere which sticks out poorly.

#76 - Colorado State Rams

If college football was an eye chart, then the jersey text from the Rams' uniforms would be the bottom line.

Up next:  Numbers 75-51, where the black alternates actually become desirable!  Also, there's like half of the Big 12.

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