The 20 Best Road Uniforms in College Football

The road team in college football, and all of sport, is usually faced with the fashion challenge of sprucing up a somewhat bland ensemble.

Indeed, since it's usually the home team that is gloriously clad in vivid spirit colors, the visitor is left with the task of devising a distinctive kit based on the foundation of a white jersey.

The following slideshow heartily salutes 20 college football programs that do the best job of looking good on the road.

The creative couture planners for each of these teams have built a striking set of gridiron visual coordinates despite a somewhat lackluster palette.

Alabama

Sometimes it’s simply unnecessary to try and bedazzle folks beyond just putting on your traditional garb.

The Crimson Tide’s classic road all-white’s complemented by the double striped pants and the classic numbered helmets are timeless and striking.

Of course, a fashion rule of thumb that’s almost as important as when to wear white shoes is the fact that the all-white’s always look better on a team that is winning big.

Kentucky

The Wildcats may struggle to win road games in the SEC (who wouldn’t), but in 2011 they sure looked sharp while attempting to play the role of giant killer.

Kentucky’s bold road kit includes a striking blue sleeve design and blue pants to offset the white jersey and classic helmet design.

Bravo.

Michigan State

Sparty’s twist on the traditional all-white road gear includes a swath of green on the shoulder and a captivating helmet stripe that delightfully expands towards the facemask..

Throw in some sparkling white pants and Michigan State looks as good on the road as they do at home in East Lansing.

Oklahoma State

The Cowboys uniforms have continued to evolve in a very “Oregon-esque” way in recent years, culminating in a variety ridden 2011 that offered something for everyone.

Yes, you never know what Oklahoma State will be wearing on game day but their road kit vs. Texas last season was simply stunning.

Flat black helmet wear was bolstered by bold orange numbering, a look topped off by black pants fired with striping; all in all combining to make the host Longhorns look lackluster in comparison.

Ironically, this was also to be the story line of the actual game.

Missouri

Sometimes the right helmet can make a uniform dazzle, regardless of the rest of the kit.

Missouri has just this type of headwear, the bold MU gold “M” on a field of black complemented by valiant striping…awesome.

The Tigers bland away jerseys are almost unnoticeable when packaged with the black pants and yes, those stupendous helmets.

Iowa State

Iowa State’s road uniform is a perfect illustration of what the right color combination of striping can do to make an all-white ensemble shine.

The Cyclone’s cardinal and gold bands of color that are featured on both the shoulder, and then the pants combine for one of the most striking visitor’s costumes in the biz.

This is truly one of the most under-appreciated variations of the all-whites in all of football.

Clemson

Clemson is yet another program that, from a purely fashion perspective, gets the otherwise bland all-white kit right.

The Tigers take on road attire utilizes drawing a color parallel between the helmet, the tiger paw on the sleeve and then the subtle yet scintillating double stripe on the pant to produce magical results.

The hue is Clemson orange and the outcome is delightful.

Virginia Tech

When you’ve got the powerful punch of a Chicago maroon jersey complemented with burnt orange stripes in your corner as a road team, you’re hard to beat from a style perspective.

The Hokies travelling get-up when they came to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech in 2011 was nothing short of visually stimulating.

Oregon

Regardless of which variation of themselves that the road Ducks morph into, you can bet they will dazzle followers of football fashion.

Whether you love or hate the endless uniform combinations of trendy Oregon, you’ve got to respect the fact that they will show up for the game looking intriguingly unique and wholly colorful.

Arizona State

Arizona State’s recently launched “Fear the Fork” campaign brought with it a new, exciting era in Sun Devil uniform history.

For the ever rotating road kit the fork-bearers chose a cool flat black helmet emblazoned with the said yellow fork, and then shored up the ensemble with black bottoms and some electrical cutlery around the shoulder.

Nice.

Colorado

Even though Colorado has suffered through some gut-wrenching football campaigns of late, they’ve still looked good when they hit the road.

The iconic gold Buffalo festooned helmet is dramatically enhanced by a bold sleeve stripe that evokes another era of gridiron greatness without sacrificing modern style.

Rutgers

It’s mildly surprising that Vogue didn’t run any fall features on Rutgers 2011 road uniforms, because they simply might have been the best of the best in a season full of fashion shockers.

The Scarlet Knights away kit begins with the trendy flat black helmet which is, in this instance, emblazoned with a glossy white “R” outlined in a fiendish red.

The white jersey is generously outlined in traditional scarlet and the outfit is well anchored by black bottoms that serve to tie the ensemble up with a stylish bow.

Air Force

In case you missed it, Air Force looked remarkable during their 59-33 beat down at the hands of Notre Dame this past season.

Yes it wasn’t pretty, but they were.

The keepers of the collegiate lightning bolt dazzled with their tribute to blue and grey which basically took their traditional kit and turned it upside down in a very, very good way.

Colorado State

In what has to be considered the best Ram looking uniform since the Los Angeles Rams ascended to the Super Bowl in 1979, Colorado State’s road wear in 2011 was a golden hued tour de force.

Indeed, whoever had the brilliant idea to offset the green and gold swirling Ram helmet with a golden jersey should be heralded as one of the great minds in the history of modern collegiate couture.

Tulsa

Few teams can claim pulling off the type of fashion coup that Tulsa did in 2011 when they accented their road weary all-whites in all the right ways.

The Golden Hurricane stormed their opponent’s home fields last season with a blue-sleeved wonder jersey that had the effect of making their already dazzling striped helmet pop out like tulips in springtime.

Idaho

While other institutions of higher learning may have made their fashion forays in a more dramatic way, Idaho subtly achieved stunning results with their away gear.

The Vandals showed up at Kyle Field to face Texas A&M in 2011 featuring a delightful play on their golden hued history which featured dramatic shoulder coloring and excellently played matching pants.

Ohio

Regardless of who you are and what conference you call home, there is just something wholesome and nourishing about bold striping that is carried over from the helmet to the jersey.

And this is exactly what Ohio does in their magnum opus of color banding that is the 2011 Bobcat road uniform.

Temple

The 2011 clash between Maryland and Temple represented all that is right, and wrong, with the current state of college football fashion.

On the one hand, you’ve got the Terrapins tribute to yellow infused flag waving, and then on the other, you’ve got Temple’s traditional masterpiece.

Yes, as Maryland crosses the line, Temple draws it anew.

The simple truth is, there is something very, very good about the Owls stripe block pants, and it’s something that’s made even better by a similarly festive yet time-honored neckline.

Brilliance.

Florida Atlantic

Perhaps the best triple striping ever conceived for the collegiate gridiron all-whites, FAU’s 2011 road attire was nothing short of exquisite.

Patriotic, daring, valiant, vivid, powerful and linear are all terms that come to mind when pausing to appreciate Florida Atlantic’s contribution to football tailoring.

Kansas

The Kansas Jayhawks’ 2011 road uniforms may feature the best pants on our illustrious list.

Yes, winning just two games is hard to swallow, but oh what a balm it is to have the perfect combination of blue and crimson in a wide striped version of trousers masterpiece theatre.