New College Football Uniforms 2012: Best and Worst Jerseys of the Week

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The 2012 season is brand new, and with the new season brings a change to some universities' college football uniforms. 

Last year, the University of Maryland was the University of Oregon of the East; putting out new uniform after new uniform for what seemed like every single week. However, this year they toned down the new uniforms as they have yet to roll out anything new for at least one week in 2012. 

But some teams did dare to reveal a new uniform, and thus we must judge who was great and who was awful. 

Best: Minnesota Golden Gophers

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What's great about Minnesota's new road uniforms is the simplicity of it. They didn't go over the top with gold on the shoulder pads or on the pants, instead opting for a white-on-white look. 

The maroon trim on the collar with the "M" logo at the crest is elegant and looks very clean. 

Their new uniform is capped off with a solid maroon helmet with the "M" logo on each side making it one of the best new uniform combos in the first week of college football. 

The end result of wearing their new threads was a big three-overtime win over UNLV, 30-27. 

Worst: Michigan Wolverines

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The one beef that I have with Michigan's new uniform they wore for their opener against Alabama is that there is too much maize. The numbers on the helmet aren't bad, the "M" on the hip of their pants and sleeves aren't bad, but all of that maize is hard to look at. 

Maybe after getting blown out by Alabama, 41-14, the university will change their minds about the new uniform design and put these away. 

Best: Penn State Nittany Lions

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Nothing much changed about Penn State's digs, except for the fact that for the first time ever they had names on the back of their uniforms. 

The names were a thank-you to the players who stuck around after the NCAA decimated their program after the fallout from the Jerry Sandusky scandal. They may go back to having no names on the back of the uniforms later on in the season. 

However, for at least one week, we saw someone's last name above their jersey number. 

Worst: Mississippi State Bulldogs

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The Mississippi State Bulldogs' new uniforms aren't that terrible, but they aren't that great either. The new design is just subpar. 

They added a white stripe on their shoulder pads, which looks pretty bad, but added a silver lining around the logo on their helmet, which looks pretty great. 

So in the end, they didn't get a great new uniform, but they didn't get a horrendous one either. Instead, it was just average. 

Best: Marshall Thundering Herd

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Just like Mississippi State, Marshall upgraded their uniforms from what they looked like last year. They added the word "The" to their chest, changing the old "Herd" to "The Herd."

That little upgrade, plus the addition of the green pants and removing the honeycomb chest design to a solid white look, makes Marshall's new uniforms look great. 

However, the uniform upgrade didn't do anything to help them against West Virginia, as they lost 69-34.

Worst: Vanderbilt Commodores

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The only thing that is horrible about Vanderbilt's new uniform is that there is little-to-no color in their black-on-black uniform. 

It looks like they were trying to go for the intimidating route here, but because they're Vanderbilt and have a long history of being the SEC punching bag, it comes across as silly. 

Later on in the season, Vanderbilt has two other uniform schemes (h/t The Sports Grid) forthcoming. However, the uniform that they wore to open the 2012 season is by far the worst. 

Best: Oregon Ducks

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We finish this piece with the school that sets the bar on new college uniforms: the Oregon Ducks. 

Oregon displayed what seems to be their one-millionth different uniform scheme in Week 1 vs. Arkansas State. Some of Oregon's uniforms have missed (like what they wore to open 2011), but some have been a big hit, like this one. 

The colors are vibrant and play off of Oregon's original colors, and the helmet has metallic wings that looked great on high-definition televisions. 

Oregon came out strong in Week 1 and probably will have two or three more uniform designs before this season is over. 

 

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