So Baylor decided to be like the other cool kids on the block and went all-in on a new helmet. Here is a preview of the new helmet, courtesy of Jeff Lebby, Baylor's running backs coach:

Like all new helmets that hit the fashion parade red carpet, we must grade it, because frankly, there's not a lot going on in college football—we feel your pain. 

For the helmet itself, I'm going with a B-.

This helmet looks like it belongs on a Purdue Boilermaker. Or an Army Black Knight before the academy went all camouflage on us. It just doesn't scream "Baylor," but it does scream, "Hey look at us...no, we're not Notre Dame, we're Baylor." 

How well do you like Baylor's new helmet(s)?

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I understand the reasoning for the gold scheme, because Baylor actually has a gold-domed building on campus called Pat Neff Hall. But Notre Dame cornered the market on the gold-dome hats. While Baylor and Boston College both have worn gold hats for awhile, the Irish don't have to put a logo on their hats to tell people what team is wearing them, now do they?

I like shiny gold things, but this doesn't convey a strong connection to Baylor to me. A greenish-gold liquid-metal look—like the patina look— would have been so much better and so much more unique. (Note—in that patina picture, look at the colors, not the raised relief design.) 

The Bears also have a new black helmet. 

This one gets an A because the matte black hat with Baylor's colors in the inter-locking "BU" logo doesn't scar your retinas when you stare at it. It's a forward-thinking helmet with the Stormtrooper styling, but it still has some old school in it by including Baylor's traditional green.

In the end, all that really matters is if the recruits and players like the gold and black helmets. And since one is matte black and the other is shiny gold, I'm betting they will love them. 

So...well done, Baylor.