Ohio State To Wear Alternate Uniforms? (They Better Not.)

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

Alternate uniforms have been en vogue for quite some time, from the NFL to the NBA , from college basketball to college football; North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Georgia and Tennessee all wore them in the last two weeks to varying degrees of success. 

But there are teams that appear to be immune to the fads of sports fashion and impervious to the pressures of hulking apparel sponsors. Oregon is not one of those teams . But Ohio State appeared to be.

Until now.

 

Oh god! Please, no.

Pat Forde mentioned it earlier this week and some brief scouring of message boards revealed the above image. 

Are the Buckeyes about to break out new jerseys to help their mojo? It bears mentioning that other than pictures on an Ohio State-related site, there is no evidence to suggest that it was designed to be worn by THE Ohio State University, say, during a game against Penn State, in early November, three days from now. None. It could belong to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for all I know.

Is that a "Block O" at the bottom of the neck?  [/sigh]

Let’s just assume that this is, in fact, the “alternate” road uniform the Buckeyes are going to trot out on Saturday afternoon. It’s bad, to be sure. But what about the pants? Are those going to be red?! That could be a pure disaster.

I have already pontificated about the meaningless, derivative, and largely uncool “red” end zones . If these uniforms happen, I may lose it.  Is anyone at Ohio State paying attention? How would this get past the people that it has to get past?

This is not to say that I oppose all things outside the bounds of the norm. I think retro uniforms could be amazingly cool, perhaps even inspirational for the team. And there is plenty for the program to draw from (see below).  What about the 1954 unis, with some appropriate updates (like a face mask, for example)? I think Tressel would go for that and it would not look like a rejection from a UFL trunk sale.

Evolution of Ohio State Uniforms

Update (3:15pm): 1460 just read a statement from Nike that did not confirm or deny the possibility of alternate uniforms. Apparently The Fan contacted Nike for a comment and the following was provided: “We are always looking for ways to innovate and inspire - so stay tuned.”

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