Arizona Wildcats Football: Which Jersey Combination Will Beat the Oregon Ducks?
Oregon is infamous for wearing more jersey combinations than any sports team in the history of sports.
Okay, so that’s not a proven fact, but we have all seen and are jealous of the luxury of the sharp threads they get to sport every Saturday courtesy of Phil Knight.
In fact, Oregon has so many possible jersey combinations that from the first game of his freshman year to the final bowl game of his senior year, a player could end up wearing a different jersey combo for every game.
The last time Arizona headed to Eugene, the Ducks busted out their all-black jerseys and the student section followed with a Black Out.
Last year against the Ducks, the Wildcats tried the same strategy, wearing all red and urging the student section to do the same with a Red Out, even handing out over 12,000 red rally towels.
While many people look at jersey combinations as a non-factor, I look at it as a new haircut. Getting a good-looking haircut can give you a little extra confidence—confidence that Arizona desperately needs.
Singing the Blues
1 of 6
No matter what jersey and pant combo the Cats decide to go with on Friday, they should not be wearing their blue helmets. They are a thing of the past; there is a reason why Arizona brought in the white helmets.
The white helmets represent a new age of Arizona football, where winning is expected and where the Cats look to compete every year.
Not to mention the two games this year where they wore the blue helmets resulted in an injured Nick “Sunshine” Foles against WSU and a 42-17 embarrassment in the loss to Stanford.
Needless to say, this week the white helmets are a must.
Losing Combos
2 of 6
Other combinations Arizona should avoid are anything they have worn this season in which they have lost.
In the loss to Oregon State the Cats wore white helmets with blue jerseys and pants. Scrap that.
The loss to Stanford included blue helmets with white jerseys and blue pants. These should obviously be avoided.
During the loss to USC the Wildcats wore their most successful combo of the season: white helmets, red jerseys and red pants. If it wasn’t for the loss against USC, this would be the easy choice to wear against Oregon.
Winning Combos
3 of 6Against The Citadel, Arizona wore white helmets, blue jerseys and white pants. In that game Arizona dominated The Citadel 52-6 without allowing a touchdown.
Against UCLA the Wildcats sported white helmets, white jerseys and red pants.
Although both those games were won by Arizona, The Citadel was a significantly inferior opponent, and against UCLA the Wildcats almost blew the game only winning 29-21.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Honorable Mention
4 of 6
To beat Oregon, one must look at all the possible choices before deciding on a winner. This includes jersey combos that we have yet to see this season or even in recent memory.
Sticking with the white helmet is key, and adding a combination of red jerseys and blue pants or blue jerseys and red pants could be the solution.
The only problem is we have never seen the likes of this combination before. While lack of Photoshop skills does not allow me to witness these with my own eyes, I have an odd feeling it would look like they tried to get dressed in the dark.
The Dark Horse
5 of 6
For those who watched the 2009 Holiday Bowl, this will be the most unpopular pick.
In the 33-0 demolition the Cats introduced their new white helmets along with white jerseys and white pants. For all the excitement around the new apparel, Arizona came out flat and may have retired this combo in one game.
But that was last year.
This year this combo has not been seen, but what better way to redeem it than with a win over the No. 1 Oregon Ducks?
These all-whites will be a little different, now with a stripe on the helmet and pants along with the updated jerseys. This could be a recipe for success as Juron Criner and Keola Antolin become white flashes that fly past the Oregon defense.
And First Place Goes to...
6 of 6There are two selections for what the Cats should wear, but the second option is more realistic.
The only way the first option will work is if Oregon decides to wear a white jersey. This could very well happen based on the fact Oregon changes its clothes more than a 14-year-old girl deciding what to wear before going to her first high school dance.
ZonaZoo, which is the University of Arizona’s student section, wears red to every sporting event. At home football games the 10,000-seat ZonaZoo has students with red wigs, makeshift spirit gear, entire bodies painted red, you name it.
In lieu of this, the Wildcats should wear white helmets, red jerseys and white pants.
If the Ducks decide to wear a colored jersey, Arizona should wear white helmets, white jerseys and blue pants. This arrangement was not only a part of the 41-2 win over Toledo, but was also worn during the Wildcats' last win in Eugene.
In 2006 at Autzen Stadium, the Cats wore white jerseys and blue pants in a rout of Dennis Dixon and the Ducks, 37-10.
Based on what the Ducks wear Friday, this could very well be the combination that we will see. In 2006 it worked to upset the Ducks, so why not try it again?
The way I approached this article is the same way Arizona should approach its game against Oregon: just to have fun. All of the pressure will be on Oregon. If Arizona can come out and play the way they know how, they could surprise people.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
