College Football 2011: 25 Teams That Should Upgrade Uniforms This Offseason
Have you ever tuned into a college football game and been in awe at the jaw-droppingly hideous uniforms? If not, you need to watch more Mountain West football.
Some teams decide to feature their ugly uniforms for big games exclusively. Other teams decide to make their fans suffer throughout the entire season.
Whatever the case may be, I have assembled a list of 25 teams who need to upgrade their uniforms in the offseason.
Enjoy.
#25: Wyoming Cowboys
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I can live with the Cowboy on the white helmet, but the yellow pants and brown/yellow jersey look more like a restroom disaster than a football uniform.
I understand that they are the school colors, but let's bring in some complementary colors.
I'm no fashion expert, but the blinding neon yellow and mud brown are two ugly colors. Why not at least make the numbers white?
The Cowboys should bring in some professional help to keep the colors and give the Cowboys a uniform they don't have to feel ashamed for wearing.
The all-whites above actually aren't too bad. It certainly gives them something to build on.
#24: Virginia Tech Hokies
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Like Wyoming, the Hokies weren't given a whole lot to work with. Orange itself is an ugly color, but combined with the brownish-purple color, it's almost confusing to look at.
I will give them credit, though. The Hokies did as much as they possibly could to lessen the visibility of their unsightly colors, draping randomly thrown-on white stripes over their shoulders and giving them white pants.
I suppose it could be worse.
#23: Clemson Tigers
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It's time for Clemson to ditch the purple. In 2011, the Tigers need to have orange pants. I'm okay with a purple outline on the stripe, or even a purple backdrop to the numbers. I understand it's a school color, but you look ridiculous.
The purple isn't even a masculine purple. It looks like something you would see on a dress your five-year-old has, maybe even a sweater your Great-Aunt Tessie wears from time to time.
The Minnesota Vikings might be able to get away with it, but you can't (Don't tell Da'Quan Bowers I said so).
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
#22: Arizona Wildcats
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It's as though the University of Arizona forgets either the red or the blue completely when assembling their jerseys.
The all-red "I don't know where his jersey starts and his pants end" look may have been an offensive technique.
Perhaps the coaching staff figured the defense would not be able to locate his belt buckle, making it impossible to watch it while the runner is trying to shake the defender.
U of A should go with blue pants. Maybe even a blue jersey. It would give them a patriotic look and wouldn't look like they went overkill with one color or the other.
#21: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
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My beef with the Georgia Tech uniform has nothing to do with the jersey or the pants. It's the helmet.
The color is fine, I'm glad they didn't go with the YELLOW! look that many teams go with. The problem is that Buzz the Yellow Jacket failed to make the helmet.
Buzz is one of the most awesome mascots in college football. It's time for him to be on display for the world to see.
It's good to represent your school, but the "GT" needs to be replaced by the Yellow Jacket.
#20: LSU Tigers
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Here we see the random shoulder striped once again, but it does nothing to take the attention away from the awfulness of the uniform itself.
Barney purple and glow-in-the-dark urine yellow are simply not a good look. To make matters worse, they went with the same color yellow on the helmets, making the uniforms hard to look at.
Sure, the uniform reminds me of Mardi Gras, but LSU went way too far in an attempt to represent their school colors.
#19: Harvard Crimson
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Come on Harvard, you are smarter than that.
The pants are right where they need to be. A stripe may be a bit too flashy for Harvard, so the all-golds will suffice.
What becomes problematic is the big Harvard "H" in brown/dark red on the red helmet on the crimson jersey.
Harvard is notorious for being dull and boring, but on the football field, you want to look sharp and flashy. These uniforms are anything but that. Spruce it up a little bit.
#18: Northwestern Wildcats
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Northwestern tried to limit the amount of purple they put on their uniform by going with the black pants. Good move.
Some teams can make purple work for them: the Horned Frogs come to mind. Northwestern is not one of those teams.
The problem is they only went halfway with it. Purple on black doesn't look good here. The dark purple looks almost black and the blend of the dark purple on black is an eyesore.
It seems the smaller schools are having the most problems with the color schemes. I wonder why that is.
#17: San Diego State Aztecs
9 of 26It's hard to screw up red on black, but the Aztecs did their best to do so. San Diego State needs to put more red in their pants and jersey and less in their helmet.
Standing alone, the two colors almost look awkward. Why not combine them?
Rather than put the Apache arrow on the side of the helmet, they decided to go with "AZTECS" stretched across the length of the helmet.
Anything over three letters is too wordy to go on the helmet. Poor form.
#16: Cal Bears
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The blue unis look much, much better than this yellow atrocity.
That being said, both have tacky claw marks on the pants and jersey that I suppose are supposed to make it look like the players were the victims of a minor baby bear mauling. Sweet.
Cal has great history. These uniforms don't do the program justice whatsoever.
Maybe if Shane Vereen would have went to a school with a less distracting jersey, scouts would give him the credit he is due.
#15: Minnesota Golden Gophers
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Minnesota took a lot of heat for their atrocious all-yellows, but to completely abandon the color is a travesty.
Minnesota's mascot is the Golden Gopher, yet we see white pants, and the burgundy/maroon color on both the helmet and jersey.
It's time to bring back the yellow. That isn't to say they need to have all-yellow uniforms, but the pants are currently an awkward white.
They need to switch to yellow pants with a burgundy stripe. While they are at it, they should ditch the M and toss on the mascot as the decal.
#14: Toledo Rockets
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Go ahead and get the holy Toledo puns out of the way now. The Toledo Rockets are one of those teams who need to completely scrap their uniforms from the head down. For some reason, this color scheme renders terrible results.
The area that needs a remodel the most is the helmet. The cheesy rocket soaring over the over-extended "Toledo" needs to be thrown out.
One or the other may suffice, but the combination makes the entire uniform cartoony.
#13: Tulsa Golden Hurricane
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Tulsa gets marked down because of their unabashed copyright infringement. Clearly, they wanted to emulate the UCLA Bruins-style uniforms.
They added a red line on the pants and outline the stripe on the helmet and numbers on the jersey in red as well, but the rest screams UCLA Bruins.
Not only are the colors the same, the cursive writing on the helmet is exactly the same.
Shame on you, Tulsa. If you are going to blatantly steal another team's uniform, at least do more than randomly throw splashes of red on it.
#12: Oregon State Beavers
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This picture is indicative of how these jerseys worked out for the Beavers in 2010. In the Civil War against Oregon, the ridiculous uniform in its entirety took away from the game.
Oregon had the perfect helmet, and decided to put an oversized orange stripe smack in the middle and take the shine out of the black.
The white pants and trick-or-treatesque black-on-orange make this throwback a tragedy.
In the end, Oregon State fell short and the jerseys did nothing for their play on the field. Bury them, as Ryan Katz was buried in this photo.
#11: Rutgers Scarlet Knights
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Once again, we have all-red uniforms. Unlike Utah, Rutgers managed to match their helmet to the rest of their uniforms.
Unfortunately, Rutgers thought it would be a good idea to slap Rs on their uniform, including one giant R on their helmet.
One color looks lazy, and the R on the helmet needs to be shrunk about 200%. You can make your decal stand out without being irritating. Rutgers fails to do so.
#10: Penn State Nittany Lions
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Like Joe Paterno, some may think this simplistic look is ageless. Penn State is going for the classic look and looking outdated. Linebacker U is not what it used to be.
Their recruiting classes are suffering with Joe Pa's reign with the University coming to an end in the near future.
Penn State needs a new look. It's time to begin the new generation of Nittany Lions football. Spruce up the uniforms again and let new recruits know progress is being made.
This look was great when Joe Pa was a recruiting and football genius, but the program needs to transition to bigger, more exciting things at this point in time.
#9: Idaho Vandals
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The Idaho Vandals could have an intimidating combination of mascot and uniform. Ask yourself, would a Vandal be wearing that?
The bland gold does absolutely nothing to catch the eye. The bold "I" with Vandals stretched politely across adds a playful touch to complete this dry uniform.
The only person who could look scary in a Vandals uniform is Mike Iupati. Just imagine how scary he would be if they played up the black and made the gold a backdrop color.
#8: Delaware Blue Hens
18 of 26With a mascot like the Blue Hens, you had to know the jersey was going to look absolutely ridiculous. It appears Delaware turned to the Canadian Football League, or USFL for uniform guidance.
The helmet with the random design and blueberry blue and yellow makes it look like the Blue Hens were on a serious budget.
I recommend ditching the helmet entirely. Slap a Blue Hen on there and take some pride in your school mascot for crying out loud.
It may be a small, defenseless bird, but it's your small, defenseless bird. Try to watch this highlight tape, looking at the player's abilities rather than his uniform. Impossible.
#7: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Green Jerseys)
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There once was a time when teams feared the green jerseys. Even in an off year, Notre Dame could break out the green jerseys and instill a sense of confidence on the field.
The green jerseys brought swagger. After a down decade, the effects of the green jersey appear to have worn off.
Notre Dame playing into the Irish background of the university is tacky. We have to look at the ugly green jerseys on a bad Notre Dame team who is butchering the culture and prestige of the football program.
Shame on you, Notre Dame of today, you ruined a classic uniform.
#6: Rhode Island Rams
20 of 26This isn't a high school game. Those aren't high school players and those aren't proud moms with thundersticks (for the most part). Those are the Rhode Island Rams.
For whatever reason, the big wigs got together and decided the Rams would feature powder blue on powder blue uniforms.
Let's be honest, the Rams aren't UNC. Nothing is more humiliating that losing in powder blue. To make matters worse, the have the St. Louis Rams style helmet in powder blue with a white backdrop.
I'm all for the advancement of women, but unless you are a legitimate football team, you should stay away from making powder blue the one color your uniform features.
#4: Oregon Ducks
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Oregon could also very well have the best jerseys in the country. The Ducks happen to have an alumni who also happens to own Nike. Lucky them.
Not only did Oregon get state of the art facilities, they also get a new jersey combination on a weekly basis.
It's always exciting to see what the Ducks are going to come out with. With grey, green, white, yellow, and black to choose from, the ducks have a lot of different styles and combinations they feature.
Sometimes it looks incredible, sometimes it looks so-so, and at times, it is nothing short of terrible. There is a difference in being creative and looking stupid. They fail to see that difference at times.
#5: Air Force Falcons
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Air Force's mascot is the Falcon, so what's up with the obnoxious lightning bolts?
As a representative of not only their school, but a branch of the military, Air Force does a pathetic job of instilling any sort of pride in their football team with the uniforms they force the players to wear.
Aside from the lightning bolts, Air Force has an okay uniform. The problem is that the bolts make them look like some sort of sub-par villain in a knock-off comic book.
I'm sure the toddlers of America will take exception to this, but the lightning bolts have to go.
#3B: Utah Utes
23 of 26The red on red on red is tacky. The uniform is allowed to be more than one color. Nobody wants to see any one color thrust upon them.
Whatever Utah accomplishes as a school is going to be grossly overshadowed by this embarrassment of a uniform. I didn't think the stills did the ugliness justice, so here is a video.
#3A: Boise State Broncos
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This one is almost too bad. There is so much to like about Boise State, coming from a small conference and still managing to make some waves in the National Championship picture. Even the Smurf Turf is okay, but all the blue makes it difficult to focus.
I'm not sure if it's difficult being on the field, but sometimes I lose players entirely watching a football game.
Toning it down by switching the color of the helmet or something along those lines would suffice as enough change for the time being.
I understand they are trying to stay away from orange, but blue on blue on blue is too much.
#2: Iowa State Cyclones
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No, no, no. Home jersey, away jersey, Iowa State got their uniforms completely wrong.
The random shoulder stripes make another appearance, but the biggest problem with Iowa State is their helmet. When they have their home jerseys on, the pants, helmet, and jersey are all far too much red.
The helmet is distracting because it doesn't even match the rest of the uniform. My knowledge of the color wheel pretty much ends after the primary colors, but I know those two colors are not the same.
The "I" with the State across it is almost too much. Throw a Cyclone on there. The Iowa State is already across the front of the jersey.
All in all, these look like Pee Wee football jerseys.
#1: FAMU Rattlers
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What is that? The green looks like something you would make in your blender to see if one of your friends would eat it for five bucks when you were eight.
It's no wonder FAMU is bullied by the Hurricanes. It's like they want to be the "U", but fall miserably short.
One way to turn it around could be by switching up the jerseys. Nobody likes either one of those colors and the combination in every part of the jersey makes them an easy No. 1 selection.
You might rule the MEAC, but the recruits and fans might take more of a liking to your football team if you completely scrapped the jerseys and started over.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
