Oregon's Retro Uniforms and the Worst College Football Uniforms of 2011

These days, it seems like there’s a growing arms race in college football, and it has nothing to do with the recent conference realignment saga we had to endure.

No. Instead, it has to do with schools trying to outdo each other with their uniforms.

Crazy colors, wacky designs, it doesn’t matter how extreme clothing companies like Nike and Under Armour have to go, just as long as their uniforms can grab headlines and gain attention; that's all that counts.

We came to that realization earlier in the season when Maryland broke out their state flag uniforms for a game against Miami.

The uniforms were absolutely wretched, but they got people talking about Maryland football and Under Armour, and as they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Now the Oregon Ducks, the original king of college football uniforms, are going to try to outdo Maryland by unveiling their retro-style “Puddle” uniforms for their game against Cal on Thursday.

Nike recently let loose a picture of the jerseys, and let’s just say that it’s not the best concept that the company has ever come up with for the boys in Eugene, although Donald Duck would be flattered.

Oregon's uniforms are sure to have people talking on Thursday night, and that’s really all that matters.

Maybe there is something a tad bit crooked about using college athletes as free fashion models to pimp your ugly attire, but then again, maybe I’m just old fashioned.

These companies give the players enough free shoes and shirts, so I guess it all equals out.

Here’s a look at a few other terrible uniforms from 2011 that the puddle design will have to compete with.

Maryland Terrapins

Maryland took the college football world by storm when they broke out these state flag influenced eyesores on Labor Day night.

Well, at least it got people talking.

There’s no other reason to pay attention to the 2-2 Terps right now, especially after they got embarrassed at home by Temple.

Maybe coach Randy Edsall should have his team start paying as much attention to their opponents as they do to their helmets and jerseys.

Michigan Wolverines

I actually don’t think the special retro uniforms that Michigan donned for its game against Notre Dame were all that bad. I would just switch the big “M” with the numbers, which would help the jerseys look much more reasonable.

Hey, you can’t complain with results, though.

Michigan got an exciting last-second win over Notre Dame, and school officials let the players keep the jerseys as a souvenir instead of the usual tradition of selling them off to the highest bidder.

Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State has been tinkering around with their uniforms this season, and while I have to say the all-black uniforms were a huge hit, the gray themed ones were certainly not.

Hey Cowboys, stick with the basic orange and you’ll be fine.

Boise State Broncos

Boise State took a page out of Rick Pitino’s wardrobe handbook and went with the all-white look for the game against Georgia on the opening Saturday of the season.

Even though the Broncos handled the Bulldogs 35-21, it’s hard to say that they beat them in convincing fashion.

Kansas Jayhawks

For some strange reason, Kansas’ powder blue uniforms failed to intimidate Texas Tech last Saturday.

The Jayhawks fell to Tommy Tuberville’s crew 45-34, dropping their record to 2-2 on the season.

Considering Kansas statistically has the worst defense in the country, maybe there are bigger things to be worrying about than how to make the team look as least threatening as possible.