College Football 2011: Love the Lid, Power Ranking All 120 FBS Helmets
The college football universe is full of many arguments. Who is the best team? Who is the best quarterback? Who has the best defense?
But, perhaps one of the most compelling questions on the minds of many is...Who has the best lid?
College football style has become nearly as important as the game on the field, so it is only appropriate that we look at the very thing that caps it all off.
Who has the best lid in the FBS?
Let's take a look...
No. 120 UAB
1 of 120A fire breathing what? Disney character?
No. 119 North Texas
2 of 120A mascot might be nice.
No. 118 Ohio
3 of 120A helmet with just letters seems to be outdated.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 117 Ole Miss
4 of 120Again, letters...Ole Miss could do much, much better.
No. 116 Southern Miss
5 of 120With a mascot like the Golden Eagles, you would think you would add that in somewhere.
No. 115 SMU
6 of 120It is only "retro" if you have moved past it and then went back again.
This helmet is not retro.
No. 114 Michigan
7 of 120Some love it, some hate it.
No. 113 FIU
8 of 120One or the other, but not both. The Golden Panther would be your best choice.
No. 112 Idaho
9 of 120Keep the logo, but reverse the colors.
No. 111 Illinois
10 of 120They are so proud they underline it.
No. 110 Kansas
11 of 120Could go with the Jayhawk here, it might be interesting.
No. 109 Louisiana-Lafayette
12 of 120What does a "Ragin Cajun" look like? Come on art department, make it happen.
No. 108 Rice
13 of 120You know your "R" looks like a drunk "B," right?
No. 107 San Jose
14 of 120Your helmet is wac. Need a little more from your "Spartan."
No. 106 San Diego State
15 of 120Aztecs were legendary warriors. You need a helmet that honors that.
No. 105 South Florida
16 of 120That is a bull right?
No. 104 Tulane
17 of 120Tulane could do better. I am not sure how, after all, how many ways can you draw a "Green Wave?"
No. 103 UCLA
18 of 120It seems a bit boring.
No. 102 Toledo
19 of 120Too much going on. Toledo and a rocket? One or the other might be sufficient.
No. 101 Tulsa
20 of 120Tulsa got new uniforms, and they are awesome. However, that same old helmet needs an upgrade.
No. 100 Syracuse
21 of 120One team that can go without a logo.
No. 99 Temple
22 of 120It looks like it was spray painted with a stencil.
No. 98 Akron
23 of 120With a mascot like "Zips" I guess you can't do much. But you could do more.
No. 97 Central Michigan
24 of 120A picture says a thousand words.
No. 96 ECU
25 of 120Not a very scary pirate.
No. 95 Florida
26 of 120Maybe just a G would be better.
No. 94 FAU
27 of 120F-A-U shame on you. You could do better—you know it's true. A better helmet—to make it through. Try it—try it—FAU.
No. 93 Memphis
28 of 120Way too much going on with this logo.
No. 92 LSU
29 of 120One or the other, but not both.
No. 91 Minnesota
30 of 120A W that has been knocked over? Two A's on together?
No. 90 Middle Tennessee
31 of 120It says "MT" as in empty. Maybe just the mascot would do.
No. 89 Marshall
32 of 120Great tradition, not so great a helmet.
No. 88 Miami University Ohio
33 of 120It's like the red version of Marshall. Better color though, so it gets a spot higher in our countdown.
No. 87 Northwestern
34 of 120A "Z" on its side or a uptight No. 2? The color is hard to look at anyway, but the logo makes it worse.
No. 86 Louisiana-Monroe
35 of 120Can you tell what that logo is?
No. 85 Missouri Tigers
36 of 120Pretty plain lid.
No. 84 New Mexico State
37 of 120New Mexico State Aggies football has struggled in the recent years. Maybe it's the helmet.
No. 83 Nebraska
38 of 120Nebraska fans love their team's helmet.
No. 82 Troy
39 of 120The Troy Trojans need an upgrade.
No. 81 Wyoming
40 of 120Color and logo are not the best, other than that it is just fine.
No. 80 Vanderbilt
41 of 120Logo or letter?
No. 79 Eastern Michigan
42 of 120Can you see that small "E?"
No. 78 North Carolina
43 of 120Hard to make out the logo.
No. 77 Ohio State
44 of 120Ohio State fans love their teams traditional helmets. So this will probably not sit right with them.
No. 76 Kansas State
45 of 120Similar to Washington State's logo, but yet same type of result.
No. 75 Washington State
46 of 120Similar to Kansas State's logo, but yet same type of result.
No. 74 Western Michigan
47 of 120The logo looks like an angry cartoon character.
No. 73 UNLV
48 of 120A rebel is a cool mascot, let's see it UNLV.
No. 72 Utah Utes
49 of 120Does that helmet even fit?
No. 71 West Virginia
50 of 120Great team, but the helmets are not in the top 25.
No. 70 USC Trojans
51 of 120They can't go bowling, but they could upgrade their helmets.
No. 69 Bowling Green
52 of 120Not a bad helmet at all really, but at this point the helmets that are average are all going to be lumped together.
No. 68 Louisiana Tech
53 of 120La. Tech and their traditional helmets make the list at No. 68.
No. 67 South Carolina
54 of 120South Carolina makes the list at No. 67. They are a great program, but they could use a little bit of a makeover in the helmet area.
No. 66 Tennessee
55 of 120Tennessee has an iconic helmet, it just doesn't look as good as some.
No. 65 UTEP
56 of 120Another border line average-good lid.
No. 64 New Mexico
57 of 120Another decent helmet, just missing a little something.
No. 63 Mississippi State
58 of 120Mississippi State has good colors, nice uniforms, but an average helmet.
No. 62 Kentucky
59 of 120Nice Color, nice logo, nice lid.
No. 61 Western Kentucky
60 of 120Even though WKU sounds like a radio station, it has a pretty decent college football helmet.
No. 60 Colorado
61 of 120The iconic buffalo. It's a nice helmet, now they just need to work on their defense.
No. 59 Stanford
62 of 120Great quarterback, great football team, average lid.
No. 58 Northern Illinois
63 of 120Could use an upgrade, but still a pretty good hat.
No. 57 UCF
64 of 120Central Florida has a decent lid. It helps to have the initials of a fighting league to help you look tough. Even if they are in the wrong order.
No. 56 Georgia Tech
65 of 120Georgia Tech enters our list at No. 56. The ACC has a good set of lids in its league, but Georgia Tech's ranks near the bottom.
No. 55 Duke
66 of 120Simple helmet with a decent logo. Well done Duke. You prove that you care about more than just basketball.
No. 54 Virginia
67 of 120Nice color, nice logo, nice helmet.
No. 53 Wisconsin
68 of 120The Badgers have a way of making this helmet look tough. The competition doesn't like to see it coming for them, but Wisconsin fans like what they see.
No. 52 Buffalo
69 of 120The Bulls of Buffalo have been improving their look over the years.
No. 51 Kent State
70 of 120With a mascot named the "Golden Flashes" I wasn't sure what to expect.
No. 50 Arizona
71 of 120Red, white and blue. How could you go wrong with that?
No. 49 Washington
72 of 120Washington has a unique color, and it allows them to stand out in a crowd.
No. 48 Boston College
73 of 120Simple, but stylish.
No. 47 North Carolia State
74 of 120Similar to another college I won't name, but yet with with a little better look.
No. 46 Wake Forest
75 of 120Don't hang your head Wake Forest. You made the top 50.
No. 45 Virginia Tech
76 of 120Easy to recognize, hard to ignore, the VT.
No. 44 Texas A&M
77 of 120It spells ATM, but it doesn't dispense cash, just touchdowns.
No. 43 Louisville
78 of 120Louisville is having a down year, but their helmet is up to No. 43 on the countdown.
No. 42 Pitt
79 of 120This helmet is cool for many reasons. The traditional and iconic feel of this helmet helps it make its way to as high as 42 on this list.
No. 41 California
80 of 120It has lost a little luster this year, but still a great hat.
No. 40 Auburn
81 of 120This won't probably be high enough on the list for Auburn fans, but it is what it is.
No. 39 Nevada
82 of 120The Wolfpack have a howling good helmet.
No. 38 Arkansas State
83 of 120Great color combination, cool logo, good enough for top 40.
No. 37 Ball State
84 of 120An upgrade from their old helmets for sure.
No. 36 Purdue
85 of 120A very good traditional helmet that has been upgraded without ruining the look of days past.
No. 35 Penn State
86 of 120Proving you can wear white after Labor Day.
No. 34 Texas Tech
87 of 120Big T, little t, black, red, awesome.
No. 33 Texas
88 of 120One of the most recognizable helmets in college football.
No. 32 Cincinnati
89 of 120Very creative and well thought out logo.
No. 31 Connecticut
90 of 120Great colors, simple logo, but good enough.
No. 30 Baylor
91 of 120Baylor's helmet is baptized at No. 30 on our countdown.
No. 29 Clemson
92 of 120You have to love the paw.
No. 28 Utah State
93 of 120Cool design, too bad Utah State keeps losing heart breakers.
No. 27 Oregon State
94 of 120They make a beaver look tough.
No. 26 Fresno State
95 of 120Classic bulldog, classic helmet.
No. 25 Rutgers
96 of 120A classic helmet good enough for the top 25.
No. 24 B.Y.U.
97 of 120Y pick this No. 24? Y not.
No. 23 Oklahoma State
98 of 120A cutting edge look with a classic style.
No. 22 Miami
99 of 120The classic U.
No. 21 Indiana
100 of 120Hoosier No. 21 lid in the FBS?
No. 20 Houston
101 of 120So who made the top 20? Uh...
No. 19 Florida State
102 of 120Florida State has one of the most decorative helmets around.
No. 18 Colorado State
103 of 120Colorado State is an interesting helmet. Gee, I wonder what their mascot is?
No. 17 Iowa State
104 of 120The Iowa State Cyclones and their choice of lots of red.
No. 16 Michigan State
105 of 120It's a "Sparty" party at No. 16.
No. 15 Iowa
106 of 120Recognized everywhere.
No. 14 TCU
107 of 120They make purple look mean.
No. 13 Hawaii
108 of 120The Warriors out on the island wear some pretty stylish lids.
No. 12 Georgia
109 of 120The classic Georgia helmet is a keeper.
No. 11 Arizona State
110 of 120The new helmets at Arizona State are inspired.
No. 10 Arkansas
111 of 120The Razorbacks enter the countdown in the top 10.
No. 9 Oklahoma
112 of 120Oklahoma has staying power, and so does their helmet.
No. 8 Navy
113 of 120In the Navy, you can sail the seven seas. Or, you can wear a golden helmet.
No. 7 Army
114 of 120The Army camo helmet rocks and you know it.
No. 6 Air Force
115 of 120They bring the thunder and the lightning.
No. 5 Maryland
116 of 120Love them or hate them, they took a risk.
No. 4 Notre Dame
117 of 120Notre Dame does not need a logo of any kind to make their helmet classic.
No. 3 Alabama
118 of 120This is where classic and traditional are good, very good.
No. 2 Boise State*
119 of 120*The "Stormtrooper" helmet for the Broncos finds its way to near the top of the list. The Bronco blue helmets would be ranked top 20 at best, but this helmet is near the tops.
No. 1 Oregon
120 of 120Oregon has become known for multiple uniform combinations. One thing is for sure, every combination has an amazing lid.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
