A Week in Review
It has been a few weeks since the Sun Devils last took the field, and before we dive into the rankings of this past season’s uniforms, let’s review the final combination of the season. The Devils wore their classic gold helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant combination with a Sparky helmet in the final game of the regular season. While the result was not desirable, the uniform was excellent.
Sparky helmets with a single maroon center stripe and maroon facemask atop a maroon jersey with gold numbers outlined in white trim and gold pants are the quintessential ASU look. We have not seen that look live on a playing field since 2008. It was nice to see the Sun Devils don that look again. While the last game of a truly strange season certainly did not turn out the way we’d like, the Sparky uniform is always one of the best uniforms of the year, especially now that the uniform colorway includes those white number outlines. You can never go wrong with Sparky and traditional ASU colors on a familiar uniform combination. It was good to see the team out there competing and connecting with them through the medium that visually gives each team its identity: uniforms. A fitting grade for a fitting uniform to end the season.
Territorial Cup Game (Gold Sparky/White/Gold): A+
Ranking the Uniforms
For the first time in five years, the Sun Devils had a third helmet color option as they were able to add back white to join the gold and iridescent maroon helmets. What a season of uniforms we were treated to as a result. We just discussed how great the final uniform was. It was truly a fitting exclamation point to the end of a season in which ASU Football Equipment Ryan Barker and the rest of the incredible equipment staff truly cooked. This may have been the season with the highest average week-to-week grade in the nine seasons of Uniformity thus far. This article will contain uniforms 7-12. Bear in mind that this is completely subjective based on a combination of my own opinion as well as the reactions I saw, week in and week out, to each uniform from both ASU fans and national commentary. You will almost certainly disagree with me many times. That’s actually a good thing. It opens up the opportunity for conversation as a chance to discuss something with your friends or with me that we are passionate about.
Without any further ado, here is Part 1 of the 2023 Uniformity Rankings:
12. Week 2 vs Oklahoma State: Blackout
This was probably the easiest pick to make this season. While I’m still not totally opposed to maroon and black uniform options being used together, the heather black jersey and pants do not mix well with the iridescent maroon color shift helmets. The decal choice of a black pitchfork and center stripe with gold trim was definitely the best option for the maroon helmet, but the overall look was the weakest of the twelve uniforms worn this season. Here’s to hoping that we see black helmets again at some point so that a true blackout uniform can once again be worn.
11. Week 5 at Cal: White Helmet/White Jersey/Maroon Pants
This combination has a very clean look and looks sharp on its own, but as a great look for maroon and gold Arizona State, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. The white facemask and white clothing are fine enough, but the predominantly white decal missed the opportunity for a small splash of maroon. Such a splash would have given the whole uniform a bit more identity, made it feel more complete, and possibly could have jumped this combination up a couple of spots. However, it is settled in the 11th spot on this list.
10. Week 11 at UCLA: Maroon Helmet/White Jersey/Maroon Pants
This is lower on the list than the combination itself deserves, especially considering there are fond memories of multiple uses of the swinging gate that led to a win against UCLA while wearing this uniform. However, in a strong field of uniforms, it’s the details that make the difference. In this case, a white pitchfork decal on the iridescent maroon helmet didn’t quite strike me the right way, at least compared to the other uniforms this season. I still think this was a sharp look, just not as good as the uniforms remaining on this list.
9. Week 6 vs Colorado: Gold Helmet/Maroon Jersey/Gold Pants
One can never go wrong with the classic home color combination, and the lower ranking is not reflective of the gold helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant combination, just its execution. This combination is very similar to what the Sun Devils wore in their 2019 upset win over Oregon. The difference from that 2019 uniform is that this 2023 uniform does not have a maroon center stripe on the helmet, and the pants are gold rather than maroon. The 2019 iteration is preferable based on both of those differences.
A solid maroon center stripe should be the go-to on all gold helmets with standard-sized decals. Without it, the helmet feels too gold, even more so with a gold facemask and gold base pitchfork decals. It’s a minor detail, but it packs much impact. Maroon pants also act as more of an anchor. That being said, as much as I love all of the variety each season, I’ll never complain about the classic uniform colors being used multiple times in one season.
8. Week 10 at Utah: Gold Helmet/White Jersey/Gold Pants
The splitting of the hairs portion of the list has officially begun. The fact that this classic road combination is ranked eighth speaks more to the merit of the remaining uniforms than any true weaknesses in this uniform, of which there are none. The white pitchfork decal with maroon trim and its center stripe counterpart make for great accents to the overall uniform. If I had one wish, it is that the pants would have been maroon, but this was still a great looking uniform.
7. Week 1 vs Southern Utah: Gold Helmet/Maroon Jersey/Gold Pants
The home opener tradition checks in at number 7 this year. The classic color combination is the cream of the crop as far as not just ASU uniforms are concerned but all uniforms across college football. The deviation from a solid maroon center stripe was an odd choice to me and is probably what kept it from the top half of the rankings. The two-tone or stylized center stripes seen throughout the season all work great on more non-traditional uniforms, but it would be great to see a single maroon center stripe with the maroon pitchforks. Overall, this color combination that we’ve all grown up with and love is hard to beat, and it rounds out the first half of this season’s uniforms.
Stay tuned, as Part 2 of the rankings will be coming later this week.
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