The team that played in Salt Lake City was not the same that secured a commanding win over Washington State the week prior. Three touchdowns of production remained in Tempe with DeCarlos Brooks as it was revealed that he tore his hamstring. Offensive lineman Isaia Glass left the team to preserve his redshirt and pursue the transfer portal, leaving the Sun Devils with only six scholarship linemen. Quarterback Trenton Bourguet was injured in the first offensive series of the game. A freshman lineman was playing out of position against one of the best defensive ends in the Pac-12. Things were stacked against the Devils from the get-go, and the final score showed that. There was never any quit in this team, which is a testament to their character and their coach. However, they were overpowered in every facet. As ugly as things were on the field, at least the uniforms looked good.
The classic gold helmet/white jersey/gold pant away uniform really did look great on the field. In fact, the uniform matchup of Arizona State’s gold/white/gold and Utah’s red-accented blackout was a fantastic overall look for uniform enthusiasts. The Sun Devil’s gold helmet was the star of the show. The white pitchfork decal with maroon trim and maroon center stripe with white trim looked great with the white facemask. The uniform was nostalgic of uniforms past as the Sun Devils wore gold helmets with white facemasks along with white jerseys and gold pants for all of their away games throughout the 80s and into the early 90s. That was a great look back then, and it was a great look this past weekend, which was the lone bright spot in an otherwise rough game.
Gold/White/Gold: B+
The Week to Come
Uniform
The road doesn’t get any easier this week as the Sun Devils travel to Pasadena to take on a great defensive team in UCLA that is looking to get right after coming off a tough loss. It will once again be a grind on the offensive side of the ball, and we must hope that the defense gets back to the productivity we’ve come to know from them. It would be great to see the Sun Devils leave their final regular season trip to the Rose Bowl with a victory. When they do travel to take on UCLA, the Sun Devils will be wearing a classic maroon helmet/white jersey/maroon pant combination.
The white jersey features the Arizona state flag as a stripe feature on either side of the uniform. It is a tonal gray with the rays leading up and fading into the armpit, the star around the base of the rib cage, and the river block running downward and eventually fading towards the waist. In a move towards an even more simplified design, adidas has opted not to include any identifying letter or wordmark on the jersey.
The white jerseys feature maroon player numbers outlined in gold on both the front and back of the jersey, as well as the TV numbers on the sleeves. Though it may be hard to see, the numbers on the front and back of the jerseys have a subtle, tonal flame pattern within the maroon.
The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes the black Sun Devil Bold font. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a maroon adidas logo. Near the right shoulder is a maroon and gold Pac-12 shield. Last but not least, at the base of the collar is the black PT*42 shield in honor of ASU Football legend Pat Tillman.
The maroon pants have a large gold pitchfork with white trim on the right thigh and a gold adidas logo near the left hip.
Helmet
The Sun Devils will wear maroon helmets that feature standard-sized white pitchfork decals with gold chrome trim and a maroon outline. There is a three-tone center stripe that follows the same colorway as the pitchfork decal. The main body of the stripe is a bold white outlined by thinner chrome gold and maroon lines from inside to out. The facemask is white, and the front bumper has a white base and a chrome-finished maroon word mark outlined in gold that reads “Sun Devils.”
The decals on the back of the helmet include an American flag, a white Pac 12 shield, a white PT*42 shield honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman, and a white outlined Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona, featuring white text, and has a small, white silhouette pitchfork over Tempe. There is also a small black video camera decal with white AH initials in honor of ASU Football video director Alex Hodge, who recently succumbed to his battle with cancer. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded out by the chrome-finished maroon “Arizona State” wordmark outlined in gold over a white base on the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
The Sun Devils will wear maroon cleats this week. From left to right, there are three different types of cleats. The first four pairs are a mix of AdiZero and Freaks, and the last two are Nastys. The AdiZero cleats are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks have a hybrid element and can be worn by mid-size players (fullbacks, linebackers, and tight ends), and the Nasty cleats are worn by heavier players (linemen).
From left to right, the pair furthest to the left is the AdiZero. It features a gold sole and textured maroon base. It features white seams with maroon stitching along each side of the shoe as well as down the middle and up the tongue where a maroon AdiZero word mark. The outside of the shoe features three gold adidas stripes towards the toe, while the inside of the shoe features a gold digital scribble design around a large gold AdiZero word mark. It also features maroon laces. The next pair is the AdiZero primeknit. It features the same characteristics as the AdiZero, with a few distinct differences. The sole is a slightly different shade of gold and has a more sateen finish. The main body of the shoes is a more breathable primeknit material, and the maroon laces also have gold thread woven in.
The middle pair is the Freak 23 Inline. The Freak has a gold sole and primarily gold base with a repeating maroon starburst pattern and three gold maroon stripes on the outside of the shoe towards the toe. The tongue, ankle, and laces are all the same maroon fabric with gold thread woven throughout. There is also a maroon finger loop with a gold “Freak” and an adidas logo on the heel.
The Final two pairs are adidas Nasty models, made for more ankle support for heavier linemen. The second to last pair is the Nasty Fly. It is a primarily maroon shoe with a gold sole, gold adidas logo on the inside of the heel, and three adidas stripes that feature a gold border as well as a maroon and gold chevron pattern within the stripes. The shoe has a maroon zipper and a gold finger loop with a maroon “Nasty” word mark on the heel. It also has a maroon finger loop on the heel. The last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It features many of the same design elements as the Nasty Fly, with a few differences. It is a heavier-duty shoe with even more ankle support. It has a maroon sole and a gold rubber sole seam that surrounds the entire bottom of the shoe except the toe.
The Sun Devils will wear maroon socks to match the helmet and pants.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear white gloves, and as with the cleats, there are different gloves for different positions. The gloves on the top are AdiZeros, which are typically worn by speed position players like wide receivers and defensive backs. The white gloves feature a maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the palm of each glove. They also have maroon vent specks and a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, maroon seams around the wrist, and maroon lining around the maroon wrist strap, which features the AdiZero word mark and a maroon arrow. The gloves in the middle are adidas Freaks, worn by larger skill position players such as linebackers and tight ends.
The maroon adidas Freak gloves feature the same maroon pitchfork palm design as the AdiZero, maroon seams around the wrist, a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, and a white mesh material on the back of the hand. Finally, for linemen, the gloves on the bottom are adidas Freak-Max, which boast extra padding on the heel of the palm meant to withstand all of the contact that linemen endure throughout the course of a game. They are plain white with black padding on the palm and along with a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand; they also have gold accents on the knuckles and the black wrist-wrap.
Reaction
Ever since the 2011 Pitchfork rebrand first took place, the maroon/white/maroon combination has been one of my favorites to come out of the expanded availability of helmet colors. Much like last week’s uniform, the helmet and pants mirror each other’s color, with the white away jersey sandwiched in between. Matching helmets and pants while the jersey acts as a complement is a timeless football uniform formula because it always works, and this week’s uniform combination is no different.
While I loved the creativity of the maroon candy shell color shift helmet, the novelty has worn off for me, as it has with the chrome finish on pitchfork decals. The color match is rarely as good with these different finishes, and the color shift helmets make it especially difficult to find decals that work with it. Overall, I still do like this uniform for its base parts, and I believe they will look very good matched up against UCLA’s powder blue and gold.
What Color Traveling ASU Fans Should Wear: Maroon or Gold
#Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports
Welcome back to #Faniforms Presented by Cactus Sports! Uniformity loves to highlight your best gameday #faniforms that you wear to support the Sun Devils each week. As a reminder, with Uniformity’s partnership with Cactus Sports, three #faniforms will be chosen at random each week, just like in the past, but this season, there will be a weekly Twitter poll to vote for which of those three #faniforms will become a contest finalist. At the end of the regular season, all of the finalists will be entered into a final vote, with the grand prize being a $125 gift card to Cactus Sports! Reminder: when posting to Twitter, remember to use the hashtag #faniform and tag the Uniformity Twitter account @ASU_Uniformity. Here are this week’s selections! Keep an eye out on Twitter for the fan vote! Cast your vote for the best #faniform each week!
Congratulations to @matt_joanes on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @SunDevilDanno, @JPopASU, and @cajeska in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
