Week in Review

Another week passed, another Jekyll and Hyde performance from the Arizona State offense in the 1st and 2nd halves. The offensive inconsistency was far more understandable in week one after a nearly three-hour storm delay, but curious eyes wondered if that was situational or if it would be a pattern. Two consecutive weeks of the same result doesn’t necessarily constitute a pattern but doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence. The Devils took a 15-10 lead into halftime after showcasing what seemed to be a creative bag of tricks and calling a balanced offense with short, intermediary, and long passes mixed in with a two-headed rushing attack out of an array of formations. Unfortunately, the direct snap “Sparky” or “WildSkat” formation in which running back Cameron Skattebo took the shotgun snap and attacked the line of scrimmage was overused and easily figured out by the Oklahoma State defense. The players and coaches both seemed tight in the 2nd half and that showed in execution and play calling before the Sun Devils ultimately fell 27-15 despite a valiant effort from the defense. Overall, it was a pretty ugly game, but one thing that was not ugly was the 2023 edition of the Blackout uniform.

In what should be the swan song for the retiring state flag chest jersey, the heathered black uniform was paired with a maroon helmet. Maroon on black is not typically an ideal color combination, but because of the creative styling of the decals, which used bold, gold trim to pop the predominantly black decal off the helmet, this one really worked. National uniform tracker UniAuthority took notice and named the effort by the Ryan Barker-led equipment crew as the 9th best uniform of the week.

I really liked the way this uniform looked overall. Maroon on black still is not the most ideal choice to match as the primary colors of helmets, jerseys, and pants, but with the absence of a black helmet option, keeping all elements dark from head to toe for a blackout is a smart choice when trying to achieve the desired effect. It remains to be seen where this will end up compared to a season full of creative looks, but it was a strong early season effort.

Traditional Gold/Maroon/Gold: B+

The Week to Come

Uniform

Another week ahead, another game that could go either way. As the Sun Devils welcome Fresno State to Tempe, they now have another opportunity to capitalize on what seems to be an even matchup on paper. The coaching staff will need to show stronger play-calling ability, and the offense, though maligned on the line, still needs to execute the game plan better. If the defense can replicate its performance from last week, Fresno State will have its own offensive difficulties. The Arizona State offense needs to do enough to keep the defense off the field to save them from getting too tired by game’s end. We can hope the offense will indeed look better, but one thing that will look good for sure is this week’s uniform. The Sun Devils will wear a white helmet/maroon jersey/white pant uniform combination when they take the field against the Bulldogs.

The maroon jersey features the Arizona state flag as a stripe feature on either side of the uniform. It is a dark 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 word mark on the jersey.

For the first time in 14 years, the standard maroon jerseys feature gold player numbers outlined in white 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 gold.

The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes the gold Sun Devil Bold font, and above the nameplate is a small, gold “ASU” outlined in maroon. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a gold 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 white pants have a large maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the right thigh and a maroon adidas logo near the left hip.

Helmet

The Sun Devils will wear white helmets for the first time since the abbreviated 2020 season. It’s a welcome and familiar sight, as is the decal that will be on the helmet; the Devils will have large Sparky face decals on either side of the helmet and no center stripe. The facemask is maroon, and the front bumper has a white base and maroon word mark that reads “Arizona State.”

The decals on the back of the helmet include an American flag, a black Pac 12 shield, a black PT*42 shield honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman, and a black outlined Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona, featuring black text, and has a small, black silhouette pitchfork over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded out by the maroon “Sun Devils” work mark 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 with 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 black socks this week to match the rest of the uniform.

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

There are a couple of really cool things to be excited for and celebrate regarding this week’s helmet. To better understand why, we must first explore both the recent and total history of ASU football helmets. More recently, beginning in 2019, ASU football had its number of helmet color options reduced to only two after having as many as six in prior seasons. Budgetary concerns were cited as the reason why top-of-the-line safety helmets began to quickly rise in price. The first two helmet options available to the equipment room were gold and white for 2019 and 2020. Once 2021 came around, the white helmet option was shelved in favor of the color shifting maroon shell that is still in use today and was just worn last week against Oklahoma State. Now, after two seasons without it, the white helmet is being reintroduced as a third helmet color option. It’s very refreshing to see the return of the white helmet without any of the other colors having to be eliminated and to begin the return to having a full four-helmet arsenal as we still await the return of black helmets.

In the overall history of ASU football helmets, this is the first time that Sparky in any form has ever been on a helmet color other than gold. Last year, 2022, was the first time the large Sparky face decal was used on an ASU football helmet, but that was a gold shell. Before then, the Sparky face decal had been used on a gold helmet for Sun Devil Hockey and, most notably, on white ASU softball helmets. ASU softball has been using the Sparky face decal on white helmets since 2020, and they have been one of the best looks in all Sun Devil Athletics as well as in the college softball world. So, to see the white football helmet not only making a return to the field for the first time since 2020 but also donning the Sparky face decal is a very exciting prospect!

This is an early candidate for uniform of the year. I don’t usually get very excited about predominantly white uniforms, but this look is something special. The white number outline on the jersey complements the white helmet and pants in a way that none of the prior “pitchfork generation” uniforms could with their black number outlines. The entire uniform looks very cohesive, and I expect that it is going to look great under the lights on Frank Kush Field this Saturday. I also look forward to watching the game back on TV to see how they look during a play and in close up shots between plays.

What Color ASU Fans Should Wear: 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 @Skyisthelimit22 on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @RkyMtnSunDevil, @Ch3wy0220, and @SNDVL5 in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!