Week in Review
Three games in a row of having a shot to win in the fourth quarter and coming up empty was a sour way to close out the first half of the season. The Devils made great strides once Kenny Dillingham took over play-calling duties but have yet to get over the hump and into the win column since a bizarre Week 1 game with a wild, long weather delay. Not being able to finish the job against Colorado was a tough pill to swallow, especially when one walks away feeling like that was a very winnable game. The offense struggled to find its footing in the second half, but the defense once again looked good for the vast majority of the game. The uniforms, however, looked good for the entire game.
Well over a week has passed since ASU last took the field, so it’s a good time to remind you, the reader, that the fellas in the back room were able to pull off a last-minute pivot from the black based Ghost Story alternate uniforms to the traditional gold helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant combination due to the game being a hot, mid-afternoon kickoff. It was the right call to make, and the Sun Devils looked fantastic in the classic colors.
The uniform itself was solid, as you can never go wrong with the best color combination in college football. The helmet even featured a gold facemask, which really made it pop; however, the silhouette pitchfork and lack of a center stripe made it feel a bit naked. Though I love this combination and will never complain about it being used, it also would have been really nice to see maroon pants rather than gold, to still keep with the classic colors but change it up a bit from Week 1. Again, I will never complain about this gold/maroon/gold combo, as it always feels like home to see the Sun Devils wear their colors the way they’re meant to be worn. Biggest critique is the decal choice; otherwise, this uniform looked beautiful.
Gold/Maroon/Gold: B+
The Week to Come
Uniform
Washington is coming off an emotionally taxing, energy-sapping rivalry game that ended up in an important win over Oregon. They couldn’t possibly fall into the trap of a letdown game against a struggling Sun Devil team, right? Right? Who knows? What I do know is that if there’s a team that is going to dethrone Washington and break their winning streak that dates back to last season, then it may as well be the last team that beat them. Upon checking my notes, that team would be ASU. Why not? Crazier things have happened. The bye week has allowed the Devils to improve their injury situation a bit, and it’s given Coach Dillingham more time to game plan, scheme, and practice to prepare this team to go up to Seattle and shock the world. They’ll try to do so while wearing the Whiteout uniform, making its first appearance on the field since 2020, and may just be the best iteration of the Whiteout they’ve ever worn.
The white jersey features the Arizona state flag as a stripe feature on either side of the uniforms. 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 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’ white helmets will feature standard-sized chrome finish maroon pitchfork decals with gold trim and a two-tone center stripe featuring a bold maroon middle stripe lined by two thin gold stripes. The facemask is white, and the front bumper has a white base and maroon wordmark that reads “Arizona State.”
The decals on the back of the helmet include an American flag, a white and maroon Pac 12 shield, a white and maroon PT*42 shield honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman, and a maroon outlined Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona, featuring maroon text, and has a small, maroon silhouette pitchfork over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded out by the maroon “Sun Devils” word mark over a white base on the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
For the first time this season, the Sun Devils will wear white cleats. From left to right, there are three different types of cleats. The first six 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 Freak Ultra Laceless. It features a white sole and white base with a maroon pixel gradient pattern around the bottom of the shoe and a primeknit center outlined by a maroon-lined starburst pattern. As the name suggests, this cleat does not have any laces but instead has three maroon adidas stripes where the laces would usually be. It is rounded out with a maroon Freak logo on the heel of the cleat. The next pair is an AdiZero, which features a white base and sole, a maroon tongue, maroon laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent maroon AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. It also has a maroon finger loop on the heel. The third is the AdiZero Scorch, which is a Primeknit mid-top. It is white on the outside of the shoe and on the sole, but more prominently maroon on the instep and throughout the rest of the top of the shoe. The maroon instep features a maroon tonal AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect and a maroon finger loop on the heel.
There are two more pairs of adidas Freaks in the middle of the group of cleats. The Freak pair on the left is the Freak mid. It has a white base and maroon sole, white laces, a white tongue with a maroon Freak logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat near the toe, and a prominent maroon adidas logo on the instep. The Freak pair on the right is the Freak Ultra. It features all of the major base aesthetics as the Freak Mid but also features some gray primeknit material, maroon stitch detailing around the lace eyelets, and a maroon finger loop on the heel. The next pair is the third AdiZero pair. All of the major elements of this pair of cleats are white except for the three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the shoe near the toe and the maroon adidas log on the instep.
The final two pairs on the right are Nasty cleats. The second to last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It is a heavier-duty cleat with a white base and sole, white laces, white eyelets with maroon accents, a white tongue with a maroon Nasty logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat, a maroon adidas logo on the inside of the cleat near the heel, a small plastic maroon plate on the arch, and a maroon and gold finger loop that mimics the styling of the lace eyelets. The far-right pair is the Nasty Fly. It essentially shares all the same major details as the Nasty Torsion; however, it is not as heavy-duty, and instead of a white sole, it features a metallic maroon sole.
Many players will be wearing these newly released white Adizero cleats that have the same characteristics as the white and maroon AdiZero cleats pictured above, except that everything is white. They feature a white base and sole, a white tongue, maroon laces, three white adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent white, reflective AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. They also have a white finger loop on the heel.
The Sun Devils will wear white socks this week to match the Whiteout look.
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
I have never been a big proponent of the Whiteout uniform. Historically, the Devils have a pretty poor record wearing all-white, but then again, they usually wear the all-white uniform for the biggest, most difficult road games. This week is no exception as they travel to Seattle to take on fifth-ranked Washington. But that’s not the reason why I’m not a huge fan. The Whiteout uniform typically severely lacks identity. Especially in many past versions of the Whiteout when the decals were white pitchforks with just a trace of maroon.
The 2020 Whiteout worn at USC was, at the time, the best one they’d ever worn, with a large maroon pitchfork with gold trim decal really bringing color to the helmet. This return of the Whiteout this season may be bringing an iteration that tops the 2020 version. The chrome finish decals that utilize maroon as the heavy base with gold accents really make the helmet pop. The most critical element of that being the center stripe.
Something that the new generation of jerseys and pants have this season is a bolder pop of color from the jersey number and, for better or worse, the large pitchfork on the right thigh. The maroon base of the jersey numbers and pitchfork on the pants and the gold trim on both match the decal colorway and provide color throughout the uniform. No major element is devoid of color, which makes this a much better, more character-rich version of the Whiteout.
I’m happy to see what they’ve done with the Whiteout this season, and though I’m not its biggest fan, I know there are many who love this Stormtrooper look. So, I’m happy for them that it was returned as well. It would be great to put this combination in the win column this week. It seems to be a tall task, but for some reason, Washington has consistently struggled against Arizona State this century. It is also a late kickoff, so who knows what could happen in a Pac-12 After Dark scenario. All we can hope for is that the Sun Devils look good in their uniforms and that their play matches their looks!
What Color Traveling ASU Fans Should Wear: Maroon, Gold, or white
#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 @keithsaurin on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @chinlee, @ASUDave, and @ProducerWes in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
