Week in Review

Pain. So painfully close. The defense did exactly what they were supposed to do, as Brian Ward called a beautiful defensive game, and the team executed incredibly well. The Sun Devil defense forced four turnovers and didn’t yield a single offensive touchdown to Washington. They flew around, applied pressure, and made Michael Penix uncomfortable the entire game. However, the offense could not find ways to turn those turnovers or stellar stops from the defense into points.

Already trudging uphill against a mountain of injuries, the Devils sustained even more injuries on the offensive line throughout the game, and it was only through Kenny Dillingham’s creative play calling that they were able to consistently move the ball; unfortunately, they were unable to convert any points more than once last weekend. The Devils had chances to score with the kicking game, but Longhetto missed a short field goal and had another blocked. There were also a couple of failed fourth-down conversions, one of which led to the deciding score when Washington returned an interception for a touchdown in the late stages of the fourth quarter.

It’s important to note that while the lack of scoring on the offensive side of the ball was frustrating, this Washington defense is no slouch. This was the fifth-ranked team in the country, and the Sun Devils gave them their best shot and toughest game so far this season and probably should have won that game. Moral victories are getting harder and harder to swallow, but this team is close to getting back in the win column. Despite a tough remaining schedule, things are looking better for this team than they were before the bye week. Speaking of things that are looking better, the Sun Devils’ Whiteout looked better than they ever had.

Whiteouts often miss the mark for me. They lack color and character. Though there was still a lot of white, there was a substantial and noticeable amount of maroon and gold on each major element, from helmet to pants. The maroon pitchfork and center stripe accented by gold stole the show. The helmets were elite, and it was great to see a stripe back on the helmet after a few weeks without one. I’ve had Whiteout uniforms in the low C grade range in the past. Not this week. A very good Whiteout from Ryan Barker and crew out of the equipment room earns a good grade.

Whiteout: B+

The Week to Come

Uniform

Washington State comes into town for ASU’s Homecoming riding a three-game losing streak. The Sun Devil defense is coming off its best performance of the year in Seattle and will have to replicate that this week. The offense has had trouble getting on track all season but had put up over 20 points in their two prior games, so if they can match or better that, they’ll be in a good position to win if the defense keeps performing at a high level.

When the Sun Devils take the field against the Cougars, they will do so wearing their highly anticipated black-based Ghost Story uniforms. This uniform was postponed from being worn earlier this month against Colorado due to a hot afternoon kickoff time. Being worn this weekend is great timing as the game is just three days before Halloween, perfect for a uniform called Ghost Story. The Devils will wear a gold helmet with the black jersey and pant combination.

The black jerseys feature gold player numbers outlined in white, glow-in-the-dark print 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 a white Sun Devil Bold font, which glows in the dark. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a white adidas logo. Near the right shoulder is a white Pac-12 shield. Both of those also glow in the dark. 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 print on the shield does not glow in the dark.

The black 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. The TV numbers on the sleeve are also gold and outlined by white, glow-in-the-dark print.

The black pants have a large gold pitchfork with white trim on the right thigh and a white adidas logo near the left hip. Both white prints on the pants glow in the dark.

Helmet

The Sun Devils will wear gold helmets atop the Ghost Story uniform this week. The gloss gold helmet will feature standard-sized black pitchfork decals with white trim. There is also a two-tone center stripe, which boasts a bold black center outlined by thin strips of white. The facemask is black, and the front bumper has a white base and black print that reads Arizona State.

The decals on the back of the helmet include a black Pac 12 shield, a black Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona, featuring black text, and has a small, gold pitchfork with maroon trim over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded by the maroon “Sun Devils” text on the helmet’s rear bumper.

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 black “Sun Devils” word mark over a white base on the helmet’s rear bumper. If it looks familiar, that’s because this is the same helmet and decal combination that was used when ASU visited BYU in 2021.

Cleats and Socks

ASU will wear black cleats. The two sets of cleats pictured below feature the adidas Adi-Zero cleats on the top row and adidas Freaks on the bottom. The Adi-Zeroes are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the Freaks generally are worn by heavier players (linebackers and linemen).

Beginning with the top row, the Adi-Zero on the left features a black base and black sole, a black tongue, black laces, three white adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent white adidas logo on the instep near the arch. The Adi-Zero in the middle is a standard low-top Adi-Zero Primeknit. It boasts all the same basic features but has some great accents near the toe. The pair on the far right is a mid-top Adi-Zero Primeknit and has all the same features as Primknit low, but the black opening rises higher up on the ankle.

The pairs of adidas Freaks on the left and in the middle also feature a black base and sole, with three white adidas stripes near the ankle on the outside of the shoes and three maroon adidas stripes near the arch on the instep. They both also have a black tongue and black laces. The Freak low-top is on the far left, and the Freak mid-top is in the middle, rising higher up the ankle. The pair of cleats second to the right is the Freak Ultra Primeknit. The black cleat also has three white adidas stripes near the ankle on the outside of the shoe and has a textured black pattern on the inside of the shoe. The Freak Torsion on the far right has a black base and sole. It also has three white adidas stripes on the outside of the shoe. There is a very large white adidas logo on the inside of the shoe. The tongue and large shoelaces are both black, and a small, black adidas “Freak” logo can be found on the white heel loop.

An additional cleat option will be available to players as well. The new black-based Ghost Story cleats. The left pair is the AdiZero. It features a black sole and a textured white and maroon base. It features white gray stitching along each side of the shoe as well as down the middle and up the tongue where a white AdiZero word mark. All of the white print on the shoe is also glow-in-the-dark. The outside of the shoe features three white adidas stripes towards the toe, while the inside of the shoe features a white digital scribble design around a large white AdiZero word mark. It also features black laces.

The pair on the right is the Freak 23 Inline. Again, the white appearing print or pattern on this shoe is glow-in-the-dark. The Freak has a black sole and primarily black base with a repeating white starburst pattern and three black stripes outlined with white on the outside of the shoe towards the toe. The tongue ankle are black, and the laces are white. There is also a black finger loop with a white “Freak” and adidas logo on the heel.

The Sun Devils will wear black socks with the glow-in-the-dark cleats.

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.

Ghost Story Extras

Along with the alternates, the team will be provided this apparel to wear pregame on the bus to the game from the team hotel. The first is a black Ghost Story bomber jacket that has a black and white Ghost Story stylized adidas logo on the left chest and tonal black stitched marigold flowers on the right chest. The back of the jacket has a black stitched stylized sugar skull design and a tagline that reads “Almost Netorius, Almost Fameous” with a signature from adidas designer Ivan Gonzales.

They are also going to be given a pair of black sweatpants that have white stitch accents around the pockets and a white stylized Ghost Story adidas logo.

The final extra that the team will receive is a pair of adidas Rivalry Low casual shoes. The black shoes feature white adidas stripes on each side, a white accent at the base of the black laces and tongue, a white heel cap with a black adidas logo, and a white sole with black accents.

Reaction

The Ghost Story uniform has been highly anticipated in the Sun Devils community ever since it was revealed before the season and originally announced that it would be worn on October 7th against Colorado. The early kickoff time against Colorado ruined the glow-in-the-dark gimmick and would have put the team at a disadvantage by having them wear the heat-absorbent black uniform on a triple-digit temperature day. Here we are three weeks later, and the Ghost Story will aptly be worn three days before Halloween.

I was initially not really high on this uniform, especially with the white outline around the gold numbers. There is a distinct lack of maroon anywhere on this uniform, which still sticks in my craw a bit, but the uniform has grown on me. It’s very clean by itself, and I admit, the glow-in-the-dark gimmick is neat. I have no idea how they will be able to work the glow-in-the-dark angle into the game at all, especially with the 5 p.m. kickoff taking place at dusk when there will still be light in the sky.

The choice to go with the gold helmet isn’t my favorite, as I think a white helmet would have not only matched better but also would have lent to the black-and-white ghost theme. The uniform overall still looks good with a gold helmet, especially with the white and black decals. I’m excited to see it on gameday and think that there’s a significant chance that this alternate uniform could end up being worn during a Sun Devil victory. We can hope, and we shall see!

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 @ProducerWes on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @16thholedevil, @woody97031216, and @bradley187 in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!