Week in Review
Entering the game last weekend, Arizona State knew it was missing its best player on offense in Cam Skattebo, and one of its best players on defense in Keyshaun Elliott. Missing top producers on each side of the ball, especially Skattebo, who was beginning to garner Heisman buzz, left an uphill battle to overcome as a revamped UCF squad came to Tempe fresh off of annihilating its last opponent. This game had plenty of twists and turns, particularly in the first half. UCF scored first to go up 7-0, and ASU could not answer on its ensuing offensive drive. However, after forcing a UCF punt on the next defensive possession, the Sun Devils blocked the punt and returned it for a touchdown. UCF responded with a field goal, then a touchdown to go up 10 late in the second quarter.
ASU’s offense finally found some life and scored on a late drive to pull back within 3. The ensuing kickoff, more specifically, the kickoff return, left most spectators scratching their heads after the UCF kick returner fumbled the kickoff in the end zone and haphazardly took the ball out, only to be tackled at the one-yard line. LT Welch then intercepted Dylan Rizk and returned it for a touchdown, concluding a wild half with the Devils ahead 21-17. The second half saw four more lead changes as the two teams seesawed back and forth, but it was the Sun Devils that scored last, which ultimately won the game. It was a hard-fought, unconventional win that tallied another to an unexpected but beautiful 7-2 total. Speaking of beautiful, let’s talk about these Salute to Service uniforms.
The combination of the white helmet, maroon jersey, and white pant uniform is a relatively unconventional uniform combination that matches the unconventional win. It was the second consecutive year for the maroon digicamo and gold bordered PT*42 decal and helmet stripes to be used on a white helmet shell for the Salute to Service game, with the lone difference being that this year’s iteration featured a maroon facemask whereas last season’s helmet had a white facemask.
I am typically against the use of more white in a uniform combination, however, this just worked. The white outline around the gold numbers truly complements the white helmet and pants. The helmet also garnered a lot of national attention. My own tweet featuring a 360-degree view of the helmet made the rounds to fanbases outside of Arizona State, and even College Gameday featured it on their broadcast. National uniform tracker account UniAuthority named this uniform combination its #9 uniform of the week, which is a high honor in a crowded field of Salute to Service uniforms across the country. Overall, this was a good look, good enough to garner national notoriety and bring honor to Pat Tillman, who posthumously continues to do so much for so many.
Salute to Service White/Maroon/White: A-
The Week to Come
Uniform
The Sun Devils have strung together two straight wins heading into the most difficult stretch of their season, beginning with a trip to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on Kansas State. Kansas State is coming off a bye week in which they have been licking their wounds after a head-scratching loss to Houston. They will be hungry to prove themselves in a high-stakes conference game when ASU comes to town. Last week, the Sun Devils not only proved they could find a way to win without Cam Skattebo but also that they could win unconventionally.
That’s important because there’s a chance they could be without Skattebo again, and they’ll once again be facing a prolific rushing attack — this time highlighted by a quarterback in the Wildcats’ Avery Johnson. Traveling to another new environment will once again pose a challenge for Arizona State, but the grit that defines this team may be poised to overcome that. When the Devils take the field against Kansas State, they will be wearing a white helmet, white jersey, and maroon pant uniform combination.
The white jersey features the Arizona state flag as a stripe feature on either side of the uniforms. It is a darker tonal white 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 jersey also has a maroon cuff around the sleeves.
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 maroon 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 white Big 12 logo. 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 white helmet features standard white pitchfork decals with maroon trim and no center stripe. The facemask is maroon, and the front bumper has a white base and maroon “Arizona State” text. The decals on the back of the helmet include a white Big 12 logo with a maroon border, a maroon PT*42 shield honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman, a maroon Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona, features white text, and has a small, gold pitchfork with maroon trim over Tempe, and an American flag. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded by the maroon “Sun Devils” text on a white base rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
The Sun Devils will wear white cleats against Kansas State. From left to right, there are four different types of cleats. The first two pairs are lighter cleats and are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the last two pairs are worn by heavier players (linemen).
From left to right, the pair furthest to the left is the adizero Electric. It features a white sole that reaches part way up the heel. They have a textured maroon base that has a bit of a sparkle element to it with three white stripes and an adizero wordmark on the outside of the shoe. The top portion of the cleat is a maroon primeknit and has the white adidas logo near the instep It has maroon laces and a maroon finger loop on the heel. The next pair is the adizero Impact. It features a white sole and a white plastic band that reaches up towards the heel on either side of the shoe. The white base has three maroon stripes on the outside of the shoe, while there is a maroon adidas logo on the instep. The maroon laces lead up to the white adizero wordmark on the tongue, and the cleat also has a maroon finger loop on the heel.
The final two pairs are adizero Chaos models, which are made for more ankle support for heavier linemen. The second to last pair is the adizero Chaos. It features a shiny white plastic sole and a two-tone white and gold colorway on the main body of the shoe. The front half towards the toe is white and features three maroon stripes on the outside of the foot, while the back half towards the heel is maroon. The cleat also features maroon laces with a maroon finger loop on the heel. The fourth and final pair is the adizero Chaos Torsion. It shares almost all of the major color characteristics as the Chaos. The main difference is that the sole is a white rubberized material designed for better grip on the grass and it also features a small plastic maroon plate on the instep of the sole.
Another white cleat option is being made available to players as well. It is another pair of adizero Electric but with a different colorway. The mostly white shoe features metallic gold adidas stripes and accents, including an adizero word mark on the tongue.
White socks will be worn to match the cleats as well.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear maroon and black 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 maroon adizeros feature a maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the palm of each glove. They also have a gold adidas logo on the back of the hand, gold seams around the wrist, and a gold adizero word mark on the pointer finger. 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, gold seams around the wrist, and a gold adidas logo 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 black with black padding on the palm and along with a gold adidas logo on the back of the hand; they also have white accents on the knuckles and a black wrist wrap with a gold strap.
Reaction
After a very successful, maroon-heavy away uniform combination two weeks ago in Stillwater, we are seeing the return of a predominantly white uniform combination for the game coming up in Manhattan. Historically, the combination of the white helmet, white jersey, and maroon pant uniform is an even .500 at 2-2, so there has been success in it. Each of the last two times this combination was worn was against Cal in Berkeley, one of which ASU won in 2019, the next they lost just last season.
Overall, it’s not a bad look; despite my typical aversion to mostly white uniforms, this one usually works well because the maroon pants truly provide a solid anchor to the uniform as a whole. Where this uniform loses points with me is in the decal buildout. Transparent pitchforks with maroon trim do not stand out very well. Pair that with the lack of a center stripe, and you’re left with a helmet that doesn’t offer much unless you have a close-up shot, but even then, a pitchfork silhouette is not much excitement for the eye to take in. Though I’m being critical of the decal selections, I will say that this helmet surpasses past helmets that had the same decal builds because it features a maroon facemask, whereas past iterations have carried the heavy white theme to the facemask as well.
This particular uniform is not my favorite of the season, as I would love to see more maroon and gold on the helmet to showcase the school colors a bit more. That being said, the maroon pants never fail to tie it all together for me. I see this uniform and it still strikes a positive feeling in my gut, and it takes me back to watching the great wins ASU has had in this color combination. One was a Sun Bowl win over Duke to capture Arizona State’s second straight ten-win season in 2014, and the other was on the road against a ranked Cal team in 2019. Both were significant wins at the time, and a win this weekend over Kansas State would be very significant as well. So, I will allow this uniform to show itself on game day, and we will see what the final grade is next week.
What Color #Faniform Traveling ASU Fans Should Wear: Gold
Honorary #Faniform
Arizona State Athletic Director Graham Rossini continues to join in the fun of submitting a #faniform each week. While it is still a #faniform, anything submitted from Rossini will never be eligible for the #faniforms presented by the Cactus Sports contest. However, we would still love to highlight his participation and how well-dressed he is. Last game, Rossini wore a textured gold polo that had a gold pitchfork ASU lettermark logo with maroon trim on the left chest. He wore that under a maroon Salute to Service quarter zip that had a beige print PT*42 shield on the left chest and an adidas logo on the right chest of the same color. He wore maroon paisley, bandana-style Stance socks. He also wore Camo adidas Bill Raid3r shoes. He accessorized with three bracelets. The first is a white bracelet for the Arizona Italian America Chamber of Commerce, the next is a maroon and gold braided bracelet, and the final is a homemade Swiftie style friendship bracelet with his first name spelled out with beads.
#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 @RkyMtnSunDevil on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @ablomker23, @JeffAlbaPHX, and @nicole_pinter6 in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
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