Week in Review
Self-inflicted wounds and lack of execution defined the Sun Devils’ loss to Texas Tech. A game that was very winnable proved to be the proverbial dangling carrot that could never be caught. There were opportunities to assert an offensive attack against a Red Raider defense that has often laid down a red carpet to the end zone for opponents in the early going of the season, but the Arizona State offense was never truly able to capitalize. The defense was not faultless either as there was an opportunity to keep the game within four going into halftime, but a final Tech drive led to a field goal to put them up by a touchdown going into halftime. ASU was unable to score on its subsequent drive coming out of halftime and could never get over the hump. It was a frustrating game for the fans and team alike as both groups knew that the team was better than they showed that day in Lubbock. It was another loss notched in the belt of the Whiteout uniform, which has only seen 2 wins while it has been worn (at UCLA, 2013 and New Mexico, 2015).
Let’s talk about that Whiteout uniform. The Sun Devils’ 2-12 history while wearing the Stormtrooper look aside; those who have read Uniformity for any amount of time know that it is not the favorite combination of this author. Last year’s Whiteout against Washington was an exception, as it looked great and was worn in what was almost one of the biggest upsets ASU had ever pulled off. The helmet decal buildout with maroon and gold pitchforks and the center stripe to match made for an exceptional display of school colors. This year’s iteration was nearly identical, only omitting the center stripe. That seemingly minor detail carried with it a great weight. Though the 2024 version was not bad by any stretch, the helmet had less impact without the extra pop of color that center stripe provided. Still has a solid look, as far as Whiteouts go.
Whiteout: B
The Week to Come
Uniform
Tempe is set to host its first ever Big 12 conference game as the Sun Devils welcome Kansas into town. Kansas comes into the game carrying a disappointing 1-4 record after being considered one of the few favorites to challenge for the conference title. This should not lull the Sun Devils or those wearing maroon #faniforms into a false sense of confidence. The Jayhawks will come into this contest with something to prove, and the Devils should be ready to take their best shot. That doesn’t mean this game isn’t winnable, and it would do ASU a lot of good to get back in the win column and inaugurate Mountain America Stadium into the Big 12 with a win. When ASU takes the field against Kansas, they’ll be wearing their annual Maroon Monsoon uniform combination.
The maroon jersey features the Arizona state flag as a stripe feature on either side of the uniform. It is a darker tonal maroon 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 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. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a gold adidas logo. Near the right shoulder is a gold and maroon 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 gold white trim on the right thigh and a gold adidas logo near the left hip.
Helmet
The maroon color shift helmet features standard white pitchfork decals with gold trim and a thin maroon border. There is also a three-tone center stripe, which matches the color pattern of the pitchforks with a bold white center but skinnier gold stripes and finished off with thin maroon border stripes. The facemask is maroon, and the front bumper has a maroon base and white “Arizona State” text.
The decals on the back of the helmet include a maroon Big 12 logo with a white border, a white PT*42 shield honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman, a white Warning label in the shape of the state of Arizona featuring white text, a small maroon pitchfork with gold trim over Tempe, and an American flag. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded by the white “Sun Devils” text on a maroon base rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
Keeping with the theme, maroon cleats will be worn against the Jayhawks. 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 maroon gold sole with the maroon occupying the front half of the sole while the gold takes up the back half and reaches partway up the heel. They have a textured maroon base that has a bit of a sparkle element to it, with three gold stripes and an adizero wordmark on the outside of the shoe. The top portion of the cleat is a primeknit and has the 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 gold sole and a gold plastic band that reaches up towards the heel on either side of the shoe. The maroon base has three gold stripes on the outside of the shoe, while there is a gold adidas logo on the instep. The maroon laces lead up to the gold 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, made for more ankle support for heavier linemen. The second to last pair is the adizero Chaos. It features a shiny gold plastic sole and a two-tone maroon and gold colorway on the main body of the shoe. The front half towards the toe is gold 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 gold rubberized material designed for better grip on the grass and it also features a small plastic maroon plate on the instep of the sole.
Maroon socks will be worn to match the cleats as well.
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 adizeros feature a maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the palm of each glove. They also have a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, maroon seams around the wrist, and a maroon 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 white adidas Freak gloves feature the same maroon pitchfork palm design as the adizero, maroon seams around the wrist, and a maroon 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 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 with a gold strap.
Reaction
Maroon Monsoon is easily one of the best-looking uniform games year in and year out. There have been moments of triumph while wearing the Maroon Monsoon, including some infamous wins over USC. However, much like the state of Arizona itself, the Maroon Monsoon has experienced something of a drought in the last couple of dry years where wins have been as hard to find as significant rainfall in the Valley. The Devils will try to storm into the Big 12 and earn not only their first home conference win but their first conference win ever this weekend against Kansas. I can’t think of a better uniform in which to do so.
The Maroon Monsoon boasts the best of what maroon and gold have to offer. The entire uniform is made up of a deep, rich maroon base with pops of warm Sun Devils gold, perfectly complementing its colorway mate. ASU’s school colors are the greatest in college sports, and this uniform does a great job of featuring that truth.
The maroon color shift helmet makes its first appearance of the season. This helmet has a candy maroon base shell that transitions to gold in certain angles of light. White decals bring a different element to the uniform. I don’t dislike it at all initially; in fact, I think I like it. The white base and gold trim of the decals play well off of the gold numbers with white outlines on the jersey and the gold pitchfork with white trim on the pants. The inverse colorway of the pitchforks on the helmets and pants kind of competes in the eye a bit, but I think it can work. I have high hopes for it and think it looks good on the mannequin. We shall see if it looks good with a full team on the field. We shall hope that we’re talking about a win more than the decals when it comes to next week’s article.
What Color ASU Fans Should Wear: Maroon
Honorary #Faniform, the #Grahamiform
Arizona State Athletic Director Graham Rossini has made submitting a #faniform something of a habit after having done so for a third consecutive week. While it is still a #faniform, anything submitted from Rossini will never be eligible for the #faniforms presented by the Cactus Sports contest. Therefore, it will have its own subsection within the faniform world: The #Grahamiform. Last week’s Grahamiform featured a black cap with a state of Texas patch that features Arizona’s state flag stars and stripes fading into a flamed Sparky face. He wore a maroon shirt that had a maroon pitchfork with gold trim over a gold-outlined Texas state map centered between gold outlined maroon print that read “Arizona State Texas Nation.” He wore that shirt underneath a white polo that had a gold pitchfork with maroon trim on the left chest and, a maroon adidas logo on the right chest, and maroon piping along the sleeves. He also wore adidas 4DFWD Parley shadow maroon shoes.
#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 for the fan vote on Twitter! Cast your vote for the best #faniform each week!
Congratulations to @Cawley_TV on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @bradley187, @RkyMtnSunDevil, and @RaNdAlLpAnk in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
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