Week in Review
A heart stopping fourth quarter concluded a back-and-forth affair in which the Sun Devils came out victorious over Kansas for their first ever Big 12 conference win in their first ever Big 12 home conference game. The victory continues the history of success for the Maroon Monsoon uniform. Sam Leavitt threw for only 157 yards but ran for an additional 77 yards. On top of that, he threw four touchdown passes, the first time any ASU quarterback has done that since Joey Yellen did so in a loss to USC during the 2019 Blackout game. Those achievements earned him Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors, while Cam Skattebo earned his second Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week this season with a 182-yard, one touchdown rushing performance backed up by 19 yards receiving. Speaking of weekly recognition, last week’s Maroon Monsoon uniform earned some praise as well.
The 2024 iteration of the Maroon Monsoon featured white pitchfork and center stripe decals with gold and maroon trim on the maroon candy shell helmet. It looked good, not great, on the mannequin pictures from last week’s article, but it looked much better on the field. So much so that it gained the attention of uniform tracker accounts UNISWAG and UniAuthority, both of which rated the Maroon Monsoon each of their respective #6 uniform of the week. The decals’ inverse colorway to the jersey numbers took a moment to adjust to, but once the adjustment happened, the eye enjoyed every moment of Maroon Monsoon beauty. The color-shifting maroon helmet has probably played its course, and hopefully, there is a path to a new paint finish for the maroon helmets in future seasons, but that is the biggest criticism of this uniform, which is to no fault of the equipment room. Then you also add another win to the Maroon Monsoon’s record, and it was a successful night all around.
Maroon Monsoon: A-
The Week to Come
Uniform
ASU’s second Big 12 home game is against a familiar foe in Utah. Utah is coming off a loss largely caused by the absence of star quarterback Cam Rising, whose status remains uncertain heading into this Friday’s game. Utah came in with high expectations (and have largely lived up to those aside from their one slip up) and are sure to bring their best into Tempe to get back on track after a loss and bye week. This weekend will venture into unprecedented uniform territory as it will be the first time the uniform will not match the theme game. When the Sun Devils take the field against Utah for the Blackout theme game, they’ll be wearing a maroon helmet, jersey, and pant uniform combination.
For those that track the uniforms, you may remember that 2023 featured two black uniform combinations. One was the Ghost Story which featured the glow-in-the-dark outlined numbers, the other was the final curtain for the heathered black jerseys and pants from the previous generation of uniforms. Those are no longer available this season. The Ghost Story was a one-time alternate uniform, and this current generation template has no black jersey or pants. All that said, it is still asked that fans dress in their best black #faniforms while the Devils will wear an all maroon combination (with some adjustments) for a second straight week when they take the field against the Utes.
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 black pitchfork decals with gold trim. It also has a two-tone center stripe that matches the color pattern of the pitchforks: a bold black center stripe with skinnier gold stripes surrounding it. The facemask is black, 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
The Sun Devils will wear maroon cleats this Friday. 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 and gold sole with the maroon occupying the front half of the sole while the gold takes up the back half and reaches part way 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
Well, this is a bit awkward, isn't it? We’ve grown so accustomed to having our theme games and uniforms every year since 2011, that we have sort of just taken them for granted. Sure, there have been variations in helmets over the last seven years or so, but the jersey and pant colors have always matched the theme, whether it be a Maroon Monsoon or Blackout. Unfortunately, this generation of uniforms does not have a black option, so keeping with a dark monochrome look aided by a black facemask, black decals, and a variety of black accessories at least incorporates the theme into the uniform.
It is a bit disappointing in the sense that there is usually a buildup for a Blackout every year, and it is often reserved for one of the biggest home games of the season, a billing that I believe the Utah contest deserves. So, there is this expectation that there will be a bold, foreboding black uniform that the opponent must face and that Sun Devil fans look forward to. To have it be revealed that there is no such uniform is quite jarring for many, I imagine, but that doesn’t mean the uniform itself doesn’t look good independent of it not perfectly matching up with the title name of the theme game.
Looking at the uniform itself, it is a solid look. Black decals on a maroon helmet have been done in the past and were not as well received by fans as one would hope. It’s a fair critique as the dark on dark can tend to blend in and get lost and perhaps even clash. I think that this particular helmet build does a good job of utilizing gold trim to help the decals stand out. Again, I love an all-maroon uniform, so from a strictly aesthetic perspective, I’m not mad. Arizona State also has a history of performing well in all maroon, which they did last week, so why not keep that momentum going? This is the first time that ASU had worn the same base uniform elements consecutively since 2017 when they wore a gold helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant base combination in three consecutive weeks.
To sum up my initial reaction, it is disappointing that the Blackout does not include a black uniform, but this is still a solid uniform combination. As far as how the decals look on the helmets, both in person and on TV, judgment will be reserved until after the game.
What Color #Faniform ASU Fans Should Wear: Black
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 Cactus Sports contest. However, we still love to highlight his participation and just how well dressed he is. Last week, Rossini wore a maroon coaches polo that has a maroon pitchfork with gold trim within a gold silhouette of a football on the left chest and a white adidas logo on the right chest. His shoes are a pair of adidas Retropy E5 with a copper and maroon colorway. He also carried a maroon Heritage Gear duffle bag with a gold interlocking AS logo and a leather bottom.
#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 @ RaNdAlLpAnk on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @ASUDave, @JPopppppppp, and @tp3SunDevil in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
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