Uniformity AUDIBLE: ASU Postpones Ghost Story Alternate, Go Traditional
Week in Review
This Sun Devil team is getting really close. They continue to improve week after week. The defense has remained sharp and is a truly impressive unit that could stand up against most other defenses throughout college football. The coaches are finding their way. Outside of the first two weeks of the season, the same quarterback has not started two games in a row; the offensive line continues to shuffle due to injury, with guys playing through pain each week. Through it all, Arizona State competes each and every snap. There were some plays, some coaching calls, and some penalties that the team would love to have back because fixing any one of those could have led to the win that they were so very close to grasping. As time goes on, they continue to look more sharp, which is exactly how these uniforms looked.
When the Devils visited Berkeley in 2019, they wore the same white helmet/white jersey/maroon pant look and won, so I have no issue with them opting for that look here. The white helmet is a good look to match the white away uniform, and the maroon trim on the decals did well to match the jersey numbers and the dark anchor of the uniform, the maroon pants. I liked the helmets, but I didn’t love them. The decal choice was good, but with no maroon center stripe to bring a little more color and weight to the helmet, it was left looking a little bare at times. The silhouette pitchfork with the maroon trim gets lost from a distance when it’s by itself, especially if it is the standard-sized pitchfork versus the oversized.
Overall, the white/white/maroon look is a classic away uniform that does a great job of highlighting team colors on the road. Even the maroon and white are the stars of the show; the gold outline around the numbers is the critical element that ties it all together.
White/White/Maroon: B+
The Week to Come
Uniform
Colorado comes in riding a two-game losing streak after riding high the first three weeks of the season. There will definitely be fanfare, as there has been everywhere that Colorado has gone so far this season. Led by a talented quarterback and a slew of confident skill players, they will bring plenty of swag to Tempe. One thing different between this matchup and their prior games is that the Buffs don’t seem to have a “villain” to make things “personal” this week. Buffs coach Deion Sanders expressed his respect for Sun Devil coach Kenny Dillingham. So what we will see is a straight up game of football between two teams looking to break losing streaks. The other thing we will see is an unexpected shift in uniform.
The Ghost Story uniform was originally announced as the scheduled uniform for this game prior to the season beginning. Until the TV schedule had something to say about it. A 3:30 p.m. kickoff that could reach near 100 degrees was enough to prompt ASU to switch their uniforms to a more traditional gold helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant combination.
The maroon 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. 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, and above the nameplate is a small, gold “ASU” outlined in maroon. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a gold 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 gold pants have a large gold pitchfork with maroon trim on the right thigh and a maroon adidas logo near the left hip.
Helmet
The Sun Devils will wear gold helmets that feature standard-sized silhouette pitchfork decals with maroon trim and no center stripe. The facemask is gold, and the front bumper has a white base and maroon “Sun Devils” word mark outlined in gold.
The decals on the back of the helmet include an American flag, a maroon Pac 12 shield, a 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 white text, and has a small, maroon silhouette pitchfork over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded out by the maroon “Arizona State” word mark outlined in gold over a white base on the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
The Sun Devils will wear maroon cleats this week. From left to right, there are three different types of cleats. The first four 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 AdiZero. It features a gold sole and textured maroon base. It features white seams with maroon stitching along each side of the shoe as well as down the middle and up the tongue with a maroon AdiZero word mark. The outside of the shoe features three gold adidas stripes towards the toe, while the inside of the shoe features a gold digital scribble design around a large gold AdiZero word mark. It also features maroon laces. The next pair is the AdiZero primeknit. It features the same characteristics as the AdiZero, with a few distinct differences. The sole is a slightly different shade of gold and has a more sateen finish. The main body of the shoes is a more breathable primeknit material, and the maroon laces also have gold thread woven in.
The middle pair is the Freak 23 Inline. The Freak has a gold sole and primarily gold base with a repeating maroon starburst pattern and three gold maroon stripes on the outside of the shoe towards the toe. The tongue, ankle, and laces are all the same maroon fabric with gold thread woven throughout. There is also a maroon finger loop with a gold “Freak” and an adidas logo on the heel.
The final two pairs are adidas Nasty models, made for more ankle support for heavier linemen. The second to last pair is the Nasty Fly. It is a primarily maroon shoe with a gold sole, gold adidas logo on the inside of the heel, and three adidas stripes that feature a gold border as well as a maroon and gold chevron pattern within the stripes. The shoe has a maroon zipper and a gold finger loop with a maroon “Nasty” word mark on the heel. It also has a maroon finger loop on the heel. The last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It features many of the same design elements as the Nasty Fly, with a few differences. It is a heavier-duty shoe with even more ankle support. It has a maroon sole and a gold rubber seam that surrounds the entire bottom of the shoe except the toe.
The Sun Devils will wear gold socks this week to match the rest of the uniform.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear gold and 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 gold gloves feature a gold 90s “Sun Devils” script with a maroon drop shadow that becomes complete when the palms are placed together. 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 gold adidas Freak gloves feature the same “Sun Devils” script 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.
Reaction
The unfortunate 3:30 p.m. kickoff time and high forecasted temperature ended up postponing the Ghost Story uniforms to a later date, but it resulted in a great look utilizing the traditional ASU uniform combination. It’s disappointing not to see the Ghost Story uniforms on their scheduled date, but I’m never disappointed to see our classic colors in all their glory. With a 3:30 pm kickoff, we’ll get the best of both worlds of seeing them in the sun, as well as under the bright lights as the sun sets.
The pitchfork decal is the same decal that was worn last week on the white helmet. The pitchfork itself is transparent with maroon trim, giving it a different main color appearance based on the different color of a helmet in each week. It’s a very rare occurrence for the same decal to be used two weeks in a row. The lack of a center stripe for a second week in a row while utilizing the silhouette style of pitchfork again leads to a somewhat bare, gold dominated helmet, especially with the gold facemask being a prominent feature.
Overall, the gold helmet/maroon jersey/gold pant combination is always a good choice. At this point, it probably rates lower on the list of classic color combinations based on the helmet compared to past classic combinations. It could end up looking great on the field, so we will have to see and wait to make a final judgment on it.
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 @lilbobby28 on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @Cawley_TV, @keithsaurin, and @asudbubba in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
