From INT to Where’s the D
Perhaps the most promising start one could possibly hope for took place this past Saturday night when Chris Edmonds intercepted Dorian Thompson-Robinson on the first play from scrimmage. The Sun Devil offense provided a field goal to take an early lead. Then, the Bruins took to the ground attack, and the defense seemingly disappeared.
During the middle of the last decade, Sun Devil fans became far too accustomed to watching their team give up explosive plays to opposing offenses. UCLA’s rushing attack had explosive play after explosive play, including a one-play drive in the form of a 75-yard touchdown run. Donnie Henderson’s defense was listless and often easily countered by the speedy Bruins. Lack of aggressive play calling and then dialing up pressure at the wrong times led to a defense that was on their heels most of the night.
Trenton Bourguet was once again solid, throwing for over 300 yards in consecutive weeks. Per Brad Denny, Bourguet owns the highest completion percentage for quarterbacks, with at least 100 passing attempts in the nation at 75.2%. He tacked on two more touchdown passes and made great reads, and delivered the ball well despite getting hit multiple times with a tenacious UCLA defense sending pressure often.
After falling behind 35-10, the defense was able to force a couple of stops, and, with the offense still clicking, the Sun Devils went on a 26-7 run to pull within 6 points with just a few minutes left in regulation. If the Sun Devil defense had been able to get one more stop to put the ball back in the hands of Trenton Bourguet and the Arizona State offense, who knows what would have happened? But the continued struggles and poorly timed penalties struck again, leading to a UCLA touchdown that ended up being the final nail in the Devils’ coffin.
There was still plenty to feel good about. Coach Shaun Aguano rallied this team and put them in a position to win after trailing by four scores. Those that stayed for the whole game were treated to an incredible comeback bid. It fell short, but we were one Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty away from possibly seeing a miraculous comeback win. There are now three games remaining, and ASU needs to win all three to become bowl eligible. In order to achieve that, they’re going to need to find their defense.
Week in Review
The Maroon Monsoon is always a good look. The more of that beautiful ASU maroon on the field, the better. This year’s version falling on the same game as Salute to Service weekend made for an amazing result. The gold-based digital camo in the PT*42 shield and on the center stripe provided the perfect splash of ASU color to complement the maroon heavy uniform combination. This uniform got recognition from uniform rating websites as well. UNISWAG ranked the Maroon Monsoon as the 7th best uniform of the week, and UniAuthority ranked it at #5.
True Maroon Monsoons were absent for a few years with the temporary removal of maroon helmets, but having it back as a full monochromatic masterpiece is food for the soul. This past weekend’s final results were not what we, as Sun Devil fans, were hoping for, but the Maroon Monsoon magic almost struck. Those that stuck around in Sun Devil Stadium saw an impressive comeback bid fall just a bit short, but they were lucky enough to watch the Devils play their hearts out in an awesome all-maroon uniform with glorious gold facemasks!
2022 Maroon Monsoon: A
The Week to Come
Uniform
The Sun Devils’ bid to save their shot at a bowl game begins this Saturday when they travel to Pullman to take on a tough Washington State team. Moreover, the travel to Pullman is tough as well. A long flight, followed by a long drive and a cold weather game, all present their own challenges before even taking the field against a formidable opponent. But the one thing that we can count on is that Jerry Neilly and his staff will cook up something great for the Devils to wear. This week, ASU will be wearing an icy Maroon helmet/white jersey/white pant uniform combination.
The white jersey features a sublimated Arizona state flag in representing the sunset and the star across the chest. The star and stripes of the flag are a tonal gray. The maroon player numbers are outlined in gold on both the front and back of the jersey, as are the TV numbers on the sleeves.
The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes black Sun Devil Bold font, and above the nameplate is a small, maroon “ASU” outlined in gold. On the front of the jersey near the left shoulder is a black adidas logo; near the right shoulder is a maroon and gold Pac 12 shield, and at the base of the collar is the black PT*42 shield in honor of ASU Football legend Pat Tillman.
The white pants have a small gold pitchfork with black trim near the right hip and a black adidas logo near the left hip. "Sun Devils" is in maroon Sun Devil Bold, running vertically along the side of the left thigh. There is paneling on the pants that features the darker tonal white, not only providing further dimension to the uniform as a whole but also serving a purpose in providing a greater range of motion.
Helmet
The maroon iridescent, candy shell, color shift helmet shell will be worn for the third straight game and the fourth time in the last five games. The maroon helmet features a white facemask and a white chinstrap. The decals tie in the icy white theme of the jerseys and pants. The right side of the helmet features an oversized maroon pitchfork with white trim, while the opposite side features player number decals with white outlines. The front bumper has a maroon base and gold font that reads PT*42 honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman. An added element to the PT*42 front bumper decal is that the star separating the PT and 42 doubles as the star in the Arizona state flag, with tonal maroon rays rising from it in subtle detail.
Along with an American flag decal, the white decals on the back of the helmet include the Pac 12 shield and the Warning label, which is in the shape of the state of Arizona with a white border, featuring white text, and has a small, maroon pitchfork with gold trim over Tempe. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded by the gold “Sun Devils” text over a tonal maroon desert landscape silhouette on the helmet’s rear bumper.
For a more dynamic look at the maroon helmet, see the video below for an example of the color shift from maroon to gold in different angles of light.
Cleats and Socks
White cleats will be worn for the opening game. From left to right, there are three different types of cleats. The first six 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 Freak Ultra Laceless. It features a white sole and white base with a maroon pixel gradient pattern around the bottom of the shoe and a primeknit center outlined by a maroon-lined starburst pattern. As the name suggests, this cleat does not have any laces but instead has three maroon adidas stripes where the laces would usually be. It is rounded out with a maroon Freak logo on the heel of the cleat. The next pair is an AdiZero which features a white base and sole, a maroon tongue, maroon laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent maroon AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. It also has a maroon finger loop on the heel. The third is the AdiZero Scorch which is a Primeknit mid-top. It is white on the outside of the shoe and on the sole, but more prominently maroon on the instep and throughout the rest of the top of the shoe. The maroon instep features a maroon tonal AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect and a maroon finger loop on the heel.
There are two more pairs of adidas Freaks in the middle of the group of cleats. The Freak pair on the left is the Freak mid. It has a white base and maroon sole, white laces, a white tongue with a maroon Freak logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat near the toe, and a prominent maroon adidas logo on the instep. The Freak pair on the right is the Freak Ultra. It features all of the major base aesthetics as the Freak Mid but also features some gray primeknit material, maroon stitch detailing around the lace eyelets, and a maroon finger loop on the heel. The next pair is the third AdiZero pair. All of the major elements of this pair of cleats are white except for the three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the shoe near the toe and the maroon adidas logo on the instep.
The final two pairs on the right are Nasty cleats. The second to last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It is a heavier duty cleat with a white base and sole, white laces, white eyelets with maroon accents, a white tongue with a maroon Nasty logo on it, three maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat, a maroon adidas logo on the inside of the cleat near the heel, a small plastic maroon plate on the arch, and a maroon and gold finger loop that mimics the styling of the lace eyelets. The far right pair is the Nasty Fly. It essentially shares all the same major details as the Nasty Torsion; however, it is not as heavy duty, and instead of a white sole, it features a metallic maroon
Many players will be wearing these new release white Freak cleats that feature a maroon semicircle sunburst shape around the toe with maroon pointillism shading down to the sole. They have a maroon Freak logo on the instep and three maroon stripes on the outside of the shoe, along with a white sole.
The Sun Devils will wear white socks to match the icy white combo.
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 have a white palm that features a maroon pitchfork with gold trim on each glove. They also have a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, a small maroon AdiZero wordmark above the wrist strap, maroon striping on the wrist strap, and maroon stitching along the wrist strap.
The gloves in the middle are adidas Freaks, worn by larger skill position players such as linebackers and tight ends. The adidas Freak gloves have the same white base and maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the palm of each glove as the AdiZero gloves. On the back of the glove, the adidas Freaks also have some extra padding, a maroon adidas logo, and maroon striping, and the Freak logo on the wrist strap. 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 and black two-tone 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 wrist wrap.
Reaction
All white jerseys and pants are not usually my jam, but the equipment staff has definitely cooked this season. The first go around with the gold helmet at USC was a great look. This one they’ll be wearing to Pullman is even better. The oversized maroon pitchfork and white trim bring a fantastic flavor to this uniform. It keeps the white theme without overdoing it and still emphasizing a classic school color.
The jersey and pants are a great inverse to the helmet, being primarily white with maroon numbers on the jerseys and Sun Devils on the pants. Plus, the small gold pitchfork on the pants and the outline of the numbers give just enough of an accent to tie both primary colors in to make for a great overall uniform.
The forecast is warming up for the 1:30 pm kickoff in Pullman, but there’s always that chance of snow. If that were to happen, it might not benefit the team and the field conditions they’re playing in, but it would be really cool to see how these uniforms look in those weather conditions. I’m excited to see this on the field and to hopefully see it worn in the first of three straight wins to earn bowl eligibility for this group of guys that truly deserve it.
What Color Travelling ASU Fans Should Wear: Gold or Maroon
#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 @jwhitman36 on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @kyledreadful, @SundevilWa, and @rez_devil in this week’s Twitter poll!
