A Tale of Two Shutouts
For the first thirty minutes of game time in Pullman, both the Sun Devil offense and defense were essentially non-existent. Washington State ran at will, converted third downs with as much certainty as the sun rising tomorrow, and seemed to have the formula to stop the ASU offensive game plan.
Trenton Bourguet got beat up against UCLA, and that trend continued. He was noticeably bothered as he limped after plays and had far less zip on the ball. His decision-making was still quick, but the ball was not, often reaching his intended receiver as coverage closed in to make a play. His one interception fluttered like he couldn’t plant on his back foot to make a proper throw. Enter Emory Jones.
It took Emory some time to adjust to game speed, but he was able to make some plays. He had an up-and-down performance, which is what we’ve grown used to seeing from him throughout the season. Accuracy was still an issue as he had quite a few open receivers that he missed wide or high, particularly Elijhah Badger, who continues to get himself open with great regularity.
After being shut out in the first half, the Sun Devil defense made adjustments and turned up the intensity to return the favor to Washington State in the second half. Unfortunately, the offense could not quite pull together enough big plays to complete a comeback. Along with the head scratching decision to attempt a two-point conversion after their first touchdown, the Devils were then thrust into the situation of having to continue to go for two after all three of their touchdowns. They failed on all three attempts, leading to a 28-18 final score. The heart this team showed to pitch a second-half, shut out a Cougar offense that was unstoppable in the second half, and put up a fight to the last bell was impressive. I love the fight in these guys. The belief they have in Coach Aguano is clear. Whether or not he gets the head coaching job, which seems less likely by the day, he has my respect and appreciation as a Sun Devil fan for getting this group of guys to continue to play all four quarters.
Week in Review
The loss didn’t look good, but the uniform did. It’s not a common combination, but the maroon helmet/white jersey/white pant uniform combination is still a good look. The dark helmet acts as a good anchor for the uniform and brings the dominant school color to the forefront. The white jerseys and pants provided a clean look and definitely complemented the environment when that fog from the Palouse started rolling in.
The large maroon pitchforks and maroon number decals on the helmet being, outlined by white trim, along with the white facemask, brought everything together. I’m always a proponent of bringing gold into the fold, if possible, but the point of this helmet build was to highlight the maroon and white elements of this away uniform. That was expertly done. This look was a sharp uniform that was tragically overlooked by the weekly uniform top 10 polls. It’s another awesome look in a season where Jerry Neilly’s equipment staff continues to impress week in and week out. The curve is steep based on a seemingly impossibly high standard of good looks they set throughout this season which is the only reason for the grade below. I still loved this look.
2022 Maroon/White/White: B+
The Week to Come
Uniform
A bowl game is out of the picture at this point, but there’s still plenty to play for in the next two weeks. First up, playing to send the seniors out with a win on Senior Day on Homecoming against Oregon State. This group has grown very close, very quickly, so there’s no doubt that the entire team is going to play their hearts out for their senior teammates. When they take the field on Saturday, the Sun Devils will be wearing their Gold Rush uniforms.
The gold “Valley Heat” Reverse Retro uniform has some elements of old and new intertwined into it. The major template that is being utilized is reminiscent of Arizona State’s 1996 jersey as the style that the Rose Bowl team wore.
There is a maroon plain text, all-caps “ARIZONA STATE” on the front chest of the jersey paired with block maroon numbers with a metallic gold border. There is a metallic gold Pac-12 shield with maroon font on the right shoulder and a maroon adidas logo on the left shoulder. The nameplate on the back uses the same classic text font as well. The shoulders boast a stylized Arizona state flag with maroon and metallic gold stripes, as well as a maroon star outlined with metallic gold. There are also additional maroon player numbers with metallic gold borders atop each shoulder.
The gold pants have a small PT*42 shield with a thin maroon border to shape it, a gold background, and a maroon PT*42 stitch within the shield. There is also a maroon adidas logo near the left hip. Outside of those elements, there are really no further details on the solid gold pants.
Helmet
The gold helmet is back for the first time in four games as part of the Gold Rush uniform. The decals on either side of the helmet are silhouette pitchforks with metallic Vegas gold trim and a thin maroon border. The center stripe has a transparent bold middle section, allowing the gold helmet color to shine through with metallic Vegas gold and maroon thinner border stripes on either side. The facemask is gold, and the front bumper has a chrome gold base and metallic maroon font that reads PT*42, also 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 gold rays rising from it in subtle detail. This ties together well with the matte metallic state flag on the jersey’s sleeves, lending to more continuity in the overall uniform.
The decals on the back of the helmet include a white Pac 12 shield, and a white 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 American flag and maroon “Sun Devils” text on the helmet’s rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
As part of the Gold Rush uniform, the Sun Devils will wear gold cleats. From left to right, there are three different cleats. The first pair is an AdiZero, the next is a Freak mid, and the last is a Nasty Fly. 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).
Beginning with the pair on the left, the AdiZero features a gold base and sole, a gold tongue, gold laces, three maroon adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent gold AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. It also has a repeating pattern of the Forks Up hand sign printed in gold throughout the shoe and a gold finger loop on the heel with the phrase “Forks Up” in maroon print.
The Freak Mid pair in the middle has a gold base and translucent gold sole, gold laces, a gold tongue with a maroon Freak logo on it, three reflective maroon adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat near the toe, and a prominent maroon adidas logo on the instep. Like the AdiZero, the Freak Mid has a repeating pattern of the Forks Up hand sign printed in gold throughout the shoe and a gold finger loop on the heel with the phrase “Forks Up” in maroon print.
The Nasty Fly is the final pair on the right. The second to last pair is the Nasty Torsion. It is a heavier duty cleat with a gold base and sole, gold laces, gold eyelets with darker gold accents, a gold 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 gold plate on the arch, and a finger loop that mimics the styling of the lace eyelets with “Forks Up” in maroon print. The repeating pattern of the gold-printed Forks Up hand sign is featured prominently on the front half of the shoe.
The gold and white Ultraboost cleat predominantly feature a gold and white knit weave with a white heel, tongue, and sole. The tongue has a maroon adidas patch at the top, and the heel has a maroon Ultraboost logo on the outside part of the heel. The adidas three stripes are each a two-tone maroon and white and appear on either side of the shoe. Towards the toe on the outside of the shoe is a tonal gold “1885” detail which is an homage to the founding year of the school. To wrap up all the details, the inside of the sole features the flame Sparky logo.
To match the all-gold uniform, the Sun Devils will wear gold socks.
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 gold Sun Devils script on the gold palm of each glove. They also have a maroon adidas logo on the back of the hand, a small, tonal gold AdiZero wordmark above the wrist strap, tonal gold striping on the wrist strap, and gold 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 gold Sun Devils script 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 gold striping, and a maroon and gold 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
Welcome to the Gold Rush! The swan song for the seniors acts as the same for the gold jersey. This is the first and only time we will see this jersey this season, and it’s a cool one. This iteration of the all-gold plays into the metallic Vegas gold trim on the sleeve and number outlines with the metallic gold trim on the pitchfork decals. Last year’s Gold Rush was the Salute to Service uniform and had the PT*42 shield. This one provided the equipment staff a bit more freedom with the decals, and they did well. It’s a different choice, but it has a serious cool factor.
I would have loved to have been able to see the gold jersey paired with a maroon helmet and maroon pants before it got sunset. The inverse color combination of our typical gold/maroon/gold home uniform would have really been one heck of a good look, but that was not in the stars.
This uniform, while cool, is a lot. It’s loud; it’s bright; it’s unforgiving. All gold, everywhere. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it’s a lot to take in. It looked great last year, especially since it was worn in a win over USC, and I’m certain it will look good this year as well. I very much look forward to seeing the metallic gold decals catch the sunlight for this midday kickoff. This is a good uniform to end the home season with. Let’s hope it’s worn in a win for the seniors.
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 @rez_devil on earning a finalist spot last week! This week, we’re bringing back some #faniforms that came close to winning in previous weeks and putting them up against each other. So best of luck again to @Skyisthelimit22, @crafty_devils, and @kyledreadful in this week’s Twitter poll!
