Uniformity – Week 13: Sun Devils Hope Sparky Comes Up Big to Keep the Cup - ASUDevils: Arizona State Sun Devils Football & Basketball Recruiting

There’s really not a whole lot to cover from last week’s game. Oregon State established the ability to move the ball with ease from the jump but was only able to put up 14 first-half points thanks to a missed field goal and a few good defensive plays from the Sun Devils. However, despite being given multiple chances, ASU was unable to capitalize, missing a field goal of their own and not sticking to a run game that seemed to be working. The score going into halftime was 14-7 in favor of the Beavers, but there seemed to be some hope as long as the Devils could stay disciplined and play well in the second half.

That hope faded fast as Oregon State quickly established a dominant half in which they ran the ball extremely well and scored 17 unanswered points to ultimately win 31-7. All phases of the game looked bad for the Sun Devils. A quarterback not known for his legs was able to pick up many first downs on the ground. Oregon State’s line was pushing back the ASU defensive line with regularity to the point where the Beaver running backs often weren’t getting touched until they were at least 5 yards downfield. It was a bad game that ought to be left in the past because nothing is more important this season than what’s coming up.

We are now officially in the midst of a one-game season, and it’s a big one as the Sun Devils look to keep the Territorial Cup home in Tempe for a 6th consecutive year. This group of seniors has never lost to their rival, and it’s doubtful that they want to go out with that bad taste in their mouths. A win this weekend would mean a few things. First, as previously mentioned, the win would extend the winning streak to six. Second, it would prevent ASU from finishing with a worse record than their rival. Third, by keeping the streak alive, it would also keep alive the possibility of ASU taking over the overall lead in the series on the 100th meeting in 2026.

The longer the season has stretched on, the less certain the prospect of a win has become. The offense, on the other side of the ball, has proven to be productive for most of the season. They’ve run into their hiccups, but against a struggling defense, they could have some success. Conversely, their defense is bad, and the Sun Devils could really tee off on them. I’ve seen the phrase “take the over” in reference to this game more than once already. May not be a bad idea for what could certainly be a track meet. Let’s hope that when the dust settles, it’s the Sun Devils that come out on top to send this tumultuous season out on a good note.

Week in Review

The Sun Devils wore the Gold Rush uniform for a second consecutive season after not wearing all gold since mercifully retiring them in the early 90s after a couple of putrid efforts. Last year, they were worn during the Salute to Service game and had excellent PT*42 shields and center stripes with maroon and gold digital camo. This season, they opted to play off of the Vegas gold accents on the sleeves and bordering the numbers and had metallic Vegas gold trim silhouette pitchforks and center stripes. The helmets were striking with those decals and truly tied the entire uniform together.

Now, I know there are mixed opinions on the Vegas gold on the jersey. I, myself, am not the biggest fan of it, but since it’s there, I have no problem whatsoever with the equipment staff complementing it with a metallic gold decal. In fact, I have no problem with metallic gold, perhaps getting even more play. It’s not a new concept in the realm of ASU. I have owned plenty of items, from pens and notebooks to Christmas ornaments and alumni picture frames that feature metallic gold. I wouldn’t be at all averse to seeing something like this on a maroon helmet. One can only hope.

The uniform also garnered very positive national attention, nearly pulling off a sweep of the two weekly top 10 uniform polls. UNISWAG named the ASU Gold Rush uniform its number 2 uniform of the week, while UniAuthority gave the Gold Rush the top spot in its weekly poll. While not perfect, it was a very good look, yet another visual success in a season full of them for Jerry Neilly, Ryan Barker, and their excellent student managers on the equipment staff.

2022 Gold Rush: A

The Week to Come

Uniform

Keeping the Cup is as in flux as it has ever been in the past few years. Focusing and putting forth full effort is paramount. ASU fans still have nightmares of the last time the Cup was ripped away. That attitude of apathy has to be avoided at all costs in order to win because the other team knows this is their best chance in years to win, and they’re going to give it their all. This week, ASU will be wearing their traditional gold helmet/white jersey/gold pant uniform combination.

The white jersey features a sublimated Arizona state flag 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 gold pants match the style of the pants worn by the 1996 Pac 10 Championship team. They are predominantly gold with no pant stripes or additional accents but have a small Sparky near the left hip and a maroon adidas logo near the right hip.

Helmet

We already saw Sparky once this year when the football team finally got to wear the Sparky face decal. Now Sparky is back again in a big way that we saw once before last season against Colorado. An oversized Sparky logo will occupy the majority of the space on either side of the gloss gold shell. There is also a classic maroon center stripe. The facemask is maroon, 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 a subtle detail.

The decals on the back of the helmet include a maroon Pac 12 shield, a maroon Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona with a gold border, featuring maroon 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 over a tonal white desert landscape silhouette on the helmet’s rear bumper.

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 sole.

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 traditional away uniform combo.

Gloves

The Sun Devils will wear maroon 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 white gloves have a maroon palm that features a maroon pitchfork with gold trim on each glove. They also have a white adidas logo on the back of the hand, a small, gold AdiZero logo and 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 maroon 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 white adidas logo, and white 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

Sparky is always a welcome sight! In this case, he’s looking large and in charge, and hopefully, can be worn in a big win this Friday. The traditional gold/white/gold uniform combination with the Sparky pants is a solid look. Though this combination was worn in week 2 against Oklahoma State, the different decal definitely makes it hit different. The big Sparky decal is a really cool touch to the otherwise traditional uniform as well, and though I like it a lot and the fact that we get to see that decal again after wearing it with a gold jersey last year, I still tend to prefer the traditional sized Sparky. The only issue with that preference of mine is that the helmet shells continue to get bigger and bigger, so the classic Sparky looks smaller. Perhaps in the future, there could be a Sparky decal between the classic and the big one. I wouldn’t want to end the use of the big Sparky altogether, but I would still also like to continue to have a smaller option available. Nevertheless, this is still a great look!

Some of you may be wondering, “Why aren’t the teams doing Color vs. Color like other rivalries do?” The answer is simple. The other team won’t comply, particularly their head coach. In 2021, ASU invited a Color vs. Color game into Sun Devil Stadium, but the other team defiantly arrived in all white. A request was made to try to pick up the tradition again. A resounding no came from down south, so the Sun Devils will wear a traditional road color combination.

While the season has not gone as hoped as far as success on the field, the overall collective effort that Jerry Neilly and his staff cooked up for the uniforms this season has been as good as I’ve seen in my eight seasons covering the uniforms thus far. To go out with a bang with Sparky on the helmet and in a traditional color combination, and hopefully in a winning effort, is as much as a uniform enthusiast could ask for. By and large, Sparky is seen as one of the elite logos and helmet decals in college football throughout the country. It’s easy to say that this season will go out on a very strong, uniform note.

What Color Travelling 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 @crafty_devils on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @chad9smith, @Cawley_TV, and @Kadesi83 in this week’s Twitter poll!

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