Uniformity Week 6: Sun Devils Wear Desert Inspired Rising Devils Uniform

Baby Steps

Three separate first-half defensive plays all affected the overall direction of last week’s game, and each took place on the first set of downs of each of USC’s first three drives. The first drive had a snap sail over USC quarterback Caleb Williams’s head on third down, but he was able to retrieve it and manipulate his way through a clumsy group of Sun Devils to convert a first down. That drive ended up in a Trojan touchdown. The second drive saw a great pass rush on third down, with the Sun Devil pass rusher getting his arms around Williams, who was ultimately able to escape and use his legs to pick up another first down. That drive also ended in a USC touchdown. On second down of the third USC drive, the Sun Devil pass rush had Caleb Williams surrounded in his own endzone, closing in on a safety. It was then that Williams made an abrupt decision to jump and muscle a lob towards the right sideline, which ended up as a completion and first down. That drive, you guessed it, led to a third consecutive Trojan touchdown.

That anecdote was not meant to discourage but to show that the Sun Devils were *this close* to making impact plays that could have changed the entire game and given them an opportunity to challenge the #6 Trojans with a competitive game or perhaps even an upset. In fact, if not for the otherworldly athleticism and talent of the opposing quarterback, there’s a chance that the Devils finish those plays. That was promising.

There was a significant, visible improvement on both sides of the ball for the Sun Devils. They were challenged by one of the best offenses in the country. The defensive line made strides in getting into the backfield. Timarcus Davis atoned for his missed interception against Utah by giving Caleb Williams his first interception of the season while covering the reigning Biletnikoff award winner. The ASU offense scored on its first three drives of the game as well, notching two touchdowns and a field goal before halftime. Emory Jones used his legs much more effectively, which was a nice thing to see, considering he was slowed by a nagging hamstring injury.

There is something different that showed itself this week. Buy in. There is a consistent message. Everyone is treated the same. Sins do not go unpunished. If you’re late for practice, you get sent home. You run between practice rotations. If you break team rules, you will be disciplined. Shaun Aguano has implemented a departure from the laissez-faire, hands-off style of leadership of Herm Edwards. The team seems to be responding.

Now it’s up to the fanbase to respond. For those that actually watch and pay attention, all of the improvements and positive signs I just described were very obvious. It’s time for the fans to show up and cheer loudly. Washington is coming off a tough loss, and the Sun Devils are going to have yet another week of practice stacked up heading into the warm day game against the Huskies. So it’s time to buck up and show up, even for a 90+ degree day game. Support these players. Go Devils!!

Week in Review

I was truly not expecting much from this uniform. The gold helmet with predominantly white decals atop white jerseys and pants felt a bit washed out on the mannequin. However, it translated very nicely on the field, especially under the lights. The maroon trim on the pitchfork decals caught the light, and the reflection transitioned to gold, as did the maroon borders on the center stripe. That mirrors the color shift reflection of the iridescent maroon helmet shells. It was very impressive on TV during wide angle game shots but even more so in close-up shots of the players.

I typically like at least some dark element to anchor a light-themed uniform combination. I do think that this uniform could have used a bit more of a dark element to round it out, but the lack thereof didn’t kill this uniform. In past years, the matte finish on the gold helmets gave off a lighter, softer, powdery gold or yellow look. The return to the deeper, richer gloss gold helmet shells allows the helmet to hold its own as a staple color element, even amidst an all-light uniform combination. The creative decals and white facemask tied everything together.

Student manager Arthur Heuzard cooked up this very creative helmet build, and it was clearly a good choice to #LetArthurCook. The Sun Devil Equipment staff even released a video of Chef cooking up this look, and it was filmmaking genius.

All in all, it was a solid look. The equipment staff has produced nothing but heat through the first five weeks of the season. They’re on a roll, and it’s literally and figuratively a great sight to behold.

Gold Helmet/White Jersey & Pants: A-

The Week to Come

Uniform

The third and final leg of a three-game gauntlet to open Pac 12 play will conclude with 21st-ranked Washington comes to Tempe this Saturday in what will be the earliest day game at Sun Devil Stadium since USC and ESPN Gameday came to Tempe on October 1st, 2005. Washington is another program that has made a miraculous one-year turnaround. Head coach Kalen DeBoer and Indiana transfer quarterback Michael Penix lead a new look Husky team. The Huskies are coming off of a tough loss to UCLA for what will be their second straight Pac-12 road game. They will also be wearing their dark purple home uniforms in the height of the Arizona sun because the uniform ASU is wearing is considered a light-colored jersey.

As was announced in mid-August, the Sun Devils will be wearing the Rising Devils uniform combination. The maroon helmet/beige jersey/beige pant uniform combination is an ode to the Arizona desert.

The beige jersey features the recognizable Sun Devils script that was heavily used in the 90s on the chest with a gradient that begins as a dark gold at the bottom of the wordmark and works its way up to a lighter gold at the top as an homage to an Arizona sunrise, as well as a maroon drop shadow. The gold player numbers have the same gradient pattern and maroon drop shadow.

The nameplate on the back of the jersey is a gold plain text font. Each shoulder features gold player numbers, or TV numbers, in the same gold gradient and maroon drop shadow style as numbers on the front and back of the jerseys. On the front of the jersey near the left shoulder is a gold adidas logo, near the right shoulder is a gold and maroon 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 beige pants have a small gold pitchfork with maroon trim near the left hip and a gold adidas logo near the right hip.

Helmet

The Sun Devils will wear their maroon helmet shells for the second time this season. The maroon helmet uses an iridescent, candy finish color shift paint job. The helmet’s surface directly in front of the eye will appear as the candy maroon finish, but the angles from which light hits the helmet will shift to gold. The maroon color shift helmets have Sun Devils script decals on the left side of the helmet, player number decals on the opposite side of the helmet, and a center stripe. The typeface of the Sun Devils script decal matches that which appears on the front of the jersey; however, the color gradient begins with maroon at the bottom of the wordmark and fades up to gold at the top of the wordmark. The Sun Devils script decal has a tan base which matches the base color of the jersey and pants.

The player number decals feature the same maroon bottom to gold top and tan trim color scheme as the Sun Devils script decal. The center stripe is quite dynamic and has a lot going on. The main feature is the bold chrome gold anchor stripe in the middle, which transitions to thin maroon stripes, then slightly thicker tan stripes, and finally, one more layer of thin maroon stripes to complete the detailed decal. The maroon helmet will feature a maroon facemask. 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 a subtle detail.

The gold 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 gold text, and has a small, gold pitchfork with maroon 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

Maroon cleats will be worn with the Maroon Monsoon uniform. From left to right, there are three different sets of cleats. The first three pairs are AdiZero, the next two are Freaks, and the last two are Nastys. The AdiZeros 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 left three, the AdiZero furthest on the left features a maroon base and sole, a gold tongue, gold laces, three white adidas stripes near the toe on the outside of the shoe, and a prominent white AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect on the instep near the arch. It also has a gold finger loop on the heel. The next AdiZero is maroon on the outside of the shoe and on the sole, but more prominently gold on the instep and throughout the rest of the top of the shoe. The gold instep features a maroon AdiZero logo with a digital ghost effect and a gold finger loop on the heel. The third is the AdiZero Scorch which is a Primeknit mid-top. It has the same base color features as the previous pair, except the AdiZero logo with the digital ghost effect is silver rather than maroon.

The two pairs of adidas Freaks are in the middle of the group of cleats. The Freak pair on the left is the Freak mid. It has a maroon base and translucent gold sole, maroon laces, a maroon tongue with a white Freak logo on it, three white adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat near the toe, and a prominent white 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 primeknit material, darker maroon accents, gold stitch detailing around the lace eyelets, and a gold finger loop on the heel.

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 maroon base and sole, maroon laces, maroon eyelets with gold accents, a maroon tongue with a white Nasty logo on it, three white adidas stripes on the outside of the cleat, a white adidas logo on the inside of the cleat near the heel, a small plastic gold 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 maroon sole, it features a metallic gold sole.

The Sun Devils will wear maroon socks along with their maroon shoes.

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 maroon gloves 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 striping and a small “Z” AdiZero letter mark 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 maroon adidas Freak gloves feature a palm design so that when the palms are placed together, it completes the image of the gold ASU Sunburst made famous by the 1975 undefeated Sun Devil team.

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

The Rising Devils reveal that took place before the season began was not well received by either the ASU community or the general public throughout the nation. The reaction was visceral and immediate.

As for me, I love the implementation of the 90s-era Sun Devils script wordmark. It’s nostalgic, and it’s a great way to get creative while still using an ASU property. The overall execution is something I’ve been unsure of. My initial thought was that the base color of the uniform should have been a light gray as maroon and gold truly pops off gray.

The helmet is cool overall. I love the Sun Devils script decal and would love to see it stick around to be used every now and then, much like how Maryland used the “Terps” script decal last week. The number decals are typically an element I like, but they are initially a miss for me. I would have liked to have seen the Sun Devils script on both sides of the helmet. Of course, final judgment will be reserved until after the game.

Because the tan uniform is a lighter color, the visiting team will wear their typical home uniform. That means Washington will be wearing their home purple jerseys for a 1 pm kickoff in the desert with a high approaching 90 degrees. The trip to Tempe is the second consecutive road game for the Huskies, who are coming off of a tough loss to UCLA. It will ultimately come down to game plan and execution this Saturday, but those are a few elemental things that are working against Washington. ASU will also have another full week of benefiting from interim head coach Shaun Aguano’s tutelage to build upon the improvements that were seen last week. There’s no guarantee of a win as the Sun Devils take on their third consecutive ranked team and fourth in the last five weeks, but there is something about this game that feels like ASU can pull off the upset. Now it’s up to us to show up and cheer. Go Devils!!

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 @SunDevilSpark on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @ProducerWes, @SundevilWa, and @keithsaurin in this week’s Twitter poll!