The OC, not the QB

The game last Saturday started out looking promising. The passing game was looking good against a team known for having a strong pass defense, and Elijah Badger was emerging in a big way. Stanford was also stifling the typically strong ASU rushing attack, which is an atypical thing for Stanford to do. ASU got out to a 14-6 lead with what seemed like strong offensive momentum and a defense that was consistently keeping the Cardinal out of the end zone.

On the other side of the ball, the Sun Devil defense gave up plenty of yards, but they never let Stanford find pay dirt, which should have been plenty of support to provide an offense that had been clicking early on. There were signs of more consistent blitzing with Defensive Coordinator Donnie Henderson choosing his spots, but the front four were able to generate pressure on their own as well.

With all that going well on the other side of the ball, you would think that the offense would be able to build a cushion by leaning into the production that Emory Jones and Elijah Badger had developed, but they could never regain the momentum they had early in the game. An argument could be made that playing Trenton Bourguet in place of Jones was the right thing to do in the 2nd half, and I can’t argue against that hypothetical result, but the reality is that the Sun Devils could have and should have won that game with Emory Jones in the game.

The fact is, it wasn’t the decision at quarterback, nor the play of the quarterback, that stalled the offense, but instead the perplexing and overly conservative play calling of Offensive Coordinator Glenn Thomas. During a promising-looking fourth-quarter drive, the Devils had a five-yard gain on a first down near midfield and ran two straight run plays that resulted in a net loss of one yard. There was no sense of urgency. There was no aggressiveness. Stanford had been regularly sneaking through the line and stuffing the run all day. Those play calls made no sense and were indicative of the offensive game plan, or lack thereof, that led to the Sun Devils scoring 0 points and ultimately losing to a team that could only muster five field goals.

Based on Shaun Aguano’s Monday press conference, there is now an open quarterback competition this week which I’m in support of, as healthy competition should always have a place on a football team. Aguano also said that he would be more involved in the calling of the offense from here on forward. To me, the latter of those two moves speaks louder volumes, as I truly believe that when we look back on this loss, we can see that it was the OC, not the QB.

Week in Review

The loss was ugly, but the uniforms were beautiful. The gold helmet/white jersey/maroon pant is the perfect blend of school colors for an away uniform. There’s no mistaking the team that’s on the field in that uniform. The traditional look on the field opposite Stanford’s classic home uniforms made for a great uniform matchup.

The gloss gold helmet looked great set atop the white jersey and maroon pants; the decal selection left a bit to be desired. The predominantly white pitchfork looked clean, and it also included the primary gold and maroon colors. The chrome gold trim was a nice touch, but it didn’t have the same glow effect during a day game that it would typically have under the lights at night. The decal itself was cool, but overall, it looked a bit washed out on the gold helmet shell, even on TV, where there were plenty of close-ups.

Despite a decal that was good but not great, this uniform combination was a success, as always. We love the variety here, but it’s always a treat for the eyes and the soul to see the old colors used the way they were always intended on the gridiron. We usually get only one of the traditional road combinations each season, but not always both. However, with the gold/white/gold combination having been worn against Oklahoma State and the gold/white/maroon combination being worn this past weekend, the equipment staff has satisfied both already, and for that, I’m grateful.

2022 Gold/White/Maroon: A-

The Week to Come

Uniform

The Sun Devils will play in their second consecutive road game when they travel to Boulder to take on the sputtering Colorado Buffaloes. It’s an opportunity to notch a road win in a season where wins have been hard to come by. When the Devils take on CU, they’ll do so in a maroon helmet/white jersey/gold pant road 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 gold 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 makes its second appearance in the last three games and has some fancy decals to boot. The maroon helmet features a maroon facemask and chin strap. As for those fancy decals, there is an oversized pitchfork on the right side of the helmet that has a gradient that starts gold at the bottom tip, fades to maroon in the middle, and then back to gold towards the top tip of the pitchfork. The pitchfork also has white trim. On the opposite side of the helmet are player number decals that feature the same gold to maroon to gold gradient from left to right on each number which is outlined in white. 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 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 gold 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

The Sun Devils will wear white cleats for the second week in a row. 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.

White socks will be worn to match the cleats.

Gloves

The Sun Devils will wear both 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 perfect remedy to a tough loss is to come back with a win, and in their effort to earn that against Colorado this Saturday, the Sun Devils will be dressed very well. Swapping the colors for the helmet and pants from last week is a solid move from the equipment staff. It holds true to the traditional colors but in a new way.

It looks awesome on the mannequin. The gradient on the decal is a nice touch to complement the color shift of the maroon iridescent helmet, and the white trim does a great job of tying in the away jersey. Despite it being a color combination we’re not used to seeing, it’s a cohesive look and should look good in the afternoon light and into the night as the lights come on at Folsom Field.

I’m a big fan of this uniform. As much as I love the variety, there’s nothing like seeing the classic colors. Final judgment will be withheld until it’s seen on the field, but I have a good feeling about this. Just like I have a good feeling about the final result of this upcoming game. Go Devils!!

What Color Traveling 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 @CraftyCreative on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @asudbubba, @sundevilsoul, and @lilbobby28 in this week’s Twitter poll!