Week in Review
Punch, counterpunch, rinse, repeat. That was the theme of Arizona State’s first road game of the season against Texas State. The Sun Devils opened the game with a defensive stop and then immediately followed that up with a touchdown, only to give up three unanswered touchdowns to find themselves down 21-7 a little more than halfway through the second quarter. They then responded with a 52-yard touchdown pass from Sam Leavitt, who had his best passing performance of the young season, to Jordan Tyson, as well as a methodical drive capped off by a 7-yard Sam Leavitt run into the end zone to tie the game just before halftime. The second half was a defensive struggle, with Texas State breaking through with a touchdown late in the third quarter. ASU responded in turn with their own touchdown on the very next drive. The defensive grind continued with the Devils breaking through with a field goal after recovering a fumble, taking their first lead since the first score of the game at 31-28, which ended up being the final score. The Sun Devils displayed the ability to dig deep and fight back when they went down early. It was a sight for sore eyes, as there has not been much of that to speak of in recent years. Another sight to behold was the uniforms, so let’s talk about them.
Gold/white/gold is the most classic and oft-used away uniform combination in the history of ASU Football. It makes it so that it is undeniable who you are watching out there. With the right amount of maroon mixed in, the whole uniform truly works. The helmet is ultimately what took this uniform combination from mundane to good.
Too many times since the introduction of the pitchfork, we have seen naked-looking matte helmets that had more of a powder yellow hue rather than gold. Not only were the colors of those helmets off, but they lacked a maroon center stripe. These gold helmets are a true ASU gold with a gloss and metal fleck finish. Each time the camera zoomed in on an Arizona State player, the helmet color popped under the stadium lights. The inclusion of a maroon-based center stripe makes it so that, even from a distance, the helmet is discernibly ASU. The one criticism I have is the same criticism as week 1. The pitchfork decals are not great. Even in close-up shots, the gold trim of the decal is completely lost, blending into the helmet. A new order of these decals with a maroon border around that gold trim would add that extra layer of detail to give the pitchfork much more presence on the helmet. Otherwise, the uniform as a whole was a triumph.
Gold/White/Gold: A-
The Week to Come
Uniform
An undefeated Sun Devils team has concluded their non-conference slate and now enters their first-ever Big 12 conference schedule when they take on Texas Tech in Lubbock. ASU’s non-conference schedule got more difficult each week, and it seems that trend continues with Texas Tech coming off an obliteration of North Texas last Saturday. The Red Raiders have been a bit up and down this season, to say the least. They have scored a lot of points, especially at home, but outside of their most recent game against North Texas, they’ve also given up a lot of points to both Abilene Christian and Washington State. It will be interesting to watch how Arizona State schemes to slow the high-powered offense, as well as if Sam Leavitt, Cam Skattebo, and the Sun Devil offense can exploit the same defensive weaknesses that Abilene Christian and Wazzu found. When ASU comes out of the tunnel in Lubbock, they’ll be wearing their annual Whiteout away uniform combination.
The white jersey features the Arizona state flag as a stripe feature on either side of the uniform. It is a tonal gray with the rays leading up and fading into the armpit, the star around the base of the rib cage, and the river block running downward and eventually fading towards the waist. In a move towards an even more simplified design, adidas has opted not to include any identifying letter or wordmark on the jersey.
The white jerseys feature maroon player numbers outlined in gold on both the front and back of the jersey, as well as the TV numbers on the sleeves. The sleeves also have a maroon cuff. Though it may be hard to see, the numbers on the front and back of the jerseys have a subtle, tonal flame pattern within the maroon.
The nameplate on the back of the jersey utilizes the maroon Sun Devil Bold font. On the front of the jersey, near the left shoulder, is a maroon adidas logo. Near the right shoulder is a maroon and white Big 12 logo. Last but not least, 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 large maroon pitchfork gold maroon trim on the right thigh and a maroon adidas logo near the left hip.
Helmet
The white helmet features standard maroon pitchfork decals with gold trim. The facemask is white, and the front bumper has a white base and maroon “Arizona State” text.
The decals on the back of the helmet include a white Big 12 logo with a maroon border, a maroon PT*42 shield honoring the legendary Sun Devil, Pat Tillman, a maroon Warning label which is in the shape of the state of Arizona, features maroon text, and has a small, white pitchfork over Tempe, and an American flag. The decals on the back of the helmet are rounded by the maroon “Arizona State” text, with each letter outlined in a thin, gold border on a white base rear bumper.
Cleats and Socks
The Sun Devils will wear white cleats against Texas Tech. From left to right, there are four different types of cleats. The first two pairs are lighter cleats and are typically worn by speed position players (wide receivers and defensive backs), while the last two pairs are worn by heavier players (linemen).
From left to right, the pair furthest to the left is the adizero Electric. It features a white sole that reaches part way up the heel. They have a textured maroon base that has a bit of a sparkle element to it with three white stripes and an adizero wordmark on the outside of the shoe. The top portion of the cleat is a maroon primeknit and has the white adidas logo near the instep. It has maroon laces and a maroon finger loop on the heel. The next pair is the adizero Impact. It features a white sole and a white plastic band that reaches up towards the heel on either side of the shoe. The white base has three maroon stripes on the outside of the shoe, while there is a maroon adidas logo on the instep. The maroon laces lead up to the white adizero wordmark on the tongue, and the cleat also has a maroon finger loop on the heel.
The final two pairs are adizero Chaos models, which are made for more ankle support for heavier linemen. The second to last pair is the adizero Chaos. It features a shiny white plastic sole and a two-tone white and gold colorway on the main body of the shoe. The front half towards the toe is white and features three maroon stripes on the outside of the foot, while the back half towards the heel is maroon. The cleat also features maroon laces with a maroon finger loop on the heel. The fourth and final pair is the adizero Chaos Torsion. It shares almost all of the major color characteristics as the Chaos. The main difference is that the sole is a white rubberized material designed for better grip on the grass and it also features a small plastic maroon plate on the instep of the sole.
Another white cleat option is being made available to players as well. It is another pair of adizero Electric but with a different colorway. The mostly white shoe features metallic gold adidas stripes and accents, including an adizero word mark on the tongue.
White socks will be worn to match the cleats as well.
Gloves
The Sun Devils will wear maroon and black 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 adizeros feature a maroon pitchfork with gold trim on the palm of each glove. They also have a gold adidas logo on the back of the hand, gold seams around the wrist, and a gold adizero word mark on the pointer finger.
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 the same maroon pitchfork palm design as the adizero, gold seams around the wrist, and a gold adidas logo on the back of the hand. 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 black with black padding on the palm and along with a gold adidas logo on the back of the hand, they also have white accents on the knuckles and a black wrist wrap with a gold strap.
Reaction
Last year’s was one of the best Whiteout uniforms of all time. It was essentially the same as this season’s iteration, with the only true difference being that it also featured a maroon and gold center stripe that really made things pop. This helmet lacks that feature and because of that, it does lose a little pop.
However, this is still a good look as far as Whiteouts go. It harkens back to the early days of the pitchfork era when the white helmet’s default look was pretty much what is being worn this weekend against Texas Tech: a white shell with maroon pitchfork decals and gold trim. Those helmets of the past always had maroon facemasks. Saturday’s helmets boast a sleeker look with a white facemask.
I can see the comments section now:
“Not white!”
“Put those white helmets away for good!”
“We always lose in white!”
While it’s true that our record is less than stellar in the Stormtrooper combination, there have been some shining moments. This is also a solid look. While I wish there were more, there is sufficient maroon and gold on the helmet, jersey, pants, and maroon glove choice to satisfy the palette. Plus, ASU is in the Big 12 now. It’s time to turn a new leaf and begin a new legacy with the Whiteout look. The Sun Devils will have the opportunity to begin a new tradition for the Whiteout by going into Lubbock and leaving with a victory.
What Color Traveling ASU Fans Should Wear: Gold
Honorary #Faniform, the #Grahamiform
For the second consecutive week, Arizona State Athletic Director Graham Rossini submitted a #faniform. While it is still a #faniform, anything submitted from Rossini will never be eligible for the #faniforms presented by Cactus Sports contest, therefore it will have its own subsection within the faniform world: The #Grahamiform. Last week’s Grahamiform a black cap with a state of Texas patch that features Arizona’s state flag stars and stripes fading into a flamed Sparky face. He wore a gold shirt with Sparky centered between maroon “Texas Devils” print underneath a white polo that has a gold pitchfork ASU logo. He also wore white Stan Smith Lux shoes with maroon heels. Again, his engagement and enthusiasm also surged submissions, which led to a midweek away game that began before work was out for most people, receiving more faniform submissions than the first home game of the season.
#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 @tbhardon90 on earning a finalist spot last week! And best of luck to @Cawley_TV, @bigmean760, and @Ch3wy0220 in this week’s Twitter and Instagram poll!
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