Cleats, Colors, and Creativity: Week 4’s standout college uniforms

These aren't crazy special or alternate uniforms. But if there's one thing about Miami is that their uniforms have been sharp for the most part. The classic uniforms have been some of the best in the sport.

This week, the No. 8 Hurricanes took a short trip to Tampa and played South Florida. Their combo set for this game was their traditional white helmet, white jersey, and green pants. The pants are a great choice as they provide the perfect dark contrast to the bright top. The hints of orange around the uniform stand out well.

The Liberty Flames have done a solid job with their uniforms in recent years. They don't have any that are bad. This combination is one of their best. Yes, it might be too bright for some but this is a quality set.

Liberty brought out a white script alternate helmet against East Carolina. The helmets have navy facemasks. They wore red ones last week. They again wear their Houston Oilers-like baby blue jersey, with a navy collar. The collar has LU's throwback mascot logo. The look is finished off with white pants.

Colorado State owns some of the most unique uniforms in the sports. The Rams were included a few weeks ago when they showed their "Ag Day" orange throwback uniforms. This week, they brought out their "State Pride" alternates against UTEP.

The design mimics that of the Colorado state flag. The red and yellow 'C' is on the helmet and sleeves. These uniforms are all white, with blue and red accents around. The blue numbers are outlined in red. This is something that most teams should do, as it's a unique idea. Just don't do it like Maryland. You don't want to look ugly.

Speaking of Colorado State, their opponents also came out with good uniforms. The UTEP Miners had an all-blue combination in Fort Collins since the Rams' look was all white. The pants are plain. The jersey features white and orange accents such as the three stripes on the sleeves.

The numbers have a thin orange outline. However, what looks a bit more pop is the helmet. I think it's a great idea to have the Miners logo on one side with the player's number on the other. The white facemask is a good choice to brighten up the look a bit.

SMU appears on the list again. It's not a secret that the Mustangs can't miss on a uniform. SMU knows how to put aesthetically pleasing uniforms together. The new ACC members hosted rival TCU for the Iron Skillet this past Saturday.

The Mustangs wore their "Dallas" alternates in the rivalry game. The jersey is rather basic, being primarily blue. There aren't many added features on it, besides a thin red outlining around the armpit.

The numbers and script wordmark are just white. The wordmark itself is in a classic script font, which pops out well. The pants are white with no striping. It still looks nice and the helmet is the best part. It's white with a blue facemask. The logo has a smaller Mustang silhouette in front of a unique-looking 'D' for Dallas.

SMU's opponent, the TCU Horned Frogs had some flashiness in Dallas as well. The Frogs wore their regular road white jerseys and pants for the game. However, they brought out these beautiful all-purple helmets.

These lids have some shine to them as the helmets look to have a chrome or metallic finish to them. The helmet has a frog skin pattern. The TCU logo is in a light shade of grey. These have to be in the conversation for the best helmets in the sport this year.

The Missouri Tigers show up for a second week in a row. Mizzou hosted Vanderbilt in the SEC opener. The Tigers wore their usual gold jerseys on Saturday, which look amazing. They switched out their black pants for white ones, which made the overall look extremely bright.

The white helmet also gets used again but the team swapped out the black facemasks for yellow ones. The black numbers on the jersey even the brightness a bit. This is a good combination choice for a game that ended in the evening hours. These are slick.

No.12 Utah went on the road to Stillwater for their afternoon tilt with No.14 Oklahoma State. The Utes sported an all-white look. Needless to say, these are some of the best uniforms you will see all year. What makes these more attractive to the eye is Utah's heavy reliance on their use of striping. The sleeves are entirely decked in red with black and white stripes across them.

The sides of the pants have the same striping as well as the helmet. The colors of the stripes on the helmet are inverted since the lid is primarily white. The numbers and lettering are in red, outlined in black. Utah used enough of their signature red and black all over the uniform to not make this feel plain. It's almost perfect.

The UTSA Roadrunners had a uniform set that was primarily dark for their weekend game against tiny Houston Christian from the FCS. They wore navy jerseys and pants that were plain for the most part. However, UTSA's signature font for the numbers and school wordmark helps make the jersey interesting.

The wordmark above is strictly orange. Around the armpit is orange piping. The numbers themselves are white with orange edging.

A close-up of the Roadrunner logo is plastered on the sleeves in orange. The helmet adds more light to the look, as the lid is white. The Roadrunner logo is on both sides, giving more touches of color. The helmet being white, serves as the perfect contrast to everything else.

The Northern Illinois Huskies sure look good, both through their performance and gear. On Saturday, they hosted MAC foe Buffalo while showing their American pride. Similar to Ole Miss, the Huskies sported regular uniforms, which were very sharp.

They wore their all-black helmets, red jerseys, and white pants. Being that black and white can go well with anything, it was a perfect choice to sandwich them with a red jersey. However, on the helmet, they used an American flag-themed decal. Again, it's minimal but it works and doesn't provide a major distraction to the main components of the uniform.

NIU's opponent, the Buffalo Bulls, also had a great look. They wore all-white uniforms themselves. These are pretty plain as Buffalo doesn't use much striping in their uniforms.

However, the font of the numbers, as well as Buffalo's light blue, make this intriguing enough to be on the list. The helmet's blue logo and stripe have a nice shine to it. It's nice how they outlined the numbers in black as well. The blue cleats are a nice touch.

What can be said about these uniforms that hasn't been stated already? LSU will forever be recognized in the college sports world due to its iconic branding. The football program has always stuck to this classic design and it should never change.

The Tigers hosted UCLA over the weekend and decided to use their purple jerseys which they usually wear on the road. It's sandwiched between the traditional gold helmet and pants. These are perfect and needed to show up at some point.

The Nevada Wolfpack hosted FCS Eastern Washington and came out with slick home uniforms this weekend. They wore their navy jerseys with gray edging. Both shoulders have a thick stripe that extends near the armpit.

The white plain pants are a great compliment to the dark jersey. The helmet is also white and Nevada has opted to go with their old-school helmet decals from the 1990s. The helmet also has two thick navy stripes down the middle.

Unfortunately, Southern Mississippi didn't look great against Jacksonville State. They got pummeled in their road contest. However, these uniforms for the Golden Eagles are great. USM hasn't worn white helmets much throughout its history.

They are still relatively new. The yellow and black give that and the jersey some pop. The striping isn't overdone as there are only two huge stripes on the sleeves, one in each color. The gold pants give the uniform enough color for this to be effective. Neat combo, USM.

This past weekend, the Troy Trojans hosted the Florida A&M Rattlers of the FCS. It wasn't just a normal football game as the Trojans were celebrating and honoring the 1984 team.

In 1984, Troy went 12-1, won the Gulf South Conference title, and captured the Division II National Championship over North Dakota State. The helmet is maroon with a silver facemask. The decal is the head of a Trojan, which looks eerily similar to Michigan State or San Jose State. However, these are great regardless.

Read more: