Saturdays in Style: The hottest uniforms from Week 5 college football

Appalachian State finds themselves on the list of the best uniforms for week five. The Mountaineers brought out gold lids and pants for their matchup against Liberty. Unfortunately, the game was canceled due to flooding in Boone, NC. The flooding is because of Hurricane Helene. Regardless, these deserve to be on here.

The school has been wearing gold alternate helmets consistently since 2012. This variation is being worn for the third straight year. This variation has the middle helmet stripe in black. Two white stripes surround it on the outside.

The helmet has a black facemask. ASU's traditional black jersey is a plus since it gives a dark contrast, providing a balance between the light gold helmet. It's a nice look. I wish we could've seen it on the field today.

Auburn hosted new SEC rival Oklahoma this past weekend. They wore their traditional look, classic navy blue jersey and white pants. Their normal white helmet also was worn but with a twist. Auburn swapped out their navy blue facemasks for orange ones.

It's a small change but a noticeable and great one. The orange facemask allows the uniform to have a little more brightness. The navy jersey makes the overall look mostly dark. Having the orange facemask right above the dark element makes it stand out.

Baylor hosted the BYU Cougars this weekend. Despite the Bears suffering a close loss, they had a great uniform combo on the field this past Saturday. They introduce a set, wearing an all-green helmet on top of a gold jersey and pants. It's a great look. Baylor's color scheme shows its potential with this.

Despite the heavy usage of gold, the brightness does get even out due to the green being a darker shade. The green numbers and stripes alongside the jersey and pants are a neat touch and help. Baylor did a good job in using the green as much as possible to even this out.

This is a welcome addition to the uniform rotation, especially since Baylor has worn green primarily for most of its history.

I know, I know. Boise State has been a regular on these weekly lists like a few other teams. But, can you blame anybody for putting the Broncos here? They are one of the few teams in the sport that can't miss on uniforms. The blue and orange colorway opens the door to countless design opportunities. They have a sick logo and great attention to detail.

Mesh those three traits together and you get perfection. Boise State hosted Washington State, wearing an all-blue uniform set. Hints of their signature orange can be seen on the sleeves and around the jersey numbers. The helmet retains the slick, eye-catching, shiny, metallic look with the Bronco logo and facemask. These are just sweet.

From the outside looking in, I don't think Charlotte gets enough credit for their uniforms. Are they the most flashy and unique? No. However, their green and tannish-gold color scheme is great. Their logo, while simple, does a good job of capturing the 49ers theme. This week, Charlotte traveled to Rice in an American Conference matchup. The team wore all-white uniforms. a great choice for a night game.

Three-layered striping in green and gold are on the helmet and over the shoulders. Large green numbers on the jersey are outlined in gold. The helmet has a white facemask as well. Despite this being a mostly plain look, the classic striping and color scheme adds a certain amount of pop to it. These are nice.

Cincinnati traveled the Lubbock for a Big 12 showdown with the Texas Tech Red Raiders this weekend. They arrived wearing a basic but eye-catching uniform combination. The Bearcats wore their road white jerseys with plain white pants.

However, what makes this stand out is the usage of their black helmet. It does enough to darken an outfit that bright. There's a sinister-type feel to this combo. It's basic and maybe there could be a little more usage of red, maybe around the numbers. However, these are nice.

The Duke Blue Devils hosted rival North Carolina in an afternoon ACC tilt last Saturday. They came back from a 20-7 deficit. Maybe their threads had something to do with it. They wore all-black uniforms. On the helmet, Duke decided to use the Blue Devil alternate logo on the sides rather than the traditional 'D'.

A thick blue stripe lays in the middle of the helmet. Similar to Charlotte's jersey you just saw, Duke also has traditional three-layered striping in white and blue. The same pattern of striping is on the side of the pants. This is a sharp look,

For those who don't know, Florida International University is located in the glamorous and flashy city of Miami. Because of that, FIU brought out uniforms that are indicative of the city's unique and trademark color scheme.

Their "Biscayne Blue" alternates are completely different from what FIU normally wears. Against Louisiana Tech, the Panthers wore baby blue jerseys with white numbers, outlined in navy blue. The pants match and the helmet is white with an FIU wordmark helmet decal that's in the baby blue and outlined in navy. Maybe a bit of pink couldn't have been used but these are great.

Fresno State was demolished by UNLV over the weekend. However, that doesn't take away from this uniform combination. Just like Boise State, the Bulldogs have made multiple appearances on this weekly list. However, they do deserve it as they routinely put out some of the classiest-looking combos in the sport. The Bulldogs decided to wear navy pants and helmets in the contest.

The trademark script wordmark on the helmet is in white, outlined in red. The facemask is white. The biggest use of red comes with the numbers and wordmark on the jersey, as they are outlined in navy. The pants have no striping but look solid below the white jersey.

It's time to give Atlanta's smallest team some love. The Georgia State Panthers might not be seen in another list this year, barring any more good-looking combos. However, their regular home uniforms need some attention. Although they lost to rival Georgia Southern, these threads are nice. Again, they don't jump put at you but these are solid. GSU wore a blue helmet with a blue jersey and white pants.

The white accents on the blue portions include the stripe on the helmet. On the jersey, there are white numbers, including on the shoulders, and thick white stripes on the sleeves. The collar is also an accent. The pants add in some more white, however, above the knees, lays a thick blue stripe. This is just a good example of equal amounts of usage between both colors. It doesn't feel like one color is used too much.

The 2024 season might go down as the worst the Houston Cougars have experienced in a long time. However, you can't go wrong with a nice and classic UH red uniform. At home against Iowa State, the Cougars wore an all-red combination.

Red helmet, red jersey, red pants. There is no striping and no fancy details. It's simple, straight to the point, and gets the job done. White accents are all over the uniform. They are included with the white logo and facemask, as well as the numbers on the jersey. It's clean.

The James Madison Dukes dominated lowly Ball State this past Saturday. They also looked great in their dominating performance. Their uniform combo consisted of a white helmet, a purple jersey, and white pants.

The helmet has a thick gold stripe, sandwiched in between two purple stripes. The facemask is purple which serves as the start of a long extension that leads into the jersey. The tops have large white numbers on the front and sleeves, outlined in gold. There is also a thin gold outline around the armpit.

Kent State makes its first appearance on this weekly list. They hosted MAC rival Eastern Michigan this week in Dix Stadium. The Golden Flashes ended up bringing out a new look, swapping out navy blue for a jersey primarily in black.

The jersey has over-the-shoulder striping in white, navy, and yellow and the number follows a similar pattern. The pants also follow the formula, being black with similar striping on the sides. The helmet is all-white. However, there are two different decals. One side has the state outline of Ohio with the player's number inside. On the other side, there is a lightning bolt.

If you take a look at the week three list, Louisiana Tech made its first appearance of the best uniforms. Now, they are here again as they wore these against FIU. This combination is mostly the same as the one you saw in the aforementioned piece.

However, they switched out the blue pants for the red ones. This is still a neat look and the color change of the pants makes this feel new. The traditional striping over the shoulders remains as does the red helmet.

Marshall hosted and defeated Western Michigan this weekend. They wore their traditional green uniforms. While these aren't special alternate uniforms, I feel like they need more attention. As is the case with smaller schools, their designs don't go as noticed as a power conference team. However, nobody can look at these sharp and organized threads and not think of the Randy Moss days.

The helmet is an all-time classic, consisting of a black facemask as well as green and black striping. The jersey is green with black edging around the white numbers. You just can't go wrong with this uniform combo.

Remember when I said some teams just can't go wrong with a uniform set? Add the Memphis Tigers to that list. The Tigers hosted the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders and wore their blue jerseys and pants. We've touched on those before.

However, the gray helmet is what takes the case. Memphis hasn't worn them much as of late and now they brought them out. The helmet has great tiger stripe decals in blue.

Miami of Ohio hosted UMass this week and finally got off the snide with an overtime win. The RedHawks brought out unique alternate jerseys for the contest that ties into the school's long history. Miami University has been around since 1809. 46 years after the school opened, the Western College for Women opened in Oxford, near Miami. The coed liberal arts school lasted from 1855 to 1974, before being absorbed by Miami University after financial problems.

As a result, Miami acquired the campus of the women's school. The RedHawks wore their traditional white helmet with red accents. Their jerseys are navy blue, the primary color of the women's school. There's three-layered striping over the shoulders, in red and white. Numbers are in white, outlined in red, as well as the 'Western College' wordmark. Miami's block 'M' appears on the right, above the wordmark.

Another team that makes their first appearance on a uniforms list is Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders went on the road to play Memphis. They wore crisp white helmets, white jerseys, and light gray pants.

The helmets have a white facemask and their underrated logo has a diagonal striping pattern. The jersey has blue and silver stripes on the sleeves and a deep gray collar. Even though this isn't special and just a normal away uniform, it is a nice look.

Minnesota went into Ann Arbor to play Michigan this weekend. The road-white uniform combination looked great on the field. The Golden Gophers paired white pants with maroon and gold striping on the sides.

It mirrors the striping on the jersey sleeves with the thick gold stripe in the middle, sandwiched between two maroon stripes on the outside. The helmet has a maroon facemask. More eye-catching, is the use of Goldie the Gopher on the left side of the helmet. This was the first full-body portrait of Goldie on a white helmet.

North Carolina State has another signature struggle against Northern Illinois this past Saturday. However, they put together a good uniform combination. The Wolfpack wore their red helmets with Mr. Wuf on the sides and their red jersey.

The jersey has a black collar and a thin black outline around the sleeves. They completed the look with sleek black pants. There are also other black accents such as the cleats, socks, and gloves.

The New Mexico Lobos played rival New Mexico State in a fun rivalry shootout this past Saturday. With the game being held in Las Cruces, the Lobos wore their white road jerseys and pants. However, what stands out the most is the helmet. New Mexico brought out their red lids for the contest, which look great. But, the real star of the show, surprisingly, is the facemask.

It's a small detail but this past weekend marked the first time in UNM history, that the Lobos opted to use white facemasks. New Mexico has worn red facemasks for their entire history, so it was a major deal when they decided to switch it up for the first time. It's a great choice too, as it matched the rest of the uniform well. It also stands out a bit since it is right above a grey collar.

Speaking of New Mexico, let's talk about the uniforms their biggest rival wore in that game. New Mexico State wore white lids, maroon jerseys, and white pants. The jersey itself isn't super unique. It's a traditional, non-flashy design, that works well, especially with NMSU's color scheme. The jersey is maroon with large white numbers and traditional sleeve stripes in white. The helmet is white but has a neat helmet decal.

The decal pays homage to the New Mexican state flag. It's a sun symbol of the Zia tribe, a group of Keresan-speaking Indians, that have occupied the Zia Pueblo since the 13th century. On the actual flag, the sun is red. However, New Mexico State twisted it, sticking true to its color scheme, and making the sun maroon. The school name is inserted in the middle.

Ohio hosted in-state and MAC rival Akron this past weekend. In their blowout win, the Bobcats brought out an old-school helmet design with an alteration. The jersey and pants remained unchanged. The helmet used the same logo decal that Ohio regularly wore from 1967 to 1972. The Bobcats have reused these same helmets in multiple stretches over the years.

However, these helmets have usually been white. Not this time, as Ohio altered. They switched the color placement, using a white version of the logo on a green helmet. It's the first time that Ohio has ever made this switch. The decal itself is an outline of the state that read 'Ohio' on the inside.

Old Dominion picked up their first win of the season against Bowling Green on Saturday. The Monarchs wore an all-white uniform combo in the victory. The Monarchs have one of the more underappreciated colorways in college athletics, as they pair navy and baby blue together. There aren't many features throughout the uniform. The most visible are the long stripes on the sides of the pants.

A thick baby blue stripe is in the middle, surrounded by navy stripes. As far as the jersey is concerned, navy blue numbers are outlined in baby blue. The numbers are also present on the sleeves. As you can see, there's not much use of the blues but the little usage is enough. These are clean and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

Ole Miss suffered a disappointing and crushing upset loss to Kentucky over the weekend. It was a stinger for sure. However, that's not to take anything away from their threads on Saturday. Ole Miss, will always have these beauties to fall back on.

A classic powder blue helmet, a powder blue jersey, and plain white pants. These three elements make up one of the top uniform combinations in college football. Red accents appear with little logos on the pants and the stripe in the middle of the helmet. These are fresh.

Again, here come the Oregon Ducks. The school with the most unique uniform history ever came out with another pleasant look this past week. In their road tilt against UCLA, the Ducks wore a uniform set that is extremely similar to the iconic throwback threads from 1984 to 1994. Everything is there. The green numbers with yellow edging, yellow pants, and yellow helmet. The modern twist comes with a few features.

First is the green, V-neck style, collar that wasn't on the original version. Next is the logo on the sleeves, which has been on them on every jersey this season. Hey, Puddles! Lastly, the logo on the helmet uses the current, modern 'O' logo as opposed to the throwback 'UO' decal. However, the striping on the helmet remains the same, as does the yellow face mask. These are too good to not include.

The Rice Owls are well on their way to another losing season. They dropped a close contest to American Conference rival Charlotte. Their uniforms, albeit simple, are great. This combination of a navy helmet, navy jersey, and light grey pants is phenomenal. It's important to note that many teams in college football use the same template for jersey designs.

The modernized three-stripes make an appearance here. Also, the slanted and enlarged wordmarks and numbers are on the jersey as well. However, the silver and white give Rice's uniforms a unique charm that pairs well with the dark navy blue background. The numbers also appear on the shoulders. The navy helmet has a white facemask to go along with their white old-English font 'R'. The look is finished with light grey pants.

There are plenty of teams that shouldn't wear black alternates such as Baylor. They wear them anyway. Everybody, especially in today's tasteless era of fashion, wears predominately black outfits and sports teams have become a victim of that when trying to come up with new ideas. However, some teams deserve and should wear black. That's where Rutgers comes in.

The Scarlet Knights decked themselves out in this sinister and sleek look for their Friday night showdown against Big Ten newcomer Washington. They won in a nail-biter. Maybe they should wear these more often.

This all-black combo is astounding. Red accents with thin white outlines can be found everywhere, including the helmet decal, as well as the jersey numbers and wordmark. The pants are plain and they could use some striping in my opinion. Regardless, these still deserve an A grade.

The Sam Houston Bearkats appear on the list for the second straight week. For their in-state showdown with Texas State, Sam Houston brought out another throwback helmet design.

Last week, they wore the helmet design worn from 1998 to 2004. Now, they brought back the design they used from 1994 to 1996. The decal is a script wordmark that reads the teams' name and a single white stripe goes down the middle.

TCU pulled out a great bounce-back win over Kansas on the road over the weekend. The Horned Frogs wore white lids with sweet purple facemasks over their white road jerseys. The logo decal has the lizard finished with a metallic, shiny touch.

The jerseys, missing the iconic spiked collar design, still look nice. The purple numbers are edged in silver and it features small purple touches such as the Nike swoosh on the left side of the chest. The basic look is finished off with plain purple pants. Cute dog by the way.

Here's another team that can pull off a nice all-black look. Texas Tech hosted Cincinnati in a late-night shootout. The all-black set was the perfect choice for a night game. The Red Raiders wore their black alternate jerseys and paired them with their traditional black helmet.

Red and white accents appear all over with the stripes on the helmet, jersey sleeves, numbers, wordmark, and pants. The edging of all these elements is in red, with the insides being primarily white.

Tulane dominated South Florida in their American Athletic Conference. They also looked great doing so, as they wore their usual baby blue helmets and jerseys. These helmets are the regulars the Green Wave wear, complete with green and white striping down the middle and a green facemask.

The sleeves on the jersey follow the same striping pattern and the white numbers are edged in green. White pants with blue and green stripes along the sides, wrap up the set.

The UAB Blazers didn't look great in their blowout loss to Navy in week five. However, their uniforms for the game did provide some much-needed positivity for the Birmingham area. UAB decided to wear these sick neon green and black alternates, to support Smile-A-Mile. The non-profit organization in the city provides hope for children dealing with cancer.

All the green elements that are usually in UAB's darker shade were replaced with the neon green-type shade that the organization's logo has. The middle stripe on the helmet, logo, conference patch, numbers, and wordmark. What makes the occasion more heartwarming is the fact every player wore the name of a cancer patient on the back of their jersey. Not to mention, these are sick due to the colors standing out so boldly on a black background.

UCF did get blown out at home against Colorado last week. However, I think it's time to give their home uniform sets some love. While UCF has had arguably better designs in the past, these are still sharp. The pants are all-white, devoid of any stripes. The jersey also is somewhat basic, not including any striping or features. But the unique font of the number is nice and the gold edging around them is perfect.

The helmet is all-black. Down the middle is a non-traditional stripe. It's primarily white with a thin inclusion of gold down the middle. The stripe ends right before it touches the front plate above the facemask. UCF's iconic acronym logo is on both sides, giving the boldest resemblance to gold throughout the uniform.

The UConn Huskies are looking pretty good through the first five games of the year. They knocked off Buffalo, 47-3. They also wore an underrated uniform set during the game. UConn went with an all-navy lool for the contest. The helmet has the husky logo on both sides, thinly outlined in red, UConn's tertiary color. The eyes of the husky logo also appear on the plate above the facemask.

The numbers are in the school's unique font, outlined in both navy and silver. The bottom portion of the sleeve is white. The pants have three-layered striping on the side. A thin stripe in navy is in the middle, surrounded by two thick white stripes on the outside. These might be boring to some but in reality, it's a neatly organized uniforms that doesn't do too much.

Finally, we end off with Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers nearly pulled off an upset over rising Boston College over the weekend. They did so, wearing a neat uniform combo of a black helmet and pants, sandwiched by a white jersey. The helmet has a white facemask and down the middle, contains two thick red stripes with a thinner white one inside. The decals are a script font of a shortened team name.

The jersey has a shadow number design, similar to the 1994 San Francisco 49ers jerseys. Red and black stripes surround the sleeves, and the numbers also appear on the shoulders. The sides of the pants have a singular red stripe. The helmet decal is similar to Maryland's, which is neat.

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