Week 3 uniform heat check: College football’s boldest fits

Illinois can't miss with their uniform combinations this year. Since the school is celebrating its 100th Anniversary in football, the Fighting Illini are bringing back several elements from past uniforms. Last week, they went with their orange helmet design from the 2000s.

Now, for this week's matchup with Central Michigan, Illinois is now bringing out the helmet design that they wore from 1980 to 1982. The specific helmet strip and Illini decal are present.

Fresno State also seems to never miss on their uniforms. This week, the Bulldogs from the Silicon Valley took on New Mexico State in an after-dark affair. Fresno State sported their red jersey and navy pants combination. However, their helmet and gloves add a bit of the American touch to the look.

The helmet that the Bulldogs wore this weekend was navy. Their traditional decal sticker had an American flag pattern design. The gloves have a flag design as well. If there's a team that can do this well with their color scheme, it's Fresno State.

Kansas' season is falling apart quickly. They suffered a tough loss to UNLV last Friday night. At least, they looked stylish in doing it. Kansas brought out an all-black look for their week three tilt. Black helmet, black jersey, black pants, black gloves. and black cleats.

The one thing that makes this stand out is that Kansas used the Jayhawk logo from 1941 on the helmet. It also appears on the sleeve caps. The helmet has a blue facemask. The numbers also have a circus-style font.

The California Golden Bears have always put out decent uniform combinations. Against San Diego State, they decided to wear their new gold helmets over their navy blue jersey. Gold pants round out the look. While Cal has worn several different gold helmet designs in the past, these might be the best they've ever put out.

The striping and blue facemask are identical to the helmets the school wore in 1981. The only difference is the shade of blue as the '81 version had a lighter shade. This is a sweet look.

We have yet to give Tulane some love on the uniform watch lists. So here they are. This past Saturday, the Green Wave took on Oklahoma in Norman. Tulane wore their normal white away jersey. The top and bottom of the look incorporated baby blue elements.

Their light blue helmets have been a fixture for the football program since 2019. The middle has three-layered striping in green and white. The mascot logo is on the sides and the baby blue pants have no striping. However, it's a clean and light look. These are sharp.

Memphis makes a reappearance on the uniform watch list with another gem. They 'upset' Florida State wearing these beauties. The white jersey keeps the great tiger stripe design on the sleeves. The blue pants are plain with no stripes.

The numbers on the jersey are in blue and have grey outlining which makes it a bit more bold. The blue helmet has a white facemask and instead of tiger stripes, has the Memphis logo on the sides. It still looks great.

Wake Forest hosted No.5 Ole Miss this weekend. Wake Forest wore their normal black uniforms at home. However, where this uniform shines is in the helmet. No pun intended but these lids do shine. The helmets have black facemasks while the gold has a metallic finish, allowing it to pop out more on the field. These definitely deserve some love.

East Carolina brought out their modern throwbacks for this weekend's tilt with Appalachian State. These uniforms were released last year and combine multiple elements from different decades. The purple jerseys have white numbers with a gold drop shadow.

This pays homage to the 1980 jerseys. The striping on the sleeves, helmet, and pants comes from the 1990s. The white helmet has a purple cursive font that dates back to the 1970s. The helmet bumper has the ECU wordmark logo from the 90s. The helmet had a nice gold facemask.

There's nothing wrong with a great Duke football uniform. The Blue Devils wore a white helmet with their classic-looking blue jerseys and pants this week against UConn. In the match against the fellow basketball powerhouse, the Blue Devils inserted their great Gothic-font wordmark on the helmet for this week.

They brought these helmets out for the first time last year in their primetime upset over Clemson. This font has been popular on basketball uniforms so It's been nice to see the football team adopt this.

Oregon showed off their home green uniforms for the past two weeks. They were included in the week one piece. Now, for their first road game against rival Oregon State, the Ducks showed off the road white version for the first time. There's not much to say other than the colors have been inverted for their white version.

These still look sweet. These should just remain as the regular uniforms for the next several years. There's nothing wrong with these. Puddles on the sleeves are a big plus and these do a great job of giving a modern twist to the classic throwbacks from the early-90s.

The Buffalo Bulls brought out an underappreciated look for their tilt against UMass. The Bulls sported a gray jersey under a blue helmet and over a set of blue pants. The shade of gray is extremely light which was a smart decision on the part of UB.

It fits well with the shade of blue the Bulls have. Even though there isn't a true dark shade on this set, it's not like this combo is too overpowering. There's even a bit of black around the numbers as well. I think the helmet should've gone with a black facemask but this is sharp.

The Texas State Bobcats suffered a tough home loss to Arizona State this past Thursday. However, that doesn't take away from these beauties. The Bobcats topped off an all-black look with a sleek golden helmet. The "Cats" script font has been a bit of a trend.

We'll see another example of this soon and also Kansas State had a similar helmet last week. The wordmarks and numbers on the jersey are maroon and have a thin gold outline. The helmet has traditional striping over the middle in maroon and black.

Speaking of 'Cats', Arizona debuted their new red helmet in their game against Kansas State this past Friday night. The Wildcats haven't worn too many red helmet designs over their history. These are the first red buckets they've worn since 2020.

However, these are sharp. Once again, the script font is used but looks good on the red background. The word is outlined in navy which is perfect. The facemask being white was another good decision. This probably could've benefitted from a navy stripe in the middle but this is still really nice.

Who doesn't love a simple and bright Tennessee uniform? This past week's look against Kent State featured an orange jersey and orange pants. The regular white helmet remained at the top. Other than the all-orange attire, these are regular Tennessee jerseys that we are all used to seeing. This was also the first time that the Volunteers have worn their orange home jerseys this year.

Despite Temple's 28-20 loss to Coastal Carolina, the Owls ran out on the field with a crisp look. From head to toe, Philadelphia's college football team strolled out in an all-cherry combination.

Even though the school hasn't had similar levels of success as other G5 programs, Temple will always be at the top of the list for their clean uniforms. The helmet has Temple's logo on one side and the player's number on another side. The sleeves and pants have white diamond patterns which adds another touch.

Missouri took down Boston College this weekend in a top-25 matchup. Not only did the Tigers hold down the Eagles, they looked great doing it. This week, Mizzou wore their yellow-on-black uniform combination. It's a simple look but it looks great, especially with the big black letters on the jersey, outlined in white. The sleeves have an effective stripe design. The pants are plain black which is a plus.

Miami-Ohio sported their normal home uniforms for their title against rival Cincinnati in the battle for the Victory Bell. Unfortunately, the Red Hawks couldn't win the trophy for the second straight year. However, one plus was their uniforms. Now these aren't special or alternates.

However, the Red Hawks have a good set of clean looks and their primary home uniform is one of them. A white helmet with Miami's red 'M', a red jersey with black outlines, and plain white pants is the perfect combo. These needed some love. It's not flashy but it works.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs gave North Carolina State a good challenge last Saturday. LTU has a sweet combination for their road visit to Raleigh. Louisiana Tech is another mid-major program that hasn't gotten credit for its great uniforms.

Last week, they wore red helmets with blue and white striping over the middle. Their great blue logo was outlined in white. The white jersey has over-the-shoulder striping in blue and white. The numbers and wordmarks are in blue and outlined in red. The pants are blue with red and white striping on the side. These are great.

Arkansas State gave Michigan some fits in their Saturday contest in Ann Arbor. The Red Wolves came out with an all-white combo. The helmet features the Red Wolves logo on both sides and a black facemask. The jersey is simple, with over-the-shoulder striping in red and black. The numbers are black and outlined in red. The pants have the same striping on the sides. A good icy white design.

South Carolina hosted LSU last weekend with these black jerseys. South Carolina did a good job with these uniforms. The helmet and pants are primarily white with black and garnet striping, over the middle of the helmet, and on the sides of the pants. The black jersey had white numbers that were edged in garnet. The collar has the same striping with white on the outside.

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