PASADENA, CA. - OCT 11: Oregon QB Marcus Mariota in action during the UCLA football game on October 11th 2014 in Pasadena, California.
College football is a sport with a long tradition and hundreds of schools playing weekly. With of those schools and so many years invested, many teams try to find ways to garner attention in the crowded college football market. One of the easiest ways to do this is the uniforms the team wears. Teams with a long history of winning tradition can use the same uniforms they have been using for a century because players will want to wear the same uniforms they watched their idols wear in the past, whereas schools without that tradition must try to find innovative ways to draw a young athletes’ attention. Here are the five best uniforms in college football.
1. University of Michigan
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Is there any image that screams college football as much as Michigan’s winged helmets? The Universtiy of Michigan have been sporting their winged helmets for over eighty years. It began with coach Herbert “Fritz” Crisler’s belief that the bright gold would help both the offense and defense distinguish their teammates on the field form their opponents, as well as improve the aesthetics of the solid black helmets Michigan had been wearing prior to 1938. Due to Michigan’s long-standing tradition in the college football world, as well as the great contrast of dark navy and bright gold, these uniforms are the best in college football.
2. University of Oregon
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It is hard to rank the uniforms of the University of Oregon on any list due to the fact that they change so consistently. Oregon has a special relationship with the Nike shoe company whose founder, Phil Knight, is a graduate from the school. Not only does the Oregon Ducks‘ football program get first dibs on any new equipment or innovation that Nike produces, they also get a ton of special edition jerseys from them as well. That is the reason they are so hard to rank; the Oregon Ducks where more jerseys than any other school in the country by a wide margin and not all of them are good. Still though, when they are good, they are really good.
3. Penn State
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Something about Penn State‘s uniforms just feels like Saturday football, no matter how plain they may be. While most college football teams show their mascots or unique designs on their helmets, the Nittany Lions sport all white helmets, making their uniforms jump out in a crowd. Nothing about these uniforms really jump out but that doesn’t stop Penn State from being one of the most recognizable teams in the entire nation.
4. University of Miami
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The University of Miami uniforms have it all. Not only do they represent a great tradition within the program but they also jump out with their bright orange tops, something that many other historically great football schools lack. Topped off with a helmet showing one of the most famous college logos in all of the sports, these uniforms are great from top to bottom.
5. University of Maryland
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While Maryland’s uniforms may not garner as much attention and fanfare as the others on this list, that doesn’t make them any less spectacular. The way the Maryland program integrated their state flag onto their helmet in a way that still looks intimidating is incredibly impressive and something not found anywhere else in the country. With their all-black uniforms, in particular, the University of Maryland sports some of the sleekest and most intimidating uniforms of any school and they should be recognized for these fantastic designs.
