Nothing is more polarizing in college football than alternate uniforms. We rank the top five Ohio State alternates used.
This Saturday when the Ohio State Buckeyes take the field to play Michigan State, they won’t be wearing their traditional unis. Instead, they’ll be wearing a clean, all white look. From what we can tell the only change from their normal look as the road team, will be white pants instead of gray.
In the new world of college football, alternate uniforms are a sign of the times. There are hard-core traditionalists who will never accept anything but the original. At the other extreme, are those who would like a new combination each week, ala the Oregon Ducks. Ohio State and Nike seem to have met nicely in the middle offering one to two alternates per year.
Like it or not, alternate uniforms are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. And for those who argue that Alabama and Penn State would never wear alternates… that’s okay. Do we really want Ohio State to be either of those teams? I don’t think so.
With that said, let’s countdown our all-time Buckeye favorites in the alternate uniform universe.
Ohio State is breaking out the 1968 throwback Nike uniforms with the gray sleeves for the Fiesta Bowl against Clemson.
If you’re a traditionalist, you’re going to love this bit of news. It flew maybe a little bit under the radar when the Ohio State football Twitter feed congratulated the team for making the College Football Playoff with an invite to the Fiesta Bowl. But it didn’t take a few fans and media-types to pick up on a rather sneaky way to maybe break some news.
In a graphic shared on Twitter, Ohio State threw an Ohio State jersey into the corner. Oh, but it wasn’t just any Buckeye jersey. No, what we were teased with was an OSU jersey with some gray striped sleeves staring at us in the face.
You could have looked at it and thought nothing of it, but that’s not how these things normally go.
So, of course fans were beside themselves in anticipation for a return of the 1968 throwbacks with the Diamond Quest Nike Swoosh. And, as luck would have it, Andrew Lind of Buckeye Sports Bulletin who is normally on these sort of things seems to have the inside scoop that confirms what we all thought.
Can confirm Ohio State will be wearing the home version of its 1968 throwback uniforms with the Diamond Quest Nike Swoosh for the Fiesta Bowl against Clemson, the inverse of the last time the two teams met.
So what do these uniforms look like? They’ll be almost identical to the ones OSU wore during the inaugural College Football Playoff run in 2014, and the home version of what was worn the last time Ohio State took on Clemson.
Here’s a look at the 2016 away version.
December 31, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) greets Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16) following the 2016 CFP semifinal at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
And here’s more of what you’ll see with the home version. We saw these beauties against Oregon in the CFP National Championship game against Oregon in January of 2015.
Jan 12, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) runs past the Oregon Ducks defense in the first quarter for a touchdown in the 2015 CFP National Championship Game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
What do you think? Do you like these? If so, you might be in luck, because there are also rumblings that these gray sleeves might just be a staple of the uniforms beginning next year.
