Kansas Football Uniforms: 2013 Review

Kansas Football Uniforms: 2013 Football Review

In the last few weeks, we’ve given you a look into the past and some of the uniforms KU has worn in the most successful years in the program’s history. Now, we’ll look back at the 2013 season, a season that featured more uniform combinations than any other in the history of KU football. It wasn’t so long ago (2012!) that KU went with one uniform combo at home and one on the road. Those days are long gone, and with so many choices from headgear down to pants, KU has almost limitless options. But with so many combinations, you were always going to have inspired choices while others were more regrettable from an aesthetic perspective. Also note that for this post and posts that follow, we’ll use certain terminology concerning the uniforms. For instance if KU wears a blue helmet, blue jersey, and white pants, we’ll simply say blue/blue/white. Easy enough, right? Now for the 2013 season review.

Game 1 vs. South Dakota

For the season opener, Kansas came out and looked pretty sharp. They went white/blue/white and with the exception of the white lid, this was a very traditional look for KU. But because they had so many options at their disposal, it was no surprise to anyone that they went with a different helmet. In this case, the white looked great.

Besides being a great looking uniform by itself, when you put it on the field against South Dakota’s red/white/red look, the game itself was a real winner. It looked like a good old fashioned Buffalo Bills versus Kansas City Chiefs game. I hope they go with this look again. Maybe the ideal time would be in two years when Oklahoma strolls back into Lawrence.

Grade: A-

Game 2 at Rice

All white, head to toe. Not a bad look, but just not a look that Kansas owns just yet. KU debuted the look in the 2010 edition of the Border War (albeit the Jayhawk on the helmet was simply the well-known KU logo for that game) but this was the first time they’d worn them since then. It’s not that I don’t like it, it just seems like it’s maybe a little too much white. Would the blue helmet liven things up? Probably. Rice wore navy over white with a navy helmet, so the game had lots of contrast. Overall, not bad.

Grade: B

Game 3 vs. Louisiana Tech

The best look of the season: blue/blue/light grey, what is this 2008? And if it is, sign me up for more because this look is even better than the look those teams sported because of four simple words: Jayhawk on the helmet. The Jayhawk on the blue helmet is such a great look, I wish they’d wear it every game, you know, like football teams used to do when they only had one helmet.

This was one good-looking football game. Louisiana Tech wore their traditional red/white/blue road uniform with all the stripes in the right places. When these teams lined up against one another, it looked like what a football game should look like.

Grade: A

Game 4 vs. Texas Tech

I’ll let you know this right off the bat- I’m not a fan of the monochromatic jersey and pant combo for a football team unless that color is white. So when KU broke out the blue jersey over the blue pants in their game against Tech, I wasn’t pleased. At least they threw the red helmet with the angry Jayhawk on the top, or there’d be just too much blue. Texas Tech went all white so at least the KU uniforms added a dash of color to this game, but they could’ve done it with white or grey pants and looked a lot more respectable.

Grade: C

Game 5 at Texas Christian

What team am I watching? Red/white/red? From a neutral standpoint, these look pretty sharp, but from a KU viewpoint, it’s just weird. Call me old school, but too much red just doesn’t say KU to me. I know that we’re the Crimson and Blue, but red should always be left as an accent color, in my opinion. When it starts dominating the uniform, I get confused. Anyone else have that problem when the KU wears red either in hoops or football? Who am I even watching? Which way are we going? Luckily, in this game TCU went purple/black/purple so we had no problem identifying the teams. Put those two color schemes together and it just didn’t look good on the field.

Grade: C-

Game 6 vs. Oklahoma

Oh, no. I get it, KU wanted to wear a dark colored jersey at home but had already worn the blue three times, but grey? Grey jerseys just don’t look good in football. Pants yes, jerseys no. In this case, blue/grey/blue looked pretty strange but considering that in the past KU had a black alternate for some reason, this actually made a little more sense. Actually, come to think of it, no, it makes no sense. Give me a reason why these grey jerseys even exist. It’s just not a good look, and considering that they could’ve recreated their week three look against a traditional looking old school Big 8 rival in Oklahoma, it looks like a giant missed opportunity.

Grade: D-

Game 7 vs. Baylor

Mono-blue. I take back what I said about that week four matchup with Texas Tech. This looks better with the blue helmet than with the red one. In the mid-90’s KU was wearing all blue at home with some frequency and this set harkened back to that era. At least you know it’s Kansas that you’re watching unlike the previous two games. Baylor went straight white and the contrast made for a better-looking game than I would’ve expected.

Grade: B-

Game 8 at Texas

Here’s another example of KU getting it spot-on correct. They went ultra-traditional with a blue/white/light grey strip and when you combine it with the classic Longhorn look of white/burnt orange/white, you have one of the best looking football games of the year.

Grade: A

Game 9 at Oklahoma State

Two weeks in a row of sharp looking KU uniforms. White/white/blue is a great look and considering OSU went with a black/black/grey set for this contest, the game overall contrasted perfectly. But back to KU for a minute as the only improvement they could’ve made to this as a road uniform is the exchange of the white helmet for the blue. Of course, they’d worn the blue lids for three games straight, so I could understand why they broke out the whites. A solid look that I think they should break out on the road more often.

Grade: B+

Game 10 vs. West Virginia

Oh dear God. I’m worried that because they won this game to end that huge string of conference losses that they will repeat this color combination sometime in the future. For the love of all that is good and kind in this world, I beg that they don’t. Red/grey/grey is an awful look for anyone, and this holds true for Kansas too. Nothing about this ridiculous costume says Kansas to me, and I’m glad it doesn’t because this might have been the worst look that any college football team took the field in last season. Just horrifying.

Grade: F

Game 11 at Iowa State

This was a sweet looking football game. KU went blue/white/blue as I suggested they do against OSU and Iowa State went red/red/gold. Not much to say about this game other than I wish we played as well as we looked.

Grade: A

Game 12 vs. Kansas State

OK, I get it. You’re playing your in-state rival and you want your school colors on full display. Well, red/blue/red certainly accomplished that. While it’s not the most traditional uniform KU could’ve picked for their most traditional game, it still looks pretty good. Normally, I’m not a big fan of mixing it up in a rivalry game, (For example, Alabama-Auburn always looks good and you know who you’re watching) but this looks good. K-State went traditional (they have no choice) and KU went modern. It’s like KU wanted the viewers to think that Kansas is the future of football in this state and KSU is the past. Gotta work on the results on the field to get that thinking to take hold, but the uniforms are as good a place as any to start, right?

Grade: B+

2013 Uniform Statistics:

Helmets:

Blue: 5 times, 41.7%

Red: 4 times, 33.3%

White: 3 times, 25%

Jerseys:

Blue: 5 times, 41.7%

White: 5 times, 41.7%

Grey (Dark): 2 times, 16.7%

Pants:

Blue: 5 times, 41.7%

Red: 2 times, 16.7%

White: 2 times, 16.7%

Grey (Dark): 1 time, 8.3%

Grey (Light): 2 times, 16.7%

That’s it for the 2013 season review. Overall, a nice combination with Kansas getting it right more times than they got it wrong. Next week we’ll do a 2014 season preview from a uniform perspective where I predict what KU will wear for each game and contrast that to what I think they should wear for each game. And of course, if you disagree or just want to voice your opinion, the comments section is always open.