Oklahoma's Alternate Jersey Choice Touches a Nerve as Sooner Nation Sounds Off

When Oklahoma announced Monday that the No. 8-ranked Sooners would be wearing their alternate jerseys for this week’s crucial SEC showdown with No. 23 Missouri, many OU fans let their feelings be known.

Many inside Sooner Nation do not like the team’s anthracite gray “Unity” jerseys one bit.

Some simply favor the program’s traditional Crimson and Cream look for home games. 

Some don’t like the players’ names being replaced with the word “UNITY” on the back nameplate.

Some don’t like that there’s not enough contrast between the crimson numbers against a dark gray background — despite a reflective sheen on the numbers and a small, almost subtle white piping around the number — and that for many, it’s hard to see from way up in the Memorial Stadium seats.

And some just think it’s an unnecessary distraction, something that could wreck the team’s mojo they built by winning two difficult road games at Tennessee and Alabama. Why mess with a good thing, right?

But in three previous seasons under Venables, the Sooners are 3-0, with impressive home wins over Kansas (52-42) in 2022, West Virginia (59-20) in 2023 and Maine (59-14) in 2024.

None of those teams were ranked when they came to Owen Field, however. Missouri looks like a different challenge altogether.

Maine, from the FCS level, was just overmatched last year. Dillon Gabriel set a school record with eight total touchdowns (five passing, three rushing) against the Mountaineers in 2023. And Gabriel threw for 403 yards with three total TDs in 2022.

Justin Peabody, who runs the Twitter/X account Sooner Tracker, keeps tabs on OU’s alternate uniforms and any and all trends. He revealed an interesting statistic about the “Unity” uniforms and the previous alternative iteration, the “Rough Riders,” which were debuted in 2014.

Since 2014, Sooners have a better winning percentage in alternates (0.83) than traditional uniforms (0.74).

The “Rough Riders” popped up once a year at home or on the road (most often for West Virginia), but under Brent Venables, the “Unity” kit has been worn specifically when Oklahoma honors the military with Military Appreciation Day. 

This week's 11 a.m. game against the Tigers was the first chance the Sooners had to do that this year since the team was on the road the week before Veterans’ Day, idle the week of, and at Alabama the week after. OU hasn't lost to Missouri at home since 1966.

Of course, the anti-anthracite sentiment isn't unanimous. Some OU fans voiced their opinion that the team would be fine against Missouri, that there was no potential for a jinx, and that if the players like wearing them (they do), then that's all that matters.

After they debuted in 2022, OU players said they loved the alternate look.

"“I’ll give it an A,” said linebacker David Ugwoegbu. “Solid A, A-plus. A-plus.”

“I love ‘em,” said offensive tackle Anton Harrison. “It was great. If we could wear ‘em every week, I would.”

“Energy,” said cornerback C.J. Coldon. “Everybody on the sideline was turnt. That’s the big difference."

 In that 2022 game, Gabriel was returning from a concussion that knocked him out 1 1/2 games — both blowout losses. Players were energized by his return and by the anthracites.

“At the end of the day,” Ugwoegbu said in '22, “whoever has the cooler jersey isn't going to play better. The idea of it is great, but I don't think we can put that much power into the jerseys.

“Putting these jerseys together, putting the word 'unity' on the back, it's just huge for us because it just emphasizes everything Coach Venables and this program is all about.”

More to the point this year, tight end Jaren Kanak said Monday he enjoys the look.

"Yeah, it's awesome," he said. "They're cool."

Still, it sounds like most of Sooner Nation would prefer to resign the anthracite alternates to the dustbin of OU history.

Here’s a sampling of responses to a tongue-in-cheek tweet from Monday: