The 50 best uniforms in college football

Why has Kentucky worn so much black? The blue-on-blue look is obviously the best. It’s the only one of the Wildcats’ looks that warrants positive mention, though the one with the white pants is also decent. The checkerboard shoulder pattern is actually kind of cool too.

Marshall has a nice green-and-black combo that pops big time. When they go old school and keep it simple it looks nice. Here’s the problem: A lot of the school’s recent looks have included the words “The Herd” written across the front. That’s incredibly lame.

For a MAC team, the Rockets have changed up their looks quite a bit. It’s always based around dark blue and golden yellow, sometimes with some gray thrown in that they should just steer clear of. They combine the blue and yellow well, and when they wear them in more equal measures, it looks particularly nice.

The Miners have some cool orange uniforms with blue piping that look nice. However, a couple of seasons ago, they introduced an all-blue look with white letters that was awful. They look like a high school’s practice jerseys. Stick with the orange.

The Cougars have a nice red-and-white color combo, although when they were going with the two-toned jerseys it didn’t look great. The better look keeps it simple, with red jerseys and white pants and “HOUSTON” written in big letters across the front. The black uniforms they’ve worn with red lettering is all right.

The Broncos seem to have an identity crisis, although that may have been the fault of P.J. Fleck and his “row the boat” insanity. They don’t seem sure if they want to focus on brown or gold as their primary color. Sometimes they throw in white; sometimes it’s more about the gray. Both the brown and gold work for them, and when they keep their look more simplistic they look good.

The “Blue Angels” uniforms that Navy wore against Army last year were awesome. The Midshipmen’s usual look isn’t quite on that level, but it’s still solid. However, since a lot of people see the special look they often rock only for the Army game, you may not know that.

Only the green-on-green look works for the, well, Mean Green. It’s not just because it plays into their name, though that’s part of it. They have “Green” in their name. They should wear a lot of green. They get knocked down for the times they are wearing primarily white and for all the black-heavy looks of their past.

Purdue rocks a black jersey the bulk of the time, which actually works for the Boilermakers — perhaps because they pair it with gold numbers that are reminiscent of the New Orleans Saints. They need to wear it with gold pants, though. When the Boilermakers wear black pants, it’s a little too monochromatic.

The normal black, green, and white look for Hawaii is fine. It might even make this list just on that. However, the rainbow variation the Warriors wear on occasion, with rainbow stripes on green or white jerseys, is a major bonus. In truth, rainbows actually aren’t all that aesthetically pleasant — too busy — but the fact they are willing to wear them is delightful.

This is tricky. The Blue uniforms the Mustangs wear are pretty nice looking, but it feels like red should be the main color for SMU. As such, the existence of the blue uniforms is almost a negative, despite how they look. The red with a bit of blue striping, especially when they also wear red pants, is where it’s at.

Tulsa has one look that is a white jersey on blue pants, but with a gold helmet. The gold isn’t really anywhere on its uniform. That’s actually pretty cool. The blue-on-blue uniforms with that gold helmet are also nice. When the Golden Hurricane wear a white helmet, though, it’s a little dull.

Shout out to the jerseys that read “WOLF PACK” on front, because who doesn’t want to wear a jersey that says “WOLF PACK” on it? Nevada had some weird piping back in the day, but it seems to have gotten rid of that. The look now is simpler — maybe a little too simple to be honest — but it still looks good.

The white jerseys with the black letters and red collars are quite fetching, but the red jerseys are clearly better. They also represent all their colors in the stripes on their pants, which is cool. Just never wear black as your primary colors, guys. It makes you look boring and generic.

The Ducks have, roughly, a million looks. Some of them, especially the retro ones, are awesome. Some of them straight-up suck. Taken as a whole, the Ducks make this list, but they can’t be too high up thanks to the eyesores out there. Anything with feathers on the shoulder should be tossed into a giant furnace, never to see the light of day again.

Why do the Volunteers ever wear gray? Your colors are orange and white. You iconically wear Creamsicle orange and pristine white. Just do that. It looks great, even when they wear white-on-white and eschew the orange pants.

Cal has seemingly ditched the weird swoopy stripes on its pants, which was a nice move. The Golden Bears have a jersey with a golden top and navy blue pants with “Golden Bears” written in small script just above the number. It’s quite nice. The jerseys that had a different color around the collar are also a cool look.

San Jose State sucks, like, really bad, but at least it looks good doing it. You have to go with one of its looks with a blue jersey on yellow pants, although the white jerseys look pretty good too. The Spartans have cycled through a few different things on the front of their jerseys, but the “SJSU” is probably the best of the bunch.

Stanford’s white-on-white actually kind of works, as far as white-and-white can ever work, but obviously the cardinal-red jerseys are the real gem. There are no stripes or any flourishes. It’s just a couple of colors that pop together. Points for the big, distinct numbers as well.

The Bulldogs wear red, white, and blue, but they wear them in all sorts of different combinations. They all work, though — even the white jersey and white pants combination. The secret? They always have great stripes on their jerseys and pants, regardless of the look.

The Sun Devils have weird hooks on their shoulder stripes, which is a negative. Also, when they wear black it feels like a waste. However, their traditional color combo, which evokes golden sunshine and rich, desert browns, is lovely. Don’t mess with a classic, Arizona State!

Oh man, those red jerseys with the big white stripes and “Ole Miss” in cursive over the numbers? So nice. When those colors are flipped around, it looks great as well. Unfortunately, there is also a dark blue version, which feels bland.

Ohio wears an interesting shade of green, and it combines well with the white it also wears. The Bobcats keep it simple, but it works, especially the stripes on the shoulders. It’s a clean, distinct look.

The Horned Frogs get demerits for any of their “textured” looks, which are silly. The purple jerseys look pretty good for them, but that color works better on pants. You combine those pants with a black jersey, and you have yourself a cool and original look.

The Broncos play on a blue field, and they usually wear uniforms that are all the same color of blue. That’s insane but also admirable. It’s such a garish blue, with bits of orange accent that are loud. Boise also has uniforms with gray numbers, instead of white, which is actually kind of interesting.

Brown doesn’t have to be boring. That goes double when it's combined with a loud yellow. Wyoming may not be a big school, but it owns brown jerseys. The yellow “WYOMING” and numbers also look great.

It doesn’t get much simpler than Penn State’s look. White, blue, no frills. The uniforms look like they are products of the ‘50s, which is almost refreshing these days. It’s a nice combination of colors, too. Somehow the white seems whiter than any other white out there.

Minnesota has a great color combo, best exemplified by the maroon top on yellow pants look. Weirdly, when it flips those colors it doesn’t work as well. The maroon-on-maroon version is pretty great, too.

The Mountaineers like to go with mostly one color looks these days. That’s OK, because the blue-on-blue look with the yellow numbers is nice, but the yellow version is even better. The blue accents and numbers keep the yellow from looking too crazy, and it’s a nice shade of yellow that pops.

Obviously, the burnt orange jerseys with the big white numbers are great. However, sometimes the Longhorns wear all-white uniforms that are so boring, and the white pants they wear with those orange jerseys are also not great. This is all about those jerseys, which are truly worthy of inclusion.

Simple, but classic. Let’s single out the font used on the Sooners’ jerseys, which really pops. The numbers look great, and so do the words “OKLAHOMA” and “SOONERS,” depending on which version they are wearing.

The Cyclones have a ketchup-and-mustard look that’s mostly yellow with cool red stripes and a great number font. They usually wear a uniform that makes them look like USC Jr., which is just fine, as you will find the Trojan up higher on this list.

The Cyclones have a ketchup-and-mustard look that’s mostly yellow with cool red stripes and a great number font. They usually wear a uniform that makes them look like USC Jr., which is just fine, as you will find the Trojan up higher on this list.

We’re all about the white jerseys, gold pants, blue numbers look. It’s nice when the numbers provide a different splash of color, especially on a white jersey. Some of the looks have a gold piping under the arms. That usually doesn’t look great, but it actually works all right for the Yellow Jackets.

The Hokies own their maroon color. That alone makes them worthy of this list. If you are synonymous with a color, or color combo, among the 100-plus teams in the FBS, that means something.

The Cavaliers have a few looks, all of them pretty simple, and all of them based around a solid dark blue, orange and white color palette. We found a look with a blue jersey, white pants, white helmets and orange accents on all three. That’s the money combo.

The uniforms Larry Fitzgerald wore back in the day, with the dark blue and gold, and what have you, is good. However, that bright blue-and-yellow look with the yellow helmets? That one is amazing. It looks retro but modern, which is almost impossible to pull off. The Panthers look practically cartoonish, but in the best way.

The Golden Knights have a blasé helmet, but they make up for it with their uniforms. They wear gold-on-gold with white numbers sometimes, and it looks great. That’s because they wear a more muted gold, which keeps it from being too loud. You can have a look that jumps out without being an eyesore.

Clemson’s look is at its best when it eschews the purple and focuses on the orange. The Tigers’ purple is an unpleasant shade to see on a uniform other than in small doses. The orange-on-orange is the best, with just a smidge of that purple on the striping of the pants.

The orange-on-orange look makes sense for a team with “orange” in its name, but honestly it may be just too orange nevertheless. However, the blue jerseys go quite well with orange pants. Additionally, the font used on the numbers on some of the recent looks is cool.

The Buckeyes have a few different looks, but most of them are kind of blah. That drives them down the rankings a bit. This is almost entirely for their red jersey and gray-silver pants look, which is awesome.

Anytime the Tar Heels aren’t wearing a Carolina blue jersey is a mistake, but fortunately they don’t make that mistake too often. The more of that blue the better. The team also wears an argyle pattern on the pants in lieu of striping on occasion, and that actually works somehow.

The version of the LSU uniforms most of us probably imagine is the one with the white jersey on yellow pants. That one is actually quite nice because the yellow helmet means the white is sandwiched between yellows, and that’s a nice look. The purple and yellow stripes on the shoulders are also cool, as are the purple and white stripes on the pants.

First, a bit of heresy: The bright green-on-green uniforms with the cursive “Irish” over the numbers are pretty awesome. Of course, when you are talking Notre Dame, you have to talk the classic, vintage look. That’s great too. It’s so simple, but it works. You don’t need to do much if you have a nice color combo. The Fighting Irish still use a monochrome helmet, and yet the Golden Domers have made that iconic as well.

Let us never speak of the uniforms designed to look like gator skin, which are an abomination. That’s doubly true because of how great the Gators' typical look is. The all-orange is garish, but it works. But the real beauty is the blue-on-white, especially when the little gator logo is on the pant striping.

The Hurricanes have thrown a lot of looks out there, including orange-on-orange and green-on-green ensembles. However, it’s the orange jersey with the green piping that is the cream of the crop. That’s one of the best jerseys out there. The old white jersey on orange pants look is also all right, but it's not on the same level as some others.

Why doesn’t Washington get more love for its uniforms? The purple-and-gold version, which mirrors the helmet look, is as fantastic as any combo on the market. Sometimes there are two-toned numbers, which are lame, but the classic look is an all-timer. Even the Huskies’ white jerseys are nice.

The Wolverines have the best helmets in college football, but their overall uniform is also fantastic. You have to go with the version featuring the yellow pants, as the all-white version is a bit bland. The perfect pairing is the blue jersey with the yellow pants, which is empirically iconic.

You would think an immensely popular football program in a major city like Los Angeles would be coming out with new looks all the time. Instead, the Trojans stick with their old-school look because they can’t do any better. That red pops on a football field, and the stripes on the pants are sharp. The only quibble is with the lack of names on the back, but this is a look that simplicity works for.

UCLA’s uniforms are so gorgeous that even the white ones look amazing. The Bruins have the best shade of blue in the business, and it pairs perfectly with their shade of gold. They keep it simple, because they know they can. Why mess with perfection?