OSU Uniform Review: Week 3

Oklahoma State’s new set of uniforms includes three different jerseys (orange, black, white), four colors of pants (orange, black, white, gray), and at least four helmet base colors (white, black, carbon fiber, orange chrome). This is assuming the original gray and original orange helmets have been mercifully put out of their misery. Those base elements account for 48 possible combinations. And that’s just the pieces we know about. The total number of possible combos grows to approximately a billion when you start mixing and matching face masks and helmet decals. With that many looks at its disposal, it was a little surprising to see OSU roll out the same helmet base color/jersey/pant combo from Week 1, but it probably shouldn’t have been surprising at all.

Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images

I think the reasons for going back to the W/O/W well so soon are essentially threefold.

1. You can’t #StripeBPS in orange and white and not have the Cowboys in orange and white. It would just be wrong.
2. OSU will likely be using this set of uniforms for four seasons, so there’s no need to be in a rush about debuting each new element. Patience.
3. It really put the focus on the helmet, which was exactly where it needed to be.

Since we’ve already discussed the orange jersey/white pants combo at length, let’s turn our attention to that helmet. I don’t think anyone was shocked to see the marshal badge utilized as a helmet decal, and I don’t think anyone was upset about it either. If you were, I can’t help you. When the new designs were unveiled and we first saw the badge, one of the first things I thought was “That would look great on a helmet.” And it did. With the black face mask and stripe, it really created a great looking helmet that screamed OSU and complimented the rest of the combo well.

Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports

The only downside to the helmet for me was that it became a little difficult to discern at a distance. In pictures and on television, it looked amazing. But from a distance, the black outlines and background weren’t quite enough to keep the gray/chrome star from washing out against the white helmet. There’s not really much that can be done about this, and in the grand scheme of things its a very minor issue. I will say that I might actually die when this decal shows up on a black helmet with a chrome (or orange chrome!!!) face mask and chrome stripe. Have mercy.

All in all, this helmet made a triumphant debut and made for a really solid overall look yet again. White jerseys debut this week in Waco!!!