The Worst of the New 2012 College Uniforms

Every year I like to take a look at the new uniform changes that make their way through college football. There's been a lot of changes in recent years but nothing quite like the 2012 season. I simply don't have the time to catalog every change even with great sites like Uniwatch.com doing most of the grunt work every Sunday.

Roughly 100 teams either introduced complete new uniform sets, added an alternate jersey, wore a different helmet, or did something new with a piece of uniform this season.

These are the decisions that were poor. The good decisions will come next week.

UCLA had an extra blue outline on their numbers last year but got rid of it this year. Okay, I've got no problem with that for the love of God someone please fix those shoulder stripes. They are named after your school, do better. Also, let's retire this all-blue uniform. The Bruins have some of the best uniforms in college and they can do better.

Remember back in week 1 when Michigan wore these uniforms against Alabama? Too much yellow and the hockey shoulder stripe just doesn't work.

UMass made the jump to FBS football this season and hahahaha look at those girly TV numbers. Go big or go home Charlie Molnar.

It's bad enough that USC has to look like a Ronald McDonald's all-star team, but for decades their look was black cleats and white socks. It didn't matter what the current trends was, the Trojans stuck with their look. Until this year, that is when USC introduced silver, red, and yellow cleats to go along with new red & yellow socks and red spats. That's clown foot attire, bro.

Adidas gave a new look to Mississippi State and Texas A&M this year, both with similar school colors and both with similar new uniforms. However, the Bulldogs got the short end of the stick this year. I love striping but with the undershirts the TV numbers look out of place. Without the undershirt the shoulder stripe looks out of place. The stacked lettering on the front also stinks.

I liked Rutgers uniforms before they made a switch this year. The Scarlet Knights used to be recognizable but now they're just some weird looking Nike school. Tacky comes to mind but they also look like what a football uniform from Medieval Times would look like if they designed one. Maybe that's the point?

I don't like teams wearing all black. It's played out and old news now. But it is really difficult to make it look bad, yet Central Michigan was able to achieve just that this season.

In recent years Virginia Tech has been able to introduce some uniform tweaks and keep things well enough. This year things fell apart just like Logan Thomas' accuracy. This camo uniform was just short of an atrocity, the Hokie feet helmet was a joke, as was the Foghorn Leghorn helmet.

Speaking of camo, Wyoming went and did this and thought it was okay. This is not okay.

West Virginia went full gray from head to toe and I watched this game and it couldn't have looked worse on television.

Arkansas had an awful year and had some uniforms to match it. First it was this white helmet that seemed so out of place---and I'm pretty sure those shades of red are way off. That was followed up with an all-black uniform that just screamed "we're losing."

Utah also went all-black and failed miserably with truncated lines all over the place.

Illinois came out with a new blue helmet with a block "I." I actually kind of like that helmet (although the matte look doesn't really work) and it's better than their lame "Illinois" script logo. Yet, you wear this helmet and now Illinois looks just like Virginia. How about making an orange helmet with the block "I?"

Boston College made a couple mistakes with a gold jersey that looks like a dog urinated on it. Their Team American uniforms were just as embarrassing.

Arizona's copper helmet looked better than I thought it would but it looks so out of place without any copper on the rest of the uniform. This is one of those rare instances where doing more would have worked better.

This Nebraska alternate truly was one of the worst uniforms in 2012. It's been made fun of enough so I'll leave it alone.

Okay, I didn't hate these Air Force uniforms because incorporating stealth bombers can be a winning strategy, but damn were they bizarre.

This South Carolina camo monstrosity is easily the worst uniform of 2012. That's my nominee for sure.

Alright maybe these Georgia Tech uniforms are worse since they were their regular duds. Just look at the mess and the honeycombs. Who in their right mind thought this would look good? They even went with a gold jersey with two shades of gold! This uniform is an affront so many aspects to a good football uniform.

What was Northwestern thinking with these helmets? Why is there a thunderbolt coming from the cat's chin?

I've seen a lot of people who liked the UNC Tar Heel helmet. I agree---if we were talking about a pee-wee football team and not a D-1 football program. How are you supposed to play tough with a giant cartoon foot on your helmet?

Ohio State continues to wear an alternate uniform for their game against Michigan and they continue to look poor doing so. All that black takes away from their classic color scheme, the truncated pant stripe is dumb, and the plain gray numbers are dull as can be. I do like those shiny bright green Buckeye helmet stickers though---they should incorporate those full-time.

What else did you see this year that you didn't like?