The Ohio State football program is going back to a classic for its Fiesta Bowl uniform.
The school had hinted before that it might return to its gray sleeve stripes for the 2019 Fiesta Bowl, but now it’s apparently official.
Tuesday afternoon, the Buckeyes posted a tweet showing some behind-the-scenes looks at Fiesta Bowl promo video shoots.
In it, players are wearing scarlet jerseys with gray shoulder stripes and black numbers on top of the shoulders.
It’s the same look the Buckeyes wore in the 2014 national championship game win over Oregon.
The shoulder stripes are also the same look they wore during the 2002 national championship season.
The black numbers on top of the shoulders originated in the 1968 national championship, and were worn as a throwback for the 25th anniversary of that title in 1993.
However, after the 2005 season, the Buckeyes switch their jerseys from those gray shoulder stripes to a mixture of white and black that was also worn during Earle Bruce’s tenure in the 1980s.
Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer both coached under Bruce during that time, and may have developed a bizarre, nostalgic attachment to the objectively inferior look. That might explain why it was allowed to linger around the OSU program like flatulence in an elevator for so long.
But, like the end of the annual blowout losses to middling Big Ten West teams, the return of the gray shoulder stripes represents another clear upgrade under Ryan Day.
The initial post hinting at the return of the gray sleeves was posted the same day the Buckeyes learned that they would play in the Fiesta Bowl.
The stage is set ?#GoBucks #ToughLove pic.twitter.com/A73Favfrpa
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 8, 2019
The updated post from Tuesday shows a full look at the uniforms.
Lights: ☑️
Camera: ☑️
Action: ? #GoBucks #ToughLove pic.twitter.com/fXgwSdWdBk— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 17, 2019
I love these uniforms; my favorite! I also liked the chrome helmets with the wide stripe.
Let’s go back to the big shoulder pads too. 🙂
Can we PLEASE make them permanent!!! The gray arm band looks much classier than the current mundane arm band, and sets it apart from other look-alike jerseys. I have never liked the current jersey. The school colors are Scarlet and Gray – let’s keep it that way!
Gray sleeves didn’t work out so well the last two times. Just saying! I do like the look better though. I’d like to see them return permanently.
2015 MSU 17 OSU 14
2016 CLEMSON 31 OSU 0
I think the new look is an improvement. I never like the Earle Bruce uniforms. I just wish that they would go back to the scarlet hose with white sox covering all but the top 3 to 5 inches. It was also a classic look under Woody Hayes. The scarlet hose especially stood out with the away or white jerseys, and also looked good with the home jerseys.
OSU wore these jerseys vs ttun in 16, and it worked out well. This is my favorite OSU laundry and I hope I have a reason to watch them play in it over and over again, like when I relive the games vs Miami, Alabama, and Oregon.
Excellent, let’s make this our standard home uniforms moving forward. Now, about those endzones.