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