COLUMBUS, Ohio – When Ohio State football fans thought about the Oregon Ducks — if they thought about them -– before this week, they were as likely to recall the team’s wild and various uniform combinations as its high-powered offense a Heisman Trophy quarterback.
The Ducks have been known to wear about nine different uniform combinations during the course of a season, creating a potential of 384 different mixes of jerseys, pants and helmets, creating a lot of buzz and a standout look on high-definition TVs.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer says what’s OK for The Duck may not fly for Brutus.
“Every school has their niche, and God bless Oregon for finding their niche and that is a huge part of it, man, their new uniforms, the stuff,” he said. “You start going too far and there’s a lot of old timers out there, me included, that get a little nervous, you start straying away from the old traditional stuff.”
The non-uniform uniform era can be traced back to 1999, when the players began wearing gear designed by Nike, which was founded by Oregon alum Phil Knight.
Since then, some analysts and observers say part of the program’s success can be attributed in part to its colorful and creative approach to the football uniform, which appeals to young recruits.
Ohio State also has a Nike contract and also wears some non-traditional uniforms designed by the company. It wore them for the Sugar Bowl will wear a new set of gear in Monday’s national championship game against Oregon (8:30 p.m./ESPN).
While Meyer understands the appeal of the uniforms, he remains something of a traditionalist, though that doesn’t stop him from using the gear to lure a highly-prized recruit.
“I bring pictures and all that,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Act like I like it.”
Meyer’s Buckeyes (13-1) will wear their home uniform, a scarlet jersey with white and gray accents reminiscent of the 1968 championship game, combined with gray pants and traditional gray helmet.
The base layer pattern features a print of legendary coach Woody Hayes’ hand written notes from one of his final chalk-talk sessions, preserved by the Athletic Department.
The Ducks (13-1) will take the field wearing away uniforms: A white jersey with gray and silver accents, “wolf gray” pants and a white helmet with silver wings. The jersey showcases the “Fighting Ducks” logo on the sleeve and the pants feature the words “Fighting Ducks” along the legs.