Totally subjective piece about the best uniforms in the league. For me, a lot of it goes back to tradition. Teams like Auburn, Alabama, LSU, and a few others, have stayed true to the colors and overall look that they've used for decades. Other than orange jerseys for one game back in what...79'....Auburn has only tweaked a few things over the years. Bama, to their credit, has done the same. Same with LSU. Anywho....thoughts?
From Ben Flanagan | bflanagan@al.com
SEC uniforms rule.
Just like the teams that wear them, the jersey and helmet combinations dominate college football as the most iconic looks, especially when you pair two squads wearing them at once.
With respect to other classic unis worn by Ohio State, USC, Texas and Notre Dame, the Southeastern Conference rule the roost, and they look good doing it. Maybe the uniforms mean more, too.
Here’s how we rank all 14 teams’ uniforms, focusing on their regular jersey and helmet combos, unless otherwise noted.
14. South Carolina
Too busy! White, garnet and black all look great on their own or if you pair just two together. But the trio, or at least the way USC uses them, create an off-putting combination that has yet to find a rhythm on the football field. Maybe it’s the feathery logo featuring the Gamecock, which again, looks great on its own. Listen, it’s not you, it’s us.
13. Mississippi State
Some people love maroon. You know, like Mississippi State fans. There’s nothing wrong with the Bulldogs’ uniform, other than maybe the smaller font above the numbers on the chest plate. We prefer the large block lettering reading “MISS. STATE” of the ‘90s Jackie Sherrill era, including the stacked MSU logo on the sides of the helmet.
12. Kentucky
If the Wildcats jersey stayed all-royal blue, it might seem too plain for a program looking to stand out, but we remain on the fence about the checkered shoulder pads. Kentucky greats like Josh Allen and Benny Snell made it look good with their on-field heroics, but we can’t go any higher here.
11. Missouri
Despite two conference title game appearances since joining the SEC in 2012, Missouri’s football identity still needs work, starting with the old gold and black. They’ve had as many uniform variations as any squad down South, swapping helmet designs using chrome, matte black and more, going all white, tinkering with the logo designs. The oval tiger on the side of the helmet is a slick design, but we actually dig the more traditional “Block M” look featured at various points last season.
10. Texas A&M
More maroon, the Aggies’ logo on the sides of the helmets give them the edge over the Bulldogs. The Texas state logo on the hip could go a size down, but A&M look like they belong in the SEC, especially when they’re rocking at Kyle Field. The traditional maroon helmets and jerseys bring the tradition, but we wouldn’t mind a shift back to the white helmets of the Johnny Football days, when the Aggies made their biggest splash of all.
9. Vanderbilt
Vandy got a glow-up in 2021. Either the white jersey with black trim and numbers and gold lettering, or the black with gold trim and lettering and white numbers, the jerseys look good paired with both white and gold pants. They scrapped the chain design and the star “V” on the helmets in favor of gold headwear with black and white stripes and a slick, large black “V” on the side. Smart look!
8. Arkansas
Hard-nosed simplicity is perfect for Sam Pittman’s scrappy club. The Razorbacks pull off the block lettering above the front chest numbers better than most anyone in the country, perhaps other than Oklahoma, and their logo is one of the more underrated in the SEC, looking great on the side of a cardinal helmet.
7. Ole Miss
Points deducted for not sticking with the powder blue look all season long. Tradition is tradition, but this is one the fan base loves, as evidenced by the sea of powder blue in the stands or tailgate site wherever a game (or party) may be. The royal blue helmets atop the bright red uniforms and white pants definitely pops, but if they went all powder, they’d climb the charts.
6. Tennessee
One man said, “It’s that puke, inside-of-a-pumpkin orange.” To each his or her own. Most people don’t consider orange the most flattering color in any clothing combination, but you have to work with what you’ve got. And the Tennessee Volunteers’ bright, almost neon orange remains synonymous with SEC football, even if a couple of decades have passed since they competed nationally. They ruled once, and Josh Heupel looks to lead them back to prominence. The Vols even look good in all-black alternates, when they tone down the orange, though not the black jerseys on orange pants like they did for that one Halloween game in 2009.
5. Florida
The “Gators” logo across the orange helmet on top of the royal blue uni and white pants is one of the all-time classic combos that requires little to no variation. And yet. While Florida has yet to wear anything downright ugly, why would you ever deviate from perfection? I truly believe when Tim Tebow led the team out of the tunnel in those all-whites for the 2009 SEC title game, it just made Bama want to pummel them even more. Sometimes, change is good. Sometimes, it...isn’t.
4. Georgia
The defending national champs look great in red or white, either a perfect combo with the silver pants topped with the unmistakable “G” logo on the helmets. Confession: The black jerseys, infamously stomped when Alabama visited Athens in 2008, actually look great. In fact, that Bama blowout marks their only loss wearing them, which is probably why they’ve since revived them.
3. Auburn
The Tigers’ look has seen few changes, and why would they? Nobody plays with more confidence, particularly during Iron Bowls, than Auburn in the burnt orange and navy blue. Face mask color may vary between orange, navy and white, without much of a consensus on which to keep permanently. And honestly, along with their arch-rival and the Texas Longhorns, Auburn’s road whites rank among the best in the country.
2. LSU
All that purple and gold on the green gridiron looks like a Mardi Gras party inside Tiger Stadium. A perennial powerhouse in college football, LSU stole the spotlight during an immaculate championship run during which it appeared their white jerseys went relatively unscathed as they separated themselves from the rest of the league. Minor point deduction for insisting on wearing the same jersey while home or away, other than special occasions when they break out those ghastly purple jerseys. They know what works for them. And plus, no two uniforms look better together on a football field than LSU’s and our next pick...
1. Alabama
Call us biased. Some see the simplicity of the crimson and white uniforms as plain and boring. We see tradition and championship pedigree, a look that doesn’t just scream college football, it just is. And Crimson Tide gameday looks have seen a few changes throughout the years, but not many. Crimson jerseys, white numbers, white pants with two crimson stripes down the leg, and the Crimson helmets with white numbers on the sides and white stripe down the middle. “[Nick] Saban had it ingrained in us that it was not about the uniforms, it’s about your play,” former Tide long-snapper Carson Tinker told AL.com. “He wouldn’t let us get distracted by anything, which is I think another reason the uniforms haven’t changed.” Here’s hoping they never do.
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