A new football season means new uniforms, and the Big 12, just like every conference in football, had its fair share of good and bad uniforms in 2016. In what is becoming an annual tradition, I have compiled a list of each school’s best and worst uniform combination worn this season (in no particular order). As always, let’s start out with the good.

The Good:

Kansas

Shane Keyser - KANSAS CITY STAR

Kansas pulled out their “Limestone” throwbacks this season when the Pokes came to town. In all honesty I think that they should make these uniforms their primary ones from here on out. I get the significance of the limestone pattern, but if they want to get rid of that pattern and only use it for games on special occasions (like homecoming) I think that’d be a pretty smart move. I’m in love with the font of the letters on the front of the jersey and the font of the numbers on the helmet (with the Jayhawk on the other side). If you saw these uniforms, and knew nothing about college football, you would think that KU is a perennial championship contender thanks to these uniforms.

Bottom Line: Solid & Sedimentary

Iowa State

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

I was a huge fan when ISU rolled out their white helmets and pants this season. It was a nice change of pace from seeing the yellow mustard pants with the white tops and the red helmet. I know the bottoms aren’t the traditional away pants for the Cyclones, but it really compliments the entire uniform when the stripes are all on the same page. (Honorable mention: all white uniforms)

Bottom Line: White back at ya —> don’t worry the puns get worse

Kansas State

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Not much to say about the KSU home uniforms that hasn’t already been said. They are clean and a conference classic. You could easily put these uniforms in the top 3 in the conference and next to nobody should bat an eye at that statement. The purple and white looks good on top, while the silver goes with the helmet and helps to bring out the pants stripe. I decided to go with the ones they wore in the Heart of Texas bowl, because a patch helps to change the look up a little bit. It also never hurts to wear the patch of the bowl you won.

Bottom Line: The History Channel presents, Bill Snyder’s uniforms

Texas Tech

Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Last year I said that Tech should make their throwback style uniforms their permanent ones, and hopefully that is coming somewhere down the line. However, I will say this: the Tech all black uniforms look pretty good, and even better when playing in Lubbock at night time. Then again, it’s pretty hard to look bad in anything when your quarterback breaks single game records... just don’t check the final score.

Bottom Line: Fade (route) to black

West Virginia

Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Instead of rolling with white bottoms, the Mountaineers went with their yellow pants to go with their navy tops and lids. The yellow runs all through out the uniform, and helps the numbers stand out in the center. I have to also show appreciation for their logo, and not just how clean it looks, but how well it looks at the center of the jersey collar. I got to give credit to going with your secondary color instead of just going with the basic whites.

Bottom Line: *inserts clever John Denver pun here*

Baylor

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. Baylor looks best when it is:

A) Representing it’s university’s colors

and

B) Wearing its classic uniform combo.

I do like the Bear’s green and white away combo, but once again the gold numbers and BAYLOR in the center look good and are well represented. The stripes on the side of the pants are okay, the bear paws on the shoulders are subtle, and the gold helmet is unique enough to where it doesn’t look like a Notre Dame knock off.

*In this homer’s opinion, the Bears look best when they are losing to TCU, so their all blacks are an honorable mention

Bottom Line: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...but you look better like this.

Oklahoma State

Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images

Deciding on the best for the Pokes this season may have been the toughest choice on this list. In addition to taking into consideration all of the cool new uniforms that OSU received for this season, they also have a plethora of helmet combinations. There are helmets that look similar, but are separated by small details. There are even helmets that are the same base, but with different colored face-masks attached. After looking at all of them I had to lie down and take two baby Advil... and avoid pumpkins for 24 hours. Anyways, I decided to go with their home uniform combination that they wore against Pitt this year. This combo is very similar to what they wore when they opened the 2016 season, but instead of the large “OSU” letters on the helmet, we get the silver spur logo (which is repeated on the collar). The pattern on the collar and sleeves is subtle enough, but the primary reason I chose this combo is because of how it reinvents the school’s classic look. I understand the need to have a bunch of different combinations, in addition to already having a school wear the combo of white orange and white in your conference, but these uniforms just remind me of Barry Sanders, and how he would glide across the green in his orange and white. All this being said, I have to give an honorable mention to the all black unis that they wore against Tech. (Big fan of the helmet pattern and orange face-mask).

Bottom Line: Orange is the new black

Texas

Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images

We can make jokes about Texas being back until the cows come home, but the greatness of their uniforms never went away. Once again I have to show love to their away unis, which are some of the best in the nation. What puts their all white away uniforms above the classic burnt orange ones are the numbers. The shine of those orange digits in the sunlight or under the lights at night are so slick. The logo is a classic staple, the stripes are very subtle, and the Horns are looking good...unfortunately for them looking good and playing good are two different stories.

Bottom Line: Paint it White

Oklahoma

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Ah yes, the classic crimson and cream. The helmets glisten in the sun on a fall afternoon in Norman, the tops match the helmet, and the stripes on the side really go with the rest of the uniform. I do have to say, that I think the white face mask may be the most underrated part of this uniform. It goes so well with the white “OU” on the side of the helmet, and is in perfect line with the iconic “SOONERS” across the chest. Also, the Sugar Bowl patch looks perfect on just about any Big 12 uniform.

Bottom Line: So Fresh, So Cream

TCU

Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

You could say that I’m a big fan of these Bob. Yes, I know that there isn’t a lot of purple in this combination, but I liked how we managed to return to wearing black as a secondary color like back in the Mountain West days. I found it rather odd that we never wore our primary purple helmet at all this year, but it did give the Frogs chances to experiment with other combinations. This one included. I have nothing against our regular road uniforms, but they just don’t do too much for me. I am still in love with the all white when they wear the white chrome helmets, but TCU is 0-2 in those so... I’m not sure if I could choose those again.

I liked how they broke out the black helmet again (I am super pumped that TCU has a black helmet now). Anyways, the awesome helmet has enough purple to play off the jersey numbers and collar, while matching with the pants. This combo is a pretty good road alternate that makes the frog-skin take a back seat. (Although I was a fan of this combo). I was also a coin flip away from choosing these as the best that the Frogs wore all season, but I decided to go with this new inventive combo.

Bottom Line: Back in Black... pants?

The Bad

Kansas

Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images

Not a big fan of these two colors alternating, and also I don’t think the large “KU” is a good look. You know what is a good look though? Beating Texas for the first time in 70 years... so ya there’s that.

Bottom Line: Who cares at least you beat Texas.

Iowa State

Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images

I didn’t have a huge problem with any of the ISU uniforms this season. Yes, I’m still not a fan of anything with those mustard yellow pants, but I also wasn’t a big fan of this combination. In my opinion, the jersey doesn’t work well when it is smacked in between the red of the helmet and of the pants. The Cyclones did do a good job with this alternate color in other games this season though.

Bottom Line: At least 50 shades darker

Kansas State:

Nothing.

Texas Tech

Photo by John Weast/Getty Images

The amount of bright red is too much here. I am a huge fan of the Red Raider combo where they wear the red helmets and jerseys with white pants, but these make the players look like they are in bright red onezees. However, I do applaud Tech for wearing the color of their supposed name sake.

Bottom Line: Roxanne you don’t have to put on the red light uniform.

West Virginia

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Not horrible, but there’s a little too much mustard on this beat for me. I think what makes me dislike this one, is how close it is to being a really good combination. If they just replace the yellow helmet with the navy blue, then we’re in business.

Bottom Line: “You say goodbye, and I say yellow”

Baylor

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

Wut? I really don’t understand what the equipment staff, or whoever decided on this combination, was thinking. I don’t penalize the Bears for trying to wear black on the road, I praised TCU for it earlier after all. However, it is not one of the colors in Baylor’s color scheme (unlike TCU). That’s not what does this uniform in though.

If you are going to go with black, on the road, then at least wear a black helmet or any helmet that’s not white. Here’s the point I’m trying to illustrate: cover up the top half of this uniform with your hand. By just seeing the black pants, it doesn’t look bad at all. Now cover up the bottom part of this uniform and look at the top. The all white helmet and jersey are a fine combination. When you look at the two halves together it just doesn’t look good and it clashes at the middle. It’s as if someone looked up Baylor’s all white uniforms and hit CTRL C over a photo of their all black uniforms.

Bottom Line: A tale of two halves/Ebony and Ivory...but not the good kind.

Oklahoma State

Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

This combination isn’t horrible, I just don’t think the bright orange pants and helmet work with the black tops. Of course when you wear orange and black, you run the danger of looking like something straight out of an October Party City catalog. I get it that these are school colors, but the Pokes should’ve swap out the orange helmet for the black one here.

Bottom Line: Halloweentown 5: The Gundy Mullet

Texas

None. Alright alright alright.

Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images

Bottom Line: Go watch true detective season 1, but don’t let him trick you into buying a Buick.

Oklahoma

Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images

This OU home alternate is back again. Like I’ve said before, I just had to choose the worst of each team’s uniforms, but that doesn’t mean that they are hideous and I judge each program’s uniforms differently. OU is a special case. While the thought and history behind these throwbacks are admiral, that doesn’t mean that the uniform is automatically good.

I do really like the stripe down the middle and how that is a throwback to the earlier years of the program. On the other hand I don’t really like the wood pattern on the helmet and shoulders. The white collar is also too wide for my liking. Like I said last year, I think Oklahoma has the chance to come up with some amazing alternates. I would love to see the Sooners roll out on a Saturday night wearing some sort of black uniform combo with crimson incorporated into it. The thought of a black out game in Norman alone should get any college football fan excited. Again, the uniform isn’t bad, it’s just they could’ve done so much more with a home alternate. The away white helmet alternate is a keeper though.

Bottom Line: Get an alternate for your alternate.

TCU

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

*Checks last year’s worst TCU uniform*

*Bangs head on table repeatedly*

In all seriousness.... these are bad. If you’re going to go with grey then at least wear the grey helmet that makes it look okay. When you try to wear three colors and one of them is grey... then you aren’t going to get a high score in the aesthetically pleasing category. If the Frogs are married to wearing grey, then limit it to just once a season. PLEASE! Not one time this season did the Frogs where their primary purple helmets with their primary purple jerseys. That look is clean and we have played well in those, and you know... purple is our primary color. That being said, if TCU is trying to make the white, purple, white our primary home combination in the future, I wouldn’t be opposed. Oh but back to the matter at hands, the combo that I never want to see again...the Frogs got spanked in these 31-6 by Oklahoma State. In the end they played at the same level that they looked. No bueno.

P.S. If this combination is what recruits love then disregard the previous rant.

Bottom Line: *see gif below*

Agree/Disagree with me? Let me know in the comments below! Which uniforms were your favorite or least favorite from this season? What are some combinations you would like to see these Big 12 teams wear in the future?