What Color Uniform Has Oklahoma State Worn Most Often?

Oklahoma State rocked another repeat combo at Iowa State Saturday, but it was the first time we’ve seen it in 44 games so it doesn’t seem too much like a repeat combo. You’d have to go all the way back to Kansas 2012. If there’s a trend with this combo, it may be that we play on the road in really close games against teams that don’t look that great on paper.

But a win is a win.

The Cowboys are now 3-1 in the Carbon Fiber helmet, which is up from 1-1 at the end of the 2012 season. That statistic alone is enough to tell the fans who complain about gray that Oklahoma State doesn’t wear gray that often. In my opinion, OSU doesn’t wear it enough, but in all honesty the equipment staff does a solid job of regulating how often the Pokes wear gray.

I’ve broken down each article of uniform that Oklahoma State has worn since 2011. The helmet, jersey, and pants are each its own article. OSU has played 62 games; 62 times 3 will get us to 186 articles for this uniform analysis. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call Carbon Fiber a gray article. In 62 games, Oklahoma State has worn:

Orange – 38 (20.4 percent)[1. An orange helmet was not introduced until the 19th game.]
Black – 62 (33.3 percent)
White – 66 (35.5 percent)
Gray – 20 (10.8 percent)

Click to enlarge

Even Mike Gundy is on record of saying he likes the gray.

Gundy: "I like the all-gray uniform … the reason I like it is because the player's like it."

— Kyle Fredrickson (@kylefredrickson) October 26, 2015

There you have it; the big man and the players like gray. Brandon Weeden was a huge fan of the gray and black as well, and that was evident in the 2011 season that he had some influence on what combos were worn. If we took a fan poll, I would be willing to bet that a lot of fans like gray, too. There are just a few outspoken fans on social media who despise the color as if it were related to OU in some way.

While gray is an official school color, I understand why fans would be partial to orange and black. If you are a diehard orange fan and feel slighted by the lack of orange, you’ll always have two of the biggest games to look forward to: Homecoming and Bedlam. So let the players enjoy the game or two here and there where they look extra sleek. It’s something Oklahoma State pulls off well as it is a unique look in college football. In this game of inches, it’s also helping in recruiting.

One final thing that I have noticed about the carbon fiber is that it is OSU’s only helmet dedicated exclusively to road games. This is because the brand logo and facemask are white, which looks best with the white away jersey. This has potential to change. We’ve seen what it would look like with a black stripe, Pete logo, and black facemask. I’d prefer to see it with the black brand logo because I’ve always felt that the brand promotes Oklahoma State better than Pete logos.

Carbon Fiber has probably seen it’s final game this season. If history is any indication, we’ll see it again in about two and a half years.