This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/matte_purple on 2024-03-05 23:43:43.
Howdy to the beautiful people of r/CFB! Welcome to my ranking of the 2023 TCU Horned Frogs Football Uniforms! While this year was a bit of a regression from a national runner-up season in 2022, there’s still plenty to talk about and praise from our Fort Worth friends, ESPECIALLY uniform-wise. I intend on ranking most of the Big XII teams and new PAC additions (Arizona, Colorado, and Utah) soon. In fact, I already went through the repertoire of Oklahoma State and Arizona State, which can be found on my profile. If you are interested in my thoughts regarding the Big XII uniform season, check out my 2023 Season-in-Review Post or my recent 2023 Uniform Awards post, which are also in my profile. If you want to go back further, check out my 2022 Uniform Awards (pinned) and Big XII Uniform Tracker 2022: Season-in-Review, plus the 2022 TCU Uniform Tracker! (Sorry for the hyperlink inconvenience, but Reddit hates when I put links in the top paragraph, for whatever reason.) Alright folks, let’s do this. The 2023 Big 12 season in Horned Frogs uniforms, featuring some facts, stats, and history. As always, feel free to disagree with me or tell me if my rankings hit home. I’m interested in hearing what you think, or in seeing how y’all would rearrange the rankings!
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I’m u/matte_purple, and let’s 3,2,1 go!
12. White/White/Black - Standard Logo Week 8 at K-State (L, 41-3)
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I’ll get this out of the way before I cover the rest of the looks: I know most fans are conflicted on the use of black by the Horned Frogs. I’ll go ahead and let the TCU faithful know that I love it. I’ll get more into it for the #1 pick, but in general, it’s a design choice that TCU has wholly committed to since the mid 2000’s, one that isn’t exactly an official color, but feels like TCU when worn properly. You’ll see what I mean later. I do support the idea that TCU should wear more purple than black, but I don’t support not wearing black at all. In this look, however, the black pants feel wrong, and it’s wholly because there’s not another spec of black in the uniform. Besides the pants, it’s purple, silver, and white. Add purple pants? Perfect. Wear a black helmet? Excellent. But black pants feel misplaced with no other tie-ins, they make the look too bottom heavy, and there is no semblance of symmetry. Plus, this was TCU’s most egregious loss of the year, which puts a stain on an already meh look. For reference, the Oreo look worn in 2022 (or this look, but improved with a black helmet) placed #8 in my TCU rankings for 2022.
11. Purple/Purple/White - Standard Logo Week 2 vs Nichols (W, 41-6)
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Funny enough, this combo was not worn in 2022. It definitely feels like the “ol’ reliable” look. Simple and streamlined with a majority of purple, the helmet has been simplified by removing the stripe that stayed until 2022. It just feels like a workhorse. There’s nothing magnificent about it, but it’s certainly not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Since these are standard, let’s talk about the template themselves. TCU was a member of the elite Nike vanguard update in 2011, with schools like Arizona State and Wazzu, only being preceded by Oregon’s experimental suits in 2009. That started TCU on a path to uniform infamy. Four years later, in 2015, TCU refreshed to a Nike Mach Speed template covered in a wild digital frogskin design. The very controversial look had some ups and downs before being replaced in 2019 with a much sleeker Nike Vapor Untouchable template complete with that iconic Horned Frog collar. Where does the collar come from? They harken back to the LaDanian Tomlinson/Gary Patterson era of TCU ball, back in 1997. What started as small triangular studs along the collar back in the day, mimicking a Horned Frog’s crown, have grown into bigger spikes, more closely resembling the actual Phrynosoma cornutum (Texas Horned Lizard and official Texas state reptile). It’s a beautiful and unique touch that feels entirely TCU. This particular combo just feels a little plain to me.
10. Black/White/White - Standalone Logo Week 13 at Oklahoma (L, 69-45)
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New helmet alert! While in general, I feel the same about this combo as I do the #12 pick, this uniform does not get penalized nearly as bad because it’s a less amount of black. Yes, it is still a shame that there isn’t any real continuation of the black, unless you count the occasional black set of cleats or other accessories, but having only a black helmet vs only black pants is an upgrade. Especially considering we finally got a standalone, frog-only logo on the helmet! Aside from the frog logo that graced helmets in 1966 (and the same logo that we’ll see coming up), and the “Sooner Slayer” frog outline helmets that showed up about twice every year from 2016-2022, these helmets introduced this year are one of a kind in that they feature the standard frog, without the TCU wordmark. I love it! Similar to Arkansas, KU or Arizona State, the Horned Frog is an incredibly unique college mascot. The logo itself does not need the additional identifier of “TCU”. These remove the clutter and make the frog bigger. Lastly, that tiny pop of red on the eyes is the perfect cherry on top. While the black shell isn’t my favorite of the three varieties, the helmet itself definitely moves up the combo.
9. Black/White/Purple - Outlined Logo Week 6 at Iowa State (L, 27-14)
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Anyone who has checked out my version of the Big 12 Uniform Tracker over the past years knows that I don’t really like tri-color outfits. While I am SLOWLY starting to walk back my no-tolerance policy on select suits, they are still on thin ice. My one requirement that I hold fast to in tri-color looks is this: black pants are a no go. Just like (again) the #12 look, black pants anchor combos. When you incorporate your main color, it works a little better. In this case, I think it’s just a lack of flow and symmetry that I just can’t get past. I love the helmet, which was first announced in Week 5 of 2022 and reminds me of a helmet similar to this (except for a purple horned frog instead of silver) that was introduced in 2016 that was worn as recently as Game 11 of 2021. The silver here is a FAR better option, and it really pops. I called these “Sooner Slayer” helmets after their Week 5 win in 2022 against OU. But a purple standard helmet would have worked better here.
8. Gray/Gray/Gray - Old-School Logo Week 12 vs Baylor (W, 42-17)
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I have a controversial opinion on TCU’s annual “Bloody Thread” uniforms. I actually really enjoy them, when done right! The basis for this bizarre look is a biological defense mechanism. Horned Frogs (or “Horny Toads” in most of the Southwest, at least where I came from) can contract the muscles around their eyes, cutting off blood flow back to the heart. This builds pressure until the blood shoots from the eyes, which scares off predators in a wildly metal defensive technique. The red is a wonderful tertiary color to purple, and they clearly have had enough good feedback to continue this tradition off and on since 2013. Honestly, if the recruits love them, and the equipment staff has the balls to release something like this, they should be applauded, good or bad. The reason this year’s rendition falls lower than some of the other ones I’ve covered is the excess use of gray. Last year, we saw the same pants and shirt, but a purple, red, and black helmet graced the top (while that helmet had its problems, I tend to like it). This year, while the logo is definitely an improvement, more gray on the helmet is a downgrade. Not their best rendition. Another set of nitpicks, a brighter, matte red facemask would have done much better here, and I wish they could decide on a color for the numbers between the shoulder and chest numbers. If I may be so bold, I actually think TCU might look good adding more red accents to their uniforms (which we have been seeing in some of TCU’s other athletic teams.) Plus, this was worn against Baylor’s boldest combo of Yellow/White/Yellow, making the contrast almost eye-watering. Rough showing from one of my usual favorites.
7. White/Purple/White - Standard Logo Week 1 vs Colorado (L, 45-42)
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Honestly, there’s not too much to say about this showing. It feels like a slight upgrade over the #11 spot, but it’s still a routine showing that feels middle-of-the-pack. Again, that doesn’t make it at all bad! I think TCU has some of the best uniforms in the Big 12. If the ranking was based on matchup, not single uniform, this would be a top choice! I love how the purple and silver plays against Colorado’s gold and black details on their whiteout look. But alas, this is based strictly on the one team’s uniform style. I like the standard white lid of the standard purple one. This is a good basis for what makes a good TCU look, but it feels a little too light for the usual foreboding, mean TCU look.
6. Black/Black/Black - Outlined Logo Week 5 vs WVU (L, 24-21)
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Nothing screams power like the blackout game. Last year, TCU went all out, painting their 50 yard logo and endzones…
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