Florida State will finally wear their black football uniforms this weekend

Last season, when Florida State brought out their then-new football uniforms, they also unveiled an all-black uniform. There were rumors that they were going to wear the uniforms at some point last season (and we ran with those rumors. We’re silly.), but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Now, the crew over at FSU blog Tomahawk Nation is reporting that the Seminoles will be wearing the black uniforms for their final home game of the season. We got further confirmation from Florida State football’s twitter account, and then we also got a photo of one of the players wearing the alternate helmet.

There’s no false alarm going on here, folks: This is actually going to happen. As usual, the reasoning behind the move to black is “Well, if the recruits and players like it, then we’re gonna do it!”

The program has always prided itself on being traditional when it comes to uniforms, in large part to Coach Bowden. In 2008, he said that he “would prefer his program to maintain a more traditional look, which is why the Seminoles have worn garnet tops and gold pants the majority” of his tenure. However, Bowden indicated that if “Nike wants Florida State to wear black,” then FSU “will wear black.” Current Head Coach Jimbo Fisher has kept with the traditional uniform combination, but when Nike and Florida State unveiled the new logo and football uniforms in April 2014, the addition of the “Unconquered” black alternate caught the eye of many, both fans and critics alike.
While traditional Florida State fans may not prefer the black alternates–or any alternates for that matter–they are incredibly popular both with current players and visiting recruits. With FSU playing its final home game of the season, and thus the final home game before National Signing Day, it will be interesting to gauge the reaction of fans, players, and recruits alike.