2014 Orange Bowl Will Feature Unique Uniform Matchup

First off, let me be one of the first to wish you a Happy New Year here on the internet. Yeah, it’s not 2015 just yet, but by the time this is posted, we won’t be that far away from the calendar moving on to the next chapter of history, so I may as well do it now, right?

But the main reason why you’re here is to see what we’re talking about when we say that this year’s Orange Bowl (which will be played in December for only the 2nd time ever, and for those wondering if this is just a 2014 quirk, it’ll be like this as long as the current College Football Playoff system is in effect) is going to be a unique uniform matchup for the two teams involved.

First, let’s talk about Mississippi State. This year was the 100th Anniversary of Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field, and they commemorated it by wearing special uniforms for most of their home schedule. It seemed to have been a lucky charm, as State ended up going undefeated at home and the jerseys themselves were a huge hit with the fans. This got to the point where fans were clamoring for a white version of the uniforms, and Mississippi State delivered. The Bulldogs will be wearing a special white version of those uniforms for the Orange Bowl.

While Mississippi State is breaking out a special alternate uniform for their Orange Bowl appearance, Georgia Tech is going to do something they definitely don’t do everyday: Wear a jersey that isn’t white or gold. Instead, the Yellow Jackets have decided to enter the darkest depths of their uniform closet and will be wearing navy jerseys for the big game. Ever since the NCAA loosened their uniform rulings a bit back in the mid-90s, the Yellow Jackets have played the vast majority of their games (home and away) in white jerseys. Occasionally they’d wear gold, and even more rarely, they’d wear navy. Tonight will be one of those rare occasions, as Georgia Tech has decided to wear their navy blue jerseys for the Orange Bowl.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Georgia Tech football blog, the last time GT wore navy was against USC in the 2012 Sun Bowl. Tech actually wore navy twice that season, as they also broke out the blue jerseys for a home game. However, that was also the year where they had that weird honeycomb motif going with their uniforms, so the less we talk about that, the better.

So, with one team wearing what could potentially be a one-off uniform and another wearing a color that they rarely wear, this is definitely a bowl that you’ll want to tune in to just so you can say that you witnessed what is going to be a matchup between two teams wearing uniforms that you’ll rarely see from this point forward. Who says Bowl Season isn’t fun?