The West Virginia football program this week unveiled new gold “Country Roads” alternate jerseys, which will be worn in the 106th Backyard Brawl against Pittsburgh on Sept. 16 (7:30 p.m. on ABC).
The gold jerseys follow the same template as the white “Country Roads” uniforms that debuted in last season’s 38-31 loss to the Panthers, with custom blue numbers and sleeve caps featuring a sublimated roadmap of the state, including Interstate 79, which leads from Morgantown to Pittsburgh.
The wordmark across the chest swaps “West Virginia” for “Mountaineers,” while “Cue Country Roads” remains inside the back collar as a nod to the theme song for the state of West Virginia, which has been played at every Mountaineer home game since 1972.
The jersey is complete with the Flying “WV” inside of a state outline at the base of the collar, which also includes the roadmap like last year’s design, though the base is not contrasting, likely due to Nike’s new Vapor F.U.S.E. template.
It’s unclear at this time what helmets West Virginia will wear with the gold “Country Roads” jerseys, as the Mountaineers introduced new white lids with a blue and gold striping pattern that was supposed to resemble the center lines on roadways for last year’s design.
That uniform had matching white pants, with the stripes and the sublimated roadmap down the sides. Those were only worn against Pittsburgh, though, as West Virginia instead wore blue pants in a 33-10 win at Virginia Tech and gold pants in a 48-10 loss at Texas Tech.
The Mountaineers are planning to stripe Milan Puskar Stadium against the Panthers, so we’re hoping they opt for blue helmets and pants to match the fans in the stands. Perhaps they’ll both feature the same striping pattern as last year’s design.