Back to the College Football Uniforms
It’s not quite Oregon status, but Nike’s revamping of the outdated decade-old Beavers logo in 2013 is slick and the new threads complete the fresh uniform arsenal.
Three new wide-striped shells — matte black, metallic orange and white — provides Oregon State with a stunning new-age feel on the gridiron, but the classic orange and black color scheme still defines tradition.
The Beavers will don primarily orange lids in 2013 for the first time since the mid 1980s when an interlocking “OSU” was displayed as the graphic.
From 1985-96, Oregon State wore white helmets before switching to black just before the turn of the century. The matte black shells OSU debuted without a logo in 2010 against Oregon looked great with a corresponding orange and white stripe down the center. Prior to transitioning into black shells full-time in 1999, the Beavers hadn’t worn dark lids since the mid 70s.
In recent years, Oregon State has worn several Nike Pro Combat combinations before the complete overhaul, most leaning towards the classic look with striped baselayers and socks with black tops and orange numerals. The Beavers’ go-to road combination has been their white top-white pants look, both garments accented with orange stripes.
Very little black is incorporated into OSU’s uniforms away from home. In Corvallis however, black is the Beavers’ primary color, weaved into tops and pants for an intimidating look. An all-orange alternate gives OSU a nice transition in spotlight games.
During Nike’s infatuation with drop-shadow numerals in the late 90s, Oregon State’s gameday garb was pretty generic, typically black at home and white on the road with orange trim. Nike’ first redesign several years later gave the Beavers their current updated numbers and a slimmer uniform style.
