Tucker’s SEC Football Uniform Power Rankings: 1 Through 8
By Tucker Harlin
We’re still in list season, so I tried my hand at ranking all 16 SEC schools based on their uniforms.
I should make it clear this list is takes into account all of a school’s uniforms, not just alternates or traditionals.
My opinions on color schemes play a big part in this list. I definitely value simplicity, but I observe limits with it.
Without further ado, here are my top eight uniform power rankings in the SEC.
1. AUBURN
This was an easy choice for the top spot on my list.
Other than shrinking the font on the numbers, Auburn has done very little to change its uniforms over the years.
The stripes on the helmet and shoulders are what really completes these.
I definitely prefer the road white jersey, but the blue home jerseys are still very strong
Credit: Saturday Down South
The yellow helmets with white jerseys are an iconic look, and they’re the only uniforms worn by a team both at home and away in the SEC.
The whiteout uniforms and traditional purple jerseys are also clean looks, and they look just as good when the white helmets are crossed over with the the purple jerseys.
My primary reason for keeping LSU at two is because of alternates.
The Tigers donned alternates against Mississippi State both in 2016 and 2018. The 2016 alternate featured an ugly gold jersey with the same color lettering on a white helmet. The purple helmets in the 2018 alternate were fine, but the numbers were too stretched out.
3. OLE MISS
Before Lane Kiffin got to Oxford, Ole Miss already had some of the best uniforms in the SEC.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the navy helmets on navy jersey combo, but the helmets looked great on the red and white jerseys.
The occasional cameo of powder blue helmets was a welcome one with the red and white jerseys. The white helmets introduced in Matt Luke’s tenure looked tremendous on the road.
With Kiffin came the introduction of powder blue jerseys to pair with the powder blue helmets, another awesome combination.
The Rebels will wear a new iteration of their powder blue jerseys along with a white jersey with powder blue numbers in 2024.
I’m generally not a fan of teams mixing it up with their uniforms (see Oregon) but with a color scheme as good as Ole Miss, it’s hard to come out with any bad combos.
Marquise Brown
This is by far the most basic look featured on this list to this point, but I do value some simplicity.
The white jerseys are the cleanest look, but the traditional crimsons aren’t far behind. The helmet is iconic.
Oklahoma is another victim of bad alternates.
The alternates it released in 2014 with “OKLAHOMA” across the chest on the jerseys could’ve looked a lot better than they turned out. I feel like the white helmets also could’ve been executed a bit better.
The grey uniforms are just hideous and need to be forgotten.
5. TENNESSEE
My only complaint about Tennessee’s uniforms is that I’d like to change the font on the jerseys to what it was in the 1990s and maybe shrink it a little bit.
The alternates are hit or miss.
Every iteration of dark mode has been a hit so far for the Vols. The smoky grey is generally a divisive alternate among the fan base, and everyone can agree the iteration against Austin Peay in 2023 was horrid.
And as cool as some fan bases thought it looked, Tennessee won’t be bringing back orange helmets anytime soon.
6. FLORIDA
This is another example of a traditional look that I enjoy but I would definitely like to see Florida bring back the font from the 2000s when Urban Meyer was at the helm.
The alternates are where things get really questionable for the Gators.
I actually like the blackout uniforms they wore against Arkansas last season, but they might feel the same way about those uniforms as Tennessee fans feel about orange helmets.
The blue helmet Florida wore against Tennessee in 2020 was also a nice look.
The orange jerseys going with the orange helmet is a little much. Maybe white helmets would be a better look?
The throwbacks the Gators have worn in some games in October are ugly, but those don’t compare to the abominations they wore against Texas A&M in 2017 that were modeled after alligator skin.
7. MISSISSIPPI STATE
Honestly, I absolutely hate the color maroon.
If I didn’t think the designs were decent looking, Mississippi State could be in my bottom two on this list,
But I love the font of both the numbers and the logos on the jersey and helmet. I like both the white and maroon helmets the Bulldogs wear.
The “State” in cursive occasionally seen on the helmets is another good look.
The alternates Mississippi State has worn generally haven’t been good looking.
The Bulldogs have experimented with gold for the Egg Bowl, including gold helmets and gold jersey numbers. Neither is a good look.
They’ve also worn all grey uniforms with nontraditional jersey fonts, and these aren’t any better looking than the Egg Bowl experiments.
8. ARKANSAS
Credit: Experience Fayetteville
Arkansas’ uniforms are like if you took Oklahoma’s traditional and alternate uniforms and found a happy medium and put “Arkansas” on them.
The jersey font the Razorbacks had in Bret Bielema’s years wasn’t good looking, so they brought back the font from the 2000s.
It’s not anything special, but it does the job better than the font it replaced.
I’m a big fan of occasional use of the white helmets, I think they look pretty clean.
Thankfully, they’ve left behind the ugly grey alternates that also appeared in Bielema’s tenure.
