They’re two of the most iconic uniforms in all of college football.
Alabama’s crimson jerseys, crimson helmets and white pants—a look that had remained remarkably consistent for decades. Tennessee’s daisy-inspired orange jerseys, traditionally worn with white helmets and pants.
During a much earlier period of college football, the Third Saturday in October saw each of these squads wear their home threads for their annual rivalry matchup, making for an colorful contrast on the gridiron. Now, for the first time since 1970, Alabama and Tennessee will do so once again for the upcoming Oct. 17 game at Neyland Stadium, as well as next year’s showdown in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
“The Third Saturday in October stands alone in college football, and we are excited to restore one of its most iconic traditions as both teams wear their home jerseys,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said. “I’m grateful to Alabama AD Greg Byrne and his staff for their shared commitment to bringing this experience back to the fans of one of the sport’s greatest rivalries.”
Until 2009, the NCAA mandated that one team must always wear white in a given matchup, a rule that was amended after the ’08 UCLA vs. USC matchup, in which Pete Carroll was penalized a timeout at the start of the game in order for his Trojans to wear their home cardinal uniforms at the Rose Bowl. (Bruins coach Rick Neuheisel burned a timeout in kind). The rule was then changed to allow road teams to wear their home uniforms, as long as they have permission from the home team and the jerseys are sufficiently contrasting. In the years since, some other rivalries have played all-color games, like BYU vs. Utah in the last few seasons.
Of course, no one wants to watch an Egg Bowl matchup between Ole Miss in red and Mississippi State in maroon, so that rule is common sense. Ohio State in scarlet against Michigan in blue, however? Now we’re cooking.
Here are nine all-color uniform rivalry matchups we want to see played in college football.
Florida vs. Georgia
Fans don’t need to think back that far to the last time the Gators and Bulldogs went blue vs. red for the The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. Like the Crimson Tide and Volunteers, this rivalry often featured an all-color matchup dating back to the 1960s, when Steve Spurrier and George Patton were on the field in the rivalry game.
The two sides brought it back for a three-year run from 2014 to ’16, before agreeing to a mutual shift back to one side wearing white. Georgia, which had won the three previous matchups against Florida, dropped all three of these all-color games by an average of 18.7 points per game. Since the change back to a more traditional uniform matchup, the Bulldogs have won eight of nine games against the Gators (and a pair of national titles along the way).
It’s unclear whether there’s some superstition at play in Athens—Kirby Smart was in his first year leading the program when Georgia lost to Florida in 2016. Hopefully that isn’t the case, and we can get this sweet matchup of classic contrasting uniforms once again.
Clemson vs. South Carolina
This inter-conference rivalry has taken on more national import in recent years, though it’s been fiercly contested by South Carolina’s two major powers since the 1890s. The Gamecocks had one of their greatest runs of success in recent memory under Spurrier in the 2000s and 2010s, and their dominance of this series (five straight wins from ’09 to ’13) helped define it. The Tigers would answer with seven consecutive wins from ’14 to ’21, while the Tigers captured a pair of national titles and became one of the sport’s true powers under Dabo Swinney. In `14, the game was officially dubbed the Palmetto Bowl by the two schools.
Clemson and South Carolina now find themselves fighting to return to those halcyon days. Perhaps a little flair, with the Tigers in orange and the Gamecocks in garnet, would help? If nothing else, it would be a great look for the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Texas vs. Texas A&M
Another post-Thanksgiving game between that we’d live to see take on a pop of color. The Longhorns’ burnt orange and the Aggies’ maroon give them two of the most iconic looks in the sport.
After Texas A&M’s move to the SEC cost us this rivalry for more than a decade, it is understandable that the two schools’ brass want to keep things traditional for the Friday after Thanksgiving. But this is another orange vs. red-ish game in which the shades lend themselves to a head-to-head matchup—and those shades bring out some real anger in the opposite team and fan base, making the idea all the better.
Florida State vs. Miami
A similarly prismatic matchup to the Palmetto Bowl, the Seminoles and Hurricans have been heated rivals for decades, both as non-conference and (since 2004) ACC foes. They ascended to the top of the sport around the same time, as two of the dominant programs of the 1980s and ’90s, and have experienced significant lulls in the years since.
Florida State’s garnet and gold and Miami’s orange, green and white home uniforms are two of the more iconic looks in the sport, and would be a fun color showdown. If they look too close on television or on the field, we’d accept Miami’s green uniforms as a substitute as well.
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech
Want to put the “clean” in “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate?” Have the Bulldogs wear their reds and the Yellow Jackets wear their golds. Georgia Tech has already (regrettably, for those of us who value on-campus rivalry games) moved home matchups with Georgia to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The fan split won’t be 50/50 the way that the Red River Rivalry is, but if you’re going to turn this into more of a neutral-site series, give fans something unique to enjoy.
Duke vs. North Carolina
Yes, both of these programs both famously wear blue—but the two shades contrast as much as these two hated rivals. The Tar Heels in their powder blues and the Blue Devils in their deep navy threads? That would be a pretty fun celebration of one of college sports’ great rivalries (and we would certainly take it at Cameron Indoor Stadium or the Dean Dome as well).
TCU vs. Baylor
The Bears-Horned Frogs rivalry hit a fever pitch in 2014. Baylor won an all-time classic between the two sides in mid-October, 61–58, jumping to No. 4 in the AP Poll, but it’d suffer a classic hangover upset loss the following week to West Virginia. TCU would run the table, as would the Bears after the Mountaineers loss, putting both sides on the doorstep of the first-ever four-team College Football Playoff. The Horned Frogs were No. 3 in the country entering the final weekend of games (when the Big 12 still held regular season contests while other leagues played conference championships), with Baylor close behind at No. 6. The Bears knocked off No. 9 Kansas State, giving them a great final win, while TCU blew out a very bad Iowa State team. In the end, both were jumped by eventual national champion Ohio State, which demolished Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, vaulting the Buckeyes to No. 4—ahead of Baylor (No. 5) and the Horned Frogs (No. 6) in the first great controversy of the CFP era.
While neither program is quite Oregon, both have a history of breaking out some very cool, unique uniform looks. Baylor in their deep greens and gold helmets vs. TCU in a decked-out purple look? That could look incredible.
Oregon vs. Oregon State
It is a real shame that these two in-state rivals aren’t playing in 2026 or ’27, one of the many rivalries interrupted by conference realignment. The Ducks and Beavers will restart the heated rivalry in 2028, and when they do, I hope they break out the green vs. orange jersey concept that they’ve gone with in the past. In a see of potential red vs. blue games, the contrast here looks amazing.
Ohio State vs. Michigan
The biggest rivalry in the sport also features an absolute layup in terms of an all-color showdown. Red vs. blue is the classic color rivalry, and Ohio State’s scarlet and Michigan’s blue uniforms are begging to be worn in one of these games at the Big House or the Shoe.
This isn’t unheard of, either. The 1950 Snow Bowl, a 9–3 Wolverines win, featured a scarlet vs. blue matchup that made watching on TV a real challenge. Black-and-white footage from that game shows why the sport resisted color matchups like this for so long, but now that we’re firmly in the era of 4K, high-definition video, it is no longer a concern.
The biggest hurdle might be getting these two sides to reach an agreement on ... just about anything, but perhaps the Ryan Day–Kyle Whittingham coaching matchup is the one that could get it done.
PODCAST: Listen to SI’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.
Add us as a preferred source on Google