For the first time in 626 days, gold helmets are finally back for UCF.
The team announced on Wednesday that the Knights will be rocking against Louisville what has unquestionably become the team’s signature combo: gold lids paired with black jerseys and pants.
This will become just the fourth time that UCF has worn a version Gold/Black/Black in the modern uniform era, with the previous outings coming against Cincinnati in 2018 and 2020, and BYU in 2020 as well.
Aside from this combo obviously being seen in the new uniform set for the first time, a slight decal tweak makes it a completely new take on the look. The white stack UCF decal will be paired with a black sword stripe, differing from the white stripe we saw with both versions of the combo in 2020.
It’s a very minor change but one that honestly helps upgrade the look a lot. The black stripe just ties in better with the rest of the uniform, while the white stripe tended to look a bit awkward on a color as bright as gold.
The 2018 version of this combo has for years been my pick for the best uniform UCF has ever worn in its history. But Friday’s combo has a real chance to take that title. It’s the perfect look for a Friday night showcase against a Power Five opponent, not to mention the first time the team’s new uniforms will be seen by a broad audience.
Gold helmets had become a staple of UCF’s uniforms since 2016, but supply chain issues forced the Knights to stick to white helmets for almost all of 2021. The uniform reveal in August promised white, gold and black helmets as part of the new set, but fans are probably breathing a bit of a sigh of relief to get confirmation that the team does have helmet options this season.
UCF has made a habit of donning the gold lids for some of its biggest games, including match-ups like GameDay in 2018 or the Peach Bowl the year before. In fact, Louisville will become the fifth Power Five team that UCF has worn gold helmets against since 2016.
With the new uniform set in place, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see much more of the gold lids throughout this season, especially if UCF gets the win it’s looking for on Friday.
Combo Notes
- UCF is on a two-game losing streak in gold helmets, dating back to its 2020 games against BYU and Cincinnati
- The new base jersey becomes the third black jersey design that the Knights have paired gold helmets with in the modern uniform era. That could potentially grow to four this year with the Knightmode jerseys.
- UCF is wearing the same jersey and pants in back-to-back games for the first time since November 2020.
- This is the seventh time since 2016 that the Knights have dropped a brand-new look for a game against a Power Five opponent
- UCF is 1-2 in the modern uniform era in a version of Gold/Black/Black
