Uniform March Madness Round 2: FCS Region

Things are getting more difficult in all of the regions. In this region, the top seeds bring some fire to the field on Saturdays. Beating them will require some major support for the underdogs. Richmond pulled out a win over The Citadel. North Dakota pulled off a stunning upset over Sam Houston State. South Dakota State (over Chattanooga) and Jacksonville State (over Wofford) took the easy route and dominated their matchups.

Round 2 will provide some tough matchups. The higher seeds mostly have great uniform setups that will be hard to overcome. Below is the updated brackets and the new poll. You decide who gets a trip to the Sweet Sixteen!

If you can’t see the bracket, click here, and if you can’t see the poll, click here.

#1 James Madison Dukes vs #8 Richmond Spiders

JAMES MADISON

COLORS: Purple, gold

BRAND: Nike

SUMMARY: After ending NDSU’s streak of national championships, the Dukes won one of their own. James Madison wore white on the road, and that was it for consistency. Constantly switching pants and helmets, they utilized purple, gold, white and black on the road. At home, everything changed color and style on their way to a national championship.

RICHMOND

COLORS: Blue, red

BRAND: Nike

SUMMARY: The Spiders managed to pull away late from #9 The Citadel for a 23-15 win to send them to Round 2. Red, white, and blue are their allies, but they will hope fans like their colors more than the purple and gold. Richmond has a chance, but with the lack of variety like the Dukes, this result may be predictable.

#4 Eastern Washington Eagles vs #12 North Dakota Fighting Hawks

EASTERN WASHINGTON

COLORS: Red, white

BRAND: Adidas

SUMMARY: What good is having a field with red turf if you don’t switch your uniforms up as well? The Eagles made sure that the turf wasn’t the only talking point during games. Switching up color combinations of red, white, grey, and black, Eastern Washington was hard to miss even if they weren’t playing on the red turf.

NORTH DAKOTA

COLORS: Black, green

BRAND: Adidas

SUMMARY: North Dakota took their name to heart, and the Fighting Hawks upset #5 Sam Houston State 23-15. Their matchup this week will be tough to beat, but North Dakota switches their uniforms up enough to have a chance. Their setups also looked clean each week, so their isn’t much to not like about them.

#2 Youngstown State Penguins vs #7 South Dakota State Jackrabbits

YOUNGSTOWN STATE

COLORS: Red, white

BRAND: Under Armour

SUMMARY: Bo Pelini took the Nebraska tradition of rarely changing uniforms to Ohio, and it got him to the national championship. While there probably isn’t a correlation between the two, the Penguins kept things bland. Red helmets, white or red uniforms, and red, white, or black pants. A clean look nonetheless and you can’t complain when you finish second in the nation.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE

COLORS: Blue, yellow

BRAND: Under Armour

SUMMARY: While their basketball team may not survive the first round, the football team provided a first round win for their school South Dakota State blitzed #10 Chattanooga early, and costed to an easy 30-8 win. The royal blue, yellow, white, and black combinations should be enough to carry them through this round. Their unique approach to helmets by switching just decals should help them as well.

#3 North Dakota State Bison vs #6 Jacksonville State Gamecocks

NDSU

COLORS: Green, yellow

BRAND: Nike

SUMMARY: Let’s be honest, the Bison don’t have the best uniforms. It is hard to argue with their success, but you would think some sort of alternate jersey would be introduced. The alternate helmets were alright with a matte green base and yellow facemask, but other than that the Bison’s uniforms weren’t too exciting. Who cares if you’re winning game though, right?

JACKSONVILLE STATE

COLORS: Red, white

BRAND: Adidas

SUMMARY: Jacksonville State should be thankful for their placement in the tournament, as their first two opponents don’t switch things up often. While the Gamecocks dominated their matchup against #11 Wofford 28-10, they will need to hope on field play doesn’t come into consideration aginast the dominant Bison.