Ranking the Top 5 OSU Helmet Matchups

I can say with a decent amount of certainty — and a certain amount of homerism  notwithstanding — that Oklahoma State’s equipment staff is the best in the biz when it comes to innovation and style.

So in preparation for the next four months of my life, when I’ll be keenly locked into what college students wear on Saturdays (football’s next week!!!), I thought it would be a good time to look back over some of the best helmet matchups OSU has been apart of in recent years.

There have been some great ones.

To help narrow things down, I’m going 2016-on, when the Pokes started wearing their current uniform set.

No. 5 — 2018 Oklahoma State vs. Missouri (Liberty Bowl)

On OSU’s side, you’ve got one of my favorite non-throwback helmets the Cowboys wear. The black is sick and the chrome orange brand just pops. It’s a masterful spin on a classic.

It has to be simple and clean, but I’m all-in on quirky throwback mascots and logos. Give me OSU’s bucking bronco, Baylor’s retro Bear in cap and I even liked WVU’s state map thing they brought to Stillwater last year.

I’m a sucker for them as long as they are done right. And Mizzou got the Tiger right IMO.

No. 4 — 2017 or 2018 Bedlam

This matchup elicits mixed emotions.

Its obvious, stunningly-simple style and color contrast makes me visibly mouth the words “college football, baby,” though it conjures memories of late-game gut wrenches.

But let’s talk helmets.

The thing that makes most of the matchups on this list stick in my memory is their stark contrasting colors.

I’ve already mentioned my affection for the orange brand on black and then you juxtapose that with OU’s crimson cap that — sickening or not — is one of the more classic looks in college football. Both helmets are shining achievements in simple done right.

The last two meetings have featured this same helmet pairing, and I desperately hope the final scores don’t dissuade OSU from making this a Bedlam tradition moving forward.

No. 3 — 2018 Texas at Oklahoma State (Homecoming)

Okay, I know what I just said about contrasting colors, but when a school executes its best overall throwback uniform look (probably ever) with Barry Sanders — the ? that made it sentimental on-hand — and it features maybe the best throwback helmet ever, I have to include it.

And let’s not skip over the classic, clean look of the Longhorns’ lids. In this instance the white-on-white with differing shades of orange makes for a harmonious pairing, even if the game didn’t end that way.

No. 2 — 2017 Baylor at Oklahoma State (Homecoming)

The Bears don’t always stick the landing with their helmet-uni combos, but when they do the results are pretty great. One of my favorite helmet pairings includes this semi-gloss green lid from Baylor with gold BU logo.

Now, let’s take a minute to appreciate the pure beauty of this brain bucket.

An aside: As for the game itself, it was over at halftime. I remember that because it was so unseasonably warm for mid-October that, I have no shame in admitting, my wife and I exited BPS early in the third quarter and Ubered back to a friend’s house in Stillwater in search of air conditioning, beer (this was the olden days) and in order to get a head-start on the waiting saga that is trying to get Hideaway delivered on Homecoming Saturday (it still took hours). My only regret is not stealing another glimpse of those lovely lids.

No. 1 — 2016 West Virginia at Oklahoma State (Homecoming)

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This meeting of the mattes is my single favorite matchup in recent history, probably ever. The flat black OSU helmet with white retro band is dripping with cool, and the Mountaineers’ own retro stenciled offering is not far behind. (Again, I’m a sucker for simple and clean.)

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This great two-team look was completed with a nice tri-color uniform combination from both schools, but the only thing equal to the Jimmy Johnson-era helmets were those black/orange-striped socks pictured above.

I can’t wait to see what they’re going to come up with next.