Dan Le Batard and his crew weren't impressed with Miami's special-edition look on Saturday, and they said so on the show. On Monday, Le Batard criticized the camouflage alternates the Hurricanes wore in the 42-7 win over Stanford, questioning the lack of school colors.
"I don’t know how you have a University of Miami uniform with no orange in it. You've got to have orange in the University of Miami's uniforms."Dan Le Batard
Miami's one-off uniforms was part of an adidas campaign tied to Military Appreciation Day at Hard Rock Stadium. The design featured a digital-camo jersey, black numbers, a black helmet with a camo "U." and olive-toned pants.
Reaction was mixed beyond Le Batard's show. Local and national uniform watchers weighed in before kickoff, with some praising the tribute and others echoing the aesthetics critique.
Whatever the fashion debate, the football part was decisive. Miami went to halftime tied 7-7, then outscored Stanford 35-0 after the break behind three third-quarter rushing touchdowns from Mark Fletcher Jr. and a defense that allowed only 25 yards over the Cardinal's next eight possessions.
Le Batard's gripe, then, lives in a separate lane from performance. The school's palette is orange and green, and the camo treatment muted both. The new look also made it more difficult to see the players on the field. The green's blended almost too well over the broadcast.
General reaction was mixed over the weekend, and while the cause was honorable, the jerseys probably veered too far from the norm. A lot of schools do military tributes with the camo look and it is very tough to pull off. Miami might just end up in the category of school's that was not able to pull off the camo uniforms — or at least this edition was unable to do it justice.