Did The Uniform Choice Impact The Game For Michigan Football?

It was a big year for Michigan Wolverines Football despite losing in the College Football Playoffs.

Michigan finished the season with a 12-2 record and the Wolverines were in the National Championship hunt for the first time in recent memory. Losing in the CFP semi-final might not seem like a huge accomplishment, but Michigan started the season unranked. They became the first team to start the season unranked and end the season in the CFP.

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Over the course of their 14 games, Michigan wore five different uniforms. This has become pretty commonplace in college football lately. The apparel designers and schools usually team up and showcase at least one unique uniform per season. Most of the time the uniform revolves around a significant game or a theme that the school might be honoring that week.

Michigan is an old school though, and they usually don't get caught up in the gimmicky uniforms. They stick with different combinations of their normal uniforms, and it seems like every fan has a favorite. Trust me when I tell you that people get fanatical about the Michigan uniform. There's an entire site dedicated to showcasing the smallest changes in the uniforms.

In 2021 Michigan went with five different uniform combinations.

Blue Jersey / Gold Pants
Blue Jersey / Blue Pants
White Jersey / Blue Pants
White Jersey / Gold Pants
White Jersey / White Pants

I know what you're thinking, and it's true that the uniform combination should have absolutely no influence on the outcome of the game. I agree with you . . . I really do, BUT there is one combination that had quite a bit more success than the others.

What Was Michigan's Record In Each of the Five Uniform Combinations?

Obviously Michigan only lost two games all season, so each of the uniforms was fairly successful.

The traditional Blue on Gold combination was by far the most successful for Michigan. If you look at the games Michigan wore this combination though, you'll notice that it was the weakest bunch of opponents they faced.

Michigan enjoyed nothing but success in the white-on-blue combo this season. Three wins, with two of the wins coming in big games. The biggest win in these uniforms was the blowout of Iowa in the BIG 10 Championship game.

Michigan only played one game in the all-white uniforms, and they squeaked out a close win over Nebraska. These are the consensus least favorite uniforms for most fans, but hey a win is a win.

The white on gold uniforms are the ones that I personally associate with Michigan Football. Unfortunately, the white on gold combo is also associated with the biggest loss of the season for Michigan. Michigan did manage to beat Penn State, but the loss to Michigan State cost the Wolverines their perfect BIG 10 season.

The all-blue uniforms come with a mixed bag of emotions. Michigan beat Ohio State for the first time in a decade wearing all blue, and that win lead to Michigan playing in the Big Ten Championship game.

I don't know if that led to Michigan deciding to wear all blue in the College Football Playoffs, but there were some unhappy fans. Before the game even started, Twitter had a small, but loud, congregation of fans upset that Michigan went all blue. Did it contribute to the blowout loss? Definitely not . . . maybe . . .probably not.

Which is your favorite color combo for Michigan?

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