Can't Wait For Saturday In Nashville, blue is the new orange

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Dec. 28—***

Does it matter what uniform combination a team wears at a bowl? Or at any game for that matter?

My first instinct is to reject the notion without much thought. The team with the better players/plan/motivation is usually the one that wins.

But then you remember the games are played by humans, not robots. (Don't get an ideas AI). So, if Player A thinks wearing a certain helmet or jersey helps his team's chances, it might actually make an impact.

Tuesday's Music City Bowl will be a proper test for Illinois' all-blues: blue helmet, blue jersey, blue pants. Guaranteeing there will be no confusion with orange-draped Tennessee.

Coaches being superstitions, if Illinois wins its bowl wearing blue, you can bet the color combo will be prominent for the team in 2026.

Of course, last time Illinois played in a bowl wearing orange helmets, it beat South Carolina at the 2024 Citrus. There was no concern about the same colors being worn in Orlando. The Gamecocks primary color is cardinal.

Illinois has been telling its fans since the game was announced to wear blue to Nashville. Wouldn't want anyone to think you are from Tennessee (a lovely state and university just in case they read this).

My general rule on helmets is I like to see them and know the school immediately. The Block I usually accomplishes that for Illinois.

But no Block I on these helmets. Instead, there will be a script "Illinois." Why not? As written earlier, it is the player in the helmet, not the actual helmet that matters most.

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