Huskies Dressed for Success in Beating Oregon

The all-purple look has brought two fairly substantial victories this season.

People didn't know it right away, but signs were everywhere that the University of Washington was going to win that game at Autzen Stadium. The Huskies made a fashion statement while strutting through enemy territory.

For that matter, Oregon might have come underdressed for a big night because it chose to wear its all-lemon yellow, popsicle-like uniforms, thus enabling the Huskies to respond by dressing for success.

For what must be the first time, UW players got to wear their all-purple togs in an opposing Pac-12 stadium, and not just any enemy port, but that of the dreaded Ducks.

And for those keeping score on these wardrobe matters, Kalen DeBoer's players have been most dominant when wearing their Deep Purple look, which usually happens at Husky Stadium in its Lake Washington shoreline locale. 

Call it Smoke on the Water, only this time it happened in Eugene.

"I felt like yellow was a lighter color so from our end, the contrast, I feel like that was appropriate, especially from a quarterback's vantage point," DeBoer said, explaining the strategic reason for going all purple last Saturday night. "You need to see and feel the different colors. It's not only what you see in front of you, it's the peripheral vision." 

The Huskies are 2-0 when dressed all in their predominant color, beating Michigan State 39-28 and now Oregon 37-34.

In their five other victories at home, UW players came out dressed in their traditional Purple and Gold uniforms.

They went all white with fancy gold trim around the numbers and appendages and won at California 28-21.

However, the mix of purple and white on the road hasn't worked out well at all this season. The Huskies lost to UCLA 40-32 while donning white jerseys and purple pants. They fell 45-38 to Arizona State, which chose a military-like mustard look, after choosing an ensemble of purple jerseys and white pants.

From now on, the Purple People Eaters shirt and britches complement should be required dress for every big Husky game anywhere where they can pull that off. 

"It worked out well where we could wear our home purples on the road," DeBoer said with a smile.

Yes, the clothes do make the men.

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