Northwestern to sport uniform combo worn only once in home opener against Duke

This Saturday the ‘Cats will be wearing white after Labor Day for their first game back in Ryan Field this season. They’ll be donning a white helmet and white pants, paired with a black jersey. This combo has only been worn once: a game against Minnesota that ended in a 41-14 loss.

This will be the first game in the black jersey with purple and white “Northwestern Stripes” on the sleeves, which haven’t been seen since 1928. While the stripes are 94 years old, the jersey itself looks like a 1994 uniform used only for home games. Northwestern lost every game in that jersey.

The helmet is a white “Flag N” helmet with a white face mask. The last time this helmet (and white pants) were worn against Duke was the 2018 home opener, which Northwestern lost 21-7. Overall, the ‘Cats have won two out of the four games played in the “Flag N” helmet.

With only one game played in the W-B-W combo (played in an odd year, too!), there’s not a lot to go off of. Maybe the 1994 jersey history will cancel out last year’s score in the same uniform combo.

The Wildcats will face off against Duke on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on FS1.