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Illinois to Wear Really Sweet Throwback Uniforms for Game Against Michigan

An ode to Red Grange.

Kyle Koster

Illinois will wear some cool uniforms for its game against Michigan.
Illinois will wear some cool uniforms for its game against Michigan. / Ron Johnson-Imagn Images
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Illinois football will play its biggest game in a long time on Saturday when Michigan comes into town. The Fighting Illini are 5-1 on the year, ranked in both polls, and have somewhat reasonable College Football Playoff aspirations.

They are smartly pulling out all the stops for their contest against the defending national championships, including reaching way back in the close to bring back some 1920s-themed uniforms.

Fashion is all about taking risks and Illinois is going for it. Those faux leather helmets are either a work of art or a monstrosity, depending on one's perspective. The pants may have the affect of making it look like the players aren't wearing pants at all.

These threads are going to be worn as a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Red Grange scoring five touchdowns in a win over Michigan. A performance that earned him the nickname of "Galloping Ghost," which is an objectively great nickname.

Michigan and Illinois kick off Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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