The past decade or so has seen a revolution in uniform design in college football. If you're reading this site, I don't have to tell you that. Everything from the tip of the helmet to the bottom of the cleat has been re-thought and disrupted.
Except the face mask.
Styles have changed with the evolution of the helmet, but for the most part the face mask has remained the face mask, the one spot on the uniform free of either team- or manufacturer-based branding.
That is, until now.
The Akron equipment room debuted its new Z-bar face mask, displaying the Zips "Z'" logo.
This isn't the first such face mask, but it's by far the most realistic.
The Arizona face mask seems more like a novelty, while the Akron prototype looks like it could hit the field this fall.
We'll have to wait and see if it actually does, but can't you close your eyes and imagine Oregon taking the field with "O" branded face masks, or the block "G" of Georgia splashed across 100-plus helmets, in the future?