How do we know it's the dead of summer with no actual football in sight, in any direction? We're spending an inordinate amount of time thinking about piping and flashes and italic script. 'Tis the season for minor uniform changes, and we've got some early favorites.

The My Eyes Are Rolling Back in My Skull Award, in an unprecedented upset, will not go to Oregon, though we're keeping it in the Nike family. Boise State rolled out these ultramarine numbers for 2009, complete with randomly placed words and a "touch of gray" in the numbers. Though hellaciously bright and still deviously indistinguishable when set against the famous blue turf, we're honestly kind of digging these (more than the locals, anyway), and with the Broncos sitting comfortably within a number of preseason top 25 polls, they should get plenty of screen time.

The Haircut When You Need a Head Transplant Award goes to the Washington Huskies, who, with much-needed stadium repairs in uncomfortable limbo, have taken to sprucing up their players instead. The changes are minor, but the return of classic block lettering in place of the rounded deep space digits of the Willingham era harkens back to a simpler time, when Husky Stadium wasn't falling apart and Husky players were good at football. (Think this guy can tackle? He's the backup strong safety. Sigh ... Willingham!)

Finally, a special Jury Prize for Comedic Excellence in Execution is awarded to Mississippi State, whose athletic department not only rounded up a press corps for the unveiling at a campus bookstore, but also roped four of their most media-savvy players into modeling the new looks (darling, you simply must watch in high quality).

While the players involved run the gamut of emotional presence from "slightly concussed" to "unnecessarily sultry," Dan Mullen calls the fresh unis "new and exciting".

Our compliments, sir. That kind of relentless enthusiasm for sweat-wicking fabrics will take you far in the SEC.