Can alternate uniforms help athletes hit new heights? Cyclones, Hawkeyes might say so.

Note to readers: This story was originally published on Oct. 17, 2018.

For the past year, I’ve been pondering whether the alternative football uniforms the Iowa Hawkeyes wore against Ohio State last November influenced their uncharacteristic, 55-24 thrashing of the No. 3-ranked Buckeyes.

When Iowa State donned solid black Saturday night in Ames and manhandled undefeated No. 6 West Virginia 30-14, I became convinced that a change in uniform has the powerful potential to change our performance.