Nebraska will be even more recognizable on the gridiron in 2013, and it has its new adizero 5-Star custom cleats to thank. The new kicks feature the following nods to Nebraska: “Huskers” on the right side, Nebraska’s “N” logo, with “Huskers” in it, on the back of the heel, and “Big Red Football” on the sole (we’ll rarely see this, I know). See pictures of the new cleats in this post.

Last week, we posted about Ohio State junior mechanical engineering major Patrick Gallagher’s really cool racing helmet. Gallagher, a racer for CJ Wilson Racing, wore a hand painted Ohio State helmet this past weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

What can a cool $3,000 buy you these days? If you’re Ohio State junior and Mazda MX-5 Cup driver Patrick Gallagher, it can get you one of the coolest racing helmets in the business. Gallagher, a mechanical engineering major, will debut a helmet that’s hand painted to look like an Ohio State football helmet this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

By now, Indiana baseball fans know their team will open its first College World Series against Big East champion Louisville. What they may not know is what the Cardinals could be wearing. Louisville unveiled its new adidas CLIMALITE Sweet Spot uniforms in Sunday’s Super Regional finale at Vanderbilt, and they are, um, interesting.

The winged helmet wins out. After weeks of voting, BTN.com readers selected Michigan’s iconic lid as the champion of the 2013 Big Ten Helmet Bracket. The Wolverines obliterated tourney darling and Leaders Division champ Indiana, 78%-22%, to record their second BTN.com aesthetic competition in as many summers. Last year, Michigan took our uniform bracket.

The Indiana football team unveiled a handful of new helmets Monday in a YouTube video that can be found at the bottom of this post. Let’s just say, the Hoosiers, who wore two helmets the last couple of years (No. 1; No. 2), will have plenty of options to consider every week this season.

We’ve reached the championship of the 2013 Big Ten helmet bracket, and based on the matchup, either BTN.com readers are bigger fans of Indiana’s helmet than others or Michigan fans stuffed the ballot box to create a favorable pairing. Either way, BTN.com readers have spoken, and it’s between Legends Division champ Michigan and Leaders Division champ Indiana. See all the tourney’s results and vote for your 2013 champion in this post. Voting ends June 5.

For the third consecutive year, believe it or not, Penn State’s iconic uniform will undergo a slight makeover. Relax, Penn State fans: This year’s facelift isn’t nearly as noticeable as last year’s much-talked-about nameplates on the back of the jerseys.

While Round 1 of the Big Ten Helmet Bracket was all chalk, Round 2 featured a couple upsets, including this stunner: No. 4 Indiana over No. 1 Ohio State. Big Ten fans advanced the Hoosiers, in a 54%-46% decision, setting up a Leaders Division final of Indiana vs. No. 3 Penn State.

The Sun Belt Conference released its new logo Sunday afternoon. You might be asking yourself, “OK, what does that have to do with the Big Ten?” Nothing, really, other than it looks like the conference may have used the Big Ten basketball tourney logo for inspiration. Everybody loves pinwheels!

It was all chalk in the opening round of our Big Ten helmet bracket. The biggest winner: Michigan State routed Northwestern, 71 percent to 29 percent. Now, it’s time for Round 2. See all of the matchups and cast your votes in this post.

Remember this terrific Ricky Stanzi America-themed print from last summer? The artist, Sean Thompson, is at it again. This year, Thompson has a piece that will interest a few Big Ten fan bases; it’s called “Evy,” and it’s of former Michigan player, Michigan State assistant and Iowa head coach/athletic director Forest Evashevski.

Last summer, I compiled a Big Ten football uniform bracket for fans to vote on. Unsurprisingly, Michigan won – although there were upsets along the way. This year, it’s time for a helmet bracket (only primary lids considered).

Pictured above is Wyoming’s new football field. It’s pretty sweet, isn’t it? The illustrations of the state’s Teton Mountains in both end zones is the headliner. Wyoming’s decision to include the iconic mountains in the end zones got me thinking: What thing synonymous with Big Ten towns/cities would be cool additions to Big Ten end zones? I asked the question on Twitter, and Big Ten fans responded.

As we all know, the Rose Bowl is kind of a big deal. It’s not called The Grandaddy of Them All for nothing, after all. To that point, the Rose Bowl will become the first bowl to host its 100th game Jan. 1, 2014. Such a momentous occasion deserves recognition, and that’s exactly what will happen.