No. 5 Ohio State is breaking out the all-white look Saturday at Kinnick Stadium, the first time the Buckeyes will wear their “Sub Zero” uniforms with the restored Buckeye Stripes — the same icy road kit fans have long called the “Cocaine Whites.”
Ohio State captains chose the alternate combination for Saturday’s game at No. 14 Iowa, a school spokesperson confirmed to The Columbus Dispatch. It is the first time this season the Buckeyes will step away from their core home or road set.
The official package is silver helmet, white jersey and white pants. Ohio State Athletics branded the look “Sub Zero” when it unveiled the 2026 wardrobe in May, calling it a modern take on the all-white uniform first worn in a 52-12 win at Michigan State on Dec. 5, 2020. The Buckeyes also wore that all-white set at Oregon in 2024. Saturday will be the third Sub Zero appearance — and the first with Buckeye Stripes on the sleeves.
Fans already have another name for it.
Ohio State will wear its “sub-zero” uniforms at Iowa this Saturday 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XiuhYc7r5b
— Swish (@swishxvibes) September 30, 2026
The earlier all-white road kits — chrome helmets, white jerseys, white pants — became known as the “Cocaine Whites” after D.J. Byrnes of Eleven Warriors coined the nickname for Ohio State’s 2013 trip to Michigan. Those uniforms returned at Penn State in 2014. Both games were wins: 42-41 at Michigan and 31-24 in double overtime at Happy Valley. The nickname stuck even after the program later sold the same idea as Sub Zero.
The 2026 version is cleaner than the Urban Meyer-era chrome look, but the visual is the same: an all-white road team walking into a dark stadium. Iowa is expected to wear either all-black or its traditional home combination of black jerseys and gold pants, which would give the Buckeyes the contrast that made the old whites pop on TV.
No. 5 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) visits unbeaten No. 14 Iowa (4-0, 1-0) at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Kinnick Stadium. CBS has the broadcast. ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be on site for the first time in Iowa City in 20 years. Iowa is coming off a 20-19 walk-off win at Michigan. Ohio State has not played in Iowa City since a 55-24 loss in 2017, the last season of the Urban Meyer era. Ryan Day is 2-0 against the Hawkeyes, including a 35-7 win in 2024. Ohio State leads the series 48-15-3.
