The inside stories behind Notre Dame's green jerseys

These days, it seems as though every college football program has a mall department store's inventory of alternate uniforms. Color schemes and patches and stitches, presented as tributes to days gone by, futuristic twists stolen straight from the Lucasfilm costume closet and, honestly, a whole lot of "WTH were they thinking?!"

But the roots of rotating regalia reach back, naturally, to the place where it feels like most college football ideas seem to have been immaculately conceived: South Bend, Indiana, where when it comes to alternate uniforms, OG stands for Original Green.

On Saturday, the ninth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will defend their very green home grass (OK, it's artificial…