I feel like red would look better than gold tho
I'd prefer it, but what I like about white-gold-white, it emphasizes the gold vs. a team that's red and black.
Use white-cardinal-white or all-cardinal vs. West Virginia -- de-emphasizing the gold vs. a gold/blue team.
Going "opposite" of opponent colors isn't the only factor for alternates, of course, but I think it adds that dynamic. (I kind of wanted to go white-white-gold at KU).