In the first season under Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State had one of its best uniform seasons in program history. By upgrading to Adidas's new PrimeKnit A1 template, the Bulldogs' standard uniform set (consisting of maroon and white jerseys and maroon, white, and gray pants) finally got a clean, fully consistent look for the first time since the ribbon uniform set from 2012-14. Inserting matte helmets back into the lineup made for an incredible road look, but handicapped the home look a bit. The "Statesman" alternate uniforms, which featured the first gray jerseys in program history, were nearly universally praised and arguably hold the title for the program's best alternate uniform ever.
4 Helmets, 3 Jerseys, 4 Pants, 10 Combinations
4 Helmets, 3 Jerseys, 4 Pants, 10 Combinations
Changes/Additions Made in 2018: Primeknit A1 Template: As detailed in the season preview, Mississippi State upgraded to Adidas's newest "Primeknit A1" template for the 2018 season. The template change brought a few changes to Bulldogs' primary uniform set, including moving a few patches around, adding collar stripes, removing all remaining black, changing the "name on back" font, and thinning the pants stripes. These changes were all upgrades in my opinion, and went a long way towards standardizing and "professionalizing" the Bulldogs' uniform set. New Helmet Decals: In a surprise move for the season opener, the helmet decals on the "regular" shiny maroon helmets yet again underwent a change; in place of the white "M-State" decals worn from 2015-2017, new decals with a maroon "M-State" and white outline were worn instead. The updated look, was, in my opinion, an upgrade that resulted in a finally-complete look for Mississippi State. That "complete" look was only worn once, as the shiny maroon helmets were not worn in a single game after the season opener. New Matte Maroon Helmet: After not wearing matte maroon helmets in 2016 and 2017, Mississippi State added them back into the lineup in 2018, with an all new design. The new matte helmets are a dark shade of maroon and feature silver facemasks, a maroon "M-State" logo with a silver banner and outline, and a single silver stripe. Many, myself included, feel that the stripe creates some inconsistency and seems out of place with the rest of the uniform set. Outside of that, I'm glad to see matte maroon helmets back in the lineup. Helmet Stickers: In last year's season review, I speculated that Moorhead might award helmet stickers at Mississippi State like he did at Fordham. He did indeed add helmet stickers, doing so in the form of Bulldog silhouettes that are awarded only in wins. |
Trends in 2018: Matte Maroon Helmets worn 5 time at home, 7 times total: The new matte maroon helmets ended up being Mississippi State's primary helmets in 2018, being worn 7 times, five of which were at home and with maroon jerseys, 3 times more than the white helmets. While I like the matte maroon helmets as an alternate look, I was not a fan of them effectively replacing the shiny maroon shells. As mentioned earlier, the stripe created inconsistency and the dark maroon color of the helmet didn't match the maroon jerseys. For this reason, the matte helmets didn't work as well as the shiny helmets at home. On the road, the color mismatch wasn't as noticeable and the stripe actually kinda worked with the maroon/gray/maroon sleeve stripes on the white jersey. Therefore, in future seasons, I'd like to see the shiny maroon helmets return to being the primary home helmet and the matte helmets be worn frequently on the road. White Helmets, in their fourth season, see most usage ever: The Bulldogs' longest tenured helmet design is the white alternate helmets, which have remained unchanged since being introduced in 2015. After being worn twice a year in the past three seasons, the white helmets were worn 4 times in 2018, with all four times being on the road, and three of them being with white jerseys. The current white helmets hold a .500 (5-5) all-time record; they've always split games each season (1-1 in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2-2 in 2018). Maroon pants worn for 13th consecutive season, but only once: Maroon pants remained in Mississippi State's uniform lineup in 2018, being updated to the Primeknit A1 template along with the white and gray pants. They were worn once, with the maroon jerseys and matte maroon helmets in the 28-13 win over Texas A&M. It was the first season since 2014 in which maroon pants were only worn once and never on the road. Maroon pants have been worn in every season since 2006, in the form of 10 different designs over that span. No black uniforms worn for first time since 2014; all-gray worn instead: Mississippi State's usage of black uniforms seems to go in three year cycles. After wearing black from 2009-2011, they took a break from 2012-2014 in favor of Snow Bowl and throwback-inspired alternates. From 2015-2017, black uniforms were once again worn once a year. In 2018, black was once again ditched, this time in favor of all-gray "Statesman" uniforms. The first jerseys in program history to feature gray as a base color or "State" on the chest, the "Statesman" uniforms are arguably the best alternate uniforms Mississippi State has ever worn. They were named "uniform of the week" by both UNISWAG and Uniform Authority, and the best Military Appreciation and Adidas Uniform of the year by Uniform Authority. 10 combinations worn for third time in program history: After only wearing 7 combinations in 2017, Mississippi State wore 10 combinations in 2018, tying 2015 and 2016 for the most in a single season. Unlike the previous two times when the 10 combinations were worn in the regular season and a repeat combo was worn in the bowl game, it took the Outback Bowl to get Mississippi State to 10 combinations. Among the three seasons in which State has worn 10 combinations, 2016 is the only one to feature 10 different color combinations; 2015 featured two different Maroon/White/White combos and 2018 featured two different Maroon/Maroon/White combos due to having both shiny and matte maroon helmets. |
2018 Uniform Stats:
Helmets: After wearing the same three helmet designs in 2016 and 2017, Mississippi State's helmet lineup saw a few changes in 2018, with the addition of matte maroon helmets, changing of the decal on the shiny maroon helmets, and inclusion of the one-off "Statesman" helmets. The white helmets were the only design to remain unchanged from 2017. Matte Maroon: 7 games. 4-3 (.571) Record White: 4 games. 2-2 (.500) Record Shiny Maroon: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record Statesman: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record Jerseys: Mississippi State had one alternate jersey, part of the gray "Statesman" uniform, in addition to the regular maroon and white jerseys in 2018. Maroon: 7 games. 5-2 (.714) Record White: 5 games. 2-3 (.400) Record Statesman: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record Pants: Mississippi State had three primary pants in 2018 (white, gray, and maroon), all featuring consistent logo placements and stripes. A second pair of gray pants were worn with the "Statesman" uniforms. White: 8 games. 5-3 (.625) Record Gray: 3 games. 1-2 (.333) Record Maroon: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record Statesman: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record Combinations: As previously mentioned, Mississippi State tied its program record of most combinations in a single season at 10. Only two combinations were worn more than once: MatteMaroon/Maroon/White (3) and White/White/White (2). When counting the season opener in which shiny maroon helmets were worn, the traditional Maroon/Maroon/White color combo was actually worn 4 times, the most since it was worn 7 times in 2014. MatteMaroon/Maroon/White: 3 games. 3-0 (1.000) Record White/White/White: 2 games. 1-1 (.500) Record ShinyMaroon/Maroon/White: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record MatteMaroon/Maroon/Maroon: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record Statesman: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record White/White/Gray: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record MatteMaroon/White/Gray: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record MatteMaroon/Maroon/Gray: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record White/Maroon/White: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record MatteMaroon/White/White: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record Twitter Polls: As I have in years past, I ran a series of twitter polls to determine the people's favorite uniform combo of 2018. The results were as follows: Best Maroon Jersey Color Combo (659 votes): Maroon/Maroon/Gray: 47% Maroon/Maroon/White: 23% White/Maroon/White: 18% Maroon/Maroon/Maroon: 12% Runoff (255 votes): Maroon/Maroon/Gray: 69% Maroon/Maroon/White: 31% Best White Jersey Color Combo (375 votes): White/White/White: 42% Maroon/White/Gray: 30% White/White/Gray: 15% Maroon/White/White: 13% Runoff (321 votes): Maroon/White/Gray: 53% White/White/White: 47% Best Maroon Helmet (589 votes): Matte Maroon Helmet: 53% Shiny Maroon Helmet: 47% Best Monochrome Combo (376 votes): All Gray (Statesman): 49% All White: 37% All Maroon: 14% Runoff (404 votes): All Gray (Statesman): 54% All White: 46% Best Combination (321 votes): Matte/Maroon/Gray: 36% Matte/White/Gray: 33% All Gray (Statesman): 31% So, through that series of polls, Matte/Maroon/Gray was named as the people's favorite uniform combination of 2018. There were a few outcomes that surprised me. First off, the Matte/Maroon/Gray combo was only worn once, and in a devastating loss to Florida; I figured that would cause people to dislike that look due to negative association, but that turned out not to be the case. With as many people I've seen longing for shiny maroon helmets and complaining about the matte maroon being worn too much, I was very surprised to see the matte maroon helmets win the "best maroon helmet" poll, which actually had one of the highest number of participants. |
Overall, 2018 was a very good football uniform season for Mississippi State. The PrimeKnit A1 template finally brought consistency to the primary set that had been in seemingly constant evolution since 2014. ALL of the things I listed in last season's "what changes are needed" were addressed in this year's uniforms; that shows great attention to detail on both Mississippi State and Adidas's part. The "Statesman" alternates finally provided a well-designed, consistent enough alternate uniform that appealed to a wide variety of both Mississippi State fans and neutral observers.
What's left to nitpick? The primary thing people complained about were the new matte maroon helmets. Specifically, most complaints were focused on its silver stripe. I have to agree with the masses on this one; removing the stripe would bring consistency with the Bulldogs' two other primary helmets and remove any inconsistency with the jersey and pants striping. Another big complaint with the matte helmets was its color; they do seem to be a shade too dark. It didn't help that the way light shone off the PrimeKnit A1 maroon jerseys made them appear lighter at times, exaggerating the color difference even more.
Short of ordering new matte helmets that are a slightly lighter shade of maroon, I think the easy solution here is to wear them primarily on the road in the future. They match the white jerseys much better, just as the shiny maroon helmets match the maroon jerseys better. I'd be okay with them being worn once or twice at home next season, but they don't need to be the primary helmet like they were this year. Also, while I like the maroon and silver look we have going with them, I wouldn't mind seeing white decals and facemasks on them once or twice next year.
The only other nitpick I have with the current uniforms is the fact that the "M" in the "M-State" on the hips of the maroon pants is white, even though the "M" is maroon in literally every other application on the current uniform set. Like I said, that's an extremely small nitpick and something that can be addressed in the next template upgrade in a year or two.
So, to recap, the only changes/things I'd like to see for 2019:
That's all for the 2018 Mississippi State Football Uniforms Recap. Looking forward to another great uniform season in 2019! Hail State!
What's left to nitpick? The primary thing people complained about were the new matte maroon helmets. Specifically, most complaints were focused on its silver stripe. I have to agree with the masses on this one; removing the stripe would bring consistency with the Bulldogs' two other primary helmets and remove any inconsistency with the jersey and pants striping. Another big complaint with the matte helmets was its color; they do seem to be a shade too dark. It didn't help that the way light shone off the PrimeKnit A1 maroon jerseys made them appear lighter at times, exaggerating the color difference even more.
Short of ordering new matte helmets that are a slightly lighter shade of maroon, I think the easy solution here is to wear them primarily on the road in the future. They match the white jerseys much better, just as the shiny maroon helmets match the maroon jerseys better. I'd be okay with them being worn once or twice at home next season, but they don't need to be the primary helmet like they were this year. Also, while I like the maroon and silver look we have going with them, I wouldn't mind seeing white decals and facemasks on them once or twice next year.
The only other nitpick I have with the current uniforms is the fact that the "M" in the "M-State" on the hips of the maroon pants is white, even though the "M" is maroon in literally every other application on the current uniform set. Like I said, that's an extremely small nitpick and something that can be addressed in the next template upgrade in a year or two.
So, to recap, the only changes/things I'd like to see for 2019:
- Remove the stripe from the matte maroon helmets.
- Wear the shiny maroon helmets more at home, matte maroon more on the road.
- Possibly experiment with white decals/facemask on the matte maroon helmets once or twice.
- Continue to come up with thoughtful, well-designed alternate uniforms. I'd prefer to see another take on all-gray before going back to black.
That's all for the 2018 Mississippi State Football Uniforms Recap. Looking forward to another great uniform season in 2019! Hail State!