After a second consecutive 8-4 season that, while successful in a historical context for Mississippi State, failed to meet preseason expectations, the Bulldogs had an opportunity to end the season on a high note by participating in the program's first ever trip to the Outback Bowl in Tampa, FL. Unfortunately, a flurry of unforced penalties and other unnecessary mistakes resulted in a disappointing 27-22 loss at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes, ending Joe Moorhead's first season at Mississippi State with an 8-5 record.
Moving on from the depressing results of the game, the uniforms are what we're really here to talk about. The Bulldogs debuted a new uniform combination for the Outback Bowl, #10 of the season: matte maroon helmets, white jersey, white pants. After wearing maroon jerseys in their last three postseason games, this was the first time since the 2014 Orange Bowl that the Bulldogs had worn white jerseys in a bowl game.
The 2019 Outback Bowl was State's 22nd bowl game overall, and 10th in which they wore white jerseys. The lost dropped State to 3-7 in white jerseys in bowl games, which is obviously not that great. After wearing the "Snow Bowl" jerseys in the (January) 2013 Gator Bowl and "DWS 100" jerseys in the 2014 Orange Bowl, this was actually the first bowl since the 2011 Music City in which State had worn its "regular" white jerseys; taking out the two games in which alternates were worn, State is still 3-5 in regular white jerseys in bowl games.
Of the 10 bowls in which State has worn white jerseys, this was the 6th in which maroon helmets and white pants were also worn. Including the loss to Iowa, State now has a 2-4 bowl record in the Maroon/White/White combo.
This was the fourth bowl game in which State has worn matte maroon helmets; all four instances have been with white jerseys. Like the Outback Bowl this year the MatteMaroon/White/White combo was worn in the 2011 Music City and 2014 Orange Bowls, and now has a 1-2 overall bowl record. In the 2013 Gator Bowl loss, matte maroon helmets were worn with silver facemasks and gray pants- this was the only game prior to this season in which silver/gray facemasks had been worn with matte maroon helmets.
As mentioned earlier, the MatteMaroon/White/White combination was Mississippi State's 10th of the season. This ties 2018 with 2015 and 2016 for the most football uniform combinations worn in program history. A graphic below depicts the similarities and differences among the 10 combinations worn each season; an interesting note about 2015 and 2016 is that in both of those seasons, 10 different combinations were worn in the regular season, and a repeat combo was worn in the bowl game. 2018 is unique in that only 9 combinations were worn in the regular season, and the bowl game combination is what hit 10 on the season.
I really, really like this season's matte maroon helmets, when paired with the white jerseys. I said that when they were first shown off, and the two times they were worn with white jerseys (at Kentucky with gray pants and in the Outback Bowl with white pants) both looked incredible. While I definitely want to see shiny maroon helmets return as the primary home helmets next season, I want to both see Matte/White/White and Matte/White/Gray worn frequently on the road in the coming seasons; I honestly think they might be the two best combinations Mississippi State has ever worn. Everything just flows so well; removing the helmet stripe would probably make that even more true, but with the maroon/gray/maroon stripes on the white jerseys, even that doesn't look totally out of place in these combos. Great job by Adidas and Mississippi State on making these looks happen.
For more on Mississippi State's Bowl Game Uniform History, Click Here
Moving on from the depressing results of the game, the uniforms are what we're really here to talk about. The Bulldogs debuted a new uniform combination for the Outback Bowl, #10 of the season: matte maroon helmets, white jersey, white pants. After wearing maroon jerseys in their last three postseason games, this was the first time since the 2014 Orange Bowl that the Bulldogs had worn white jerseys in a bowl game.
The 2019 Outback Bowl was State's 22nd bowl game overall, and 10th in which they wore white jerseys. The lost dropped State to 3-7 in white jerseys in bowl games, which is obviously not that great. After wearing the "Snow Bowl" jerseys in the (January) 2013 Gator Bowl and "DWS 100" jerseys in the 2014 Orange Bowl, this was actually the first bowl since the 2011 Music City in which State had worn its "regular" white jerseys; taking out the two games in which alternates were worn, State is still 3-5 in regular white jerseys in bowl games.
Of the 10 bowls in which State has worn white jerseys, this was the 6th in which maroon helmets and white pants were also worn. Including the loss to Iowa, State now has a 2-4 bowl record in the Maroon/White/White combo.
This was the fourth bowl game in which State has worn matte maroon helmets; all four instances have been with white jerseys. Like the Outback Bowl this year the MatteMaroon/White/White combo was worn in the 2011 Music City and 2014 Orange Bowls, and now has a 1-2 overall bowl record. In the 2013 Gator Bowl loss, matte maroon helmets were worn with silver facemasks and gray pants- this was the only game prior to this season in which silver/gray facemasks had been worn with matte maroon helmets.
As mentioned earlier, the MatteMaroon/White/White combination was Mississippi State's 10th of the season. This ties 2018 with 2015 and 2016 for the most football uniform combinations worn in program history. A graphic below depicts the similarities and differences among the 10 combinations worn each season; an interesting note about 2015 and 2016 is that in both of those seasons, 10 different combinations were worn in the regular season, and a repeat combo was worn in the bowl game. 2018 is unique in that only 9 combinations were worn in the regular season, and the bowl game combination is what hit 10 on the season.
I really, really like this season's matte maroon helmets, when paired with the white jerseys. I said that when they were first shown off, and the two times they were worn with white jerseys (at Kentucky with gray pants and in the Outback Bowl with white pants) both looked incredible. While I definitely want to see shiny maroon helmets return as the primary home helmets next season, I want to both see Matte/White/White and Matte/White/Gray worn frequently on the road in the coming seasons; I honestly think they might be the two best combinations Mississippi State has ever worn. Everything just flows so well; removing the helmet stripe would probably make that even more true, but with the maroon/gray/maroon stripes on the white jerseys, even that doesn't look totally out of place in these combos. Great job by Adidas and Mississippi State on making these looks happen.
For more on Mississippi State's Bowl Game Uniform History, Click Here
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On the opponent side of things, Iowa's Steelers-style uniforms looked pretty great in the Florida sun. Their uniforms almost exactly mimic those of the Pittsburg Steelers- the major differences are the Hawkeye logo on both sides of the helmet, full sleeve stripes (rather than cut-off like the modern Steelers uniform cut is on most players), and a custom block font that is actually new to the Hawkeyes this season. With Iowa's classic uniforms matched up with State's exceptional Matte/White/White look, I think the Outback Bowl was one of the best uniform matchups State participated in this season, and easily one of the best matchups of the bowl season.
The uniform model for this game is senior safety #38 Jonathan Abram, who had an incredible season for the Bulldogs, and capped his college career with a 6 tackle (4 solo), 0.5 sack, 1.5 tackle for loss performance in the Outback Bowl. Abram, along with fellow defensive stars Montez Sweat and Jeffrey Simmons, are expected to be high NFL draft picks this spring and should have promising NFL careers ahead of them.
That wraps up the 2018 Football Season for Mississippi State. The season uniform recap should be posted sometime within the next week or so. Until then, Hail State.
The uniform model for this game is senior safety #38 Jonathan Abram, who had an incredible season for the Bulldogs, and capped his college career with a 6 tackle (4 solo), 0.5 sack, 1.5 tackle for loss performance in the Outback Bowl. Abram, along with fellow defensive stars Montez Sweat and Jeffrey Simmons, are expected to be high NFL draft picks this spring and should have promising NFL careers ahead of them.
That wraps up the 2018 Football Season for Mississippi State. The season uniform recap should be posted sometime within the next week or so. Until then, Hail State.
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