After two rough defeats in a row, Mississippi State bounced back with a huge win over the then #8 Auburn Tigers. With two great running backs and the SEC's all time QB rushing leader, it's truly amazing that finally committing to the run produced positive results.** The defense was as great as ever, holding Auburn to three field goals and zero touchdowns. State's offense matched those three field goals but also sprinkled in two Nick Fitzgerald rushing TDs to achieve a 23-9 victory.
The six game of the season featured the first repeat uniform combination for Mississippi State in 2018. For the fourth straight game, the Bulldogs wore the matte maroon helmets with a silver facemask, decal, and stripe. They were paired with the maroon jerseys and white pants, creating the same Matte-Maroon-White combo that was worn in the Week 3 win over Louisiana.
My thoughts on the Matte-Maroon-White combo are pretty much the same as when it was worn three weeks ago: all three of the elements look great in a vacuum, but don't exactly flow perfectly together. The matte maroon helmets are slightly darker than the maroon jerseys, which creates a bit of a disconnect. This is compounded by the fact that, with all of the silver accents on the matte helmets, maroon and silver are always touching. On the maroon jersey, maroon and gray only touch at the end of the stripes. I will say, however, that playing at night significantly negates these issues; the color mis-match is greatly reduced when there isn't as much light reflecting off of the maroon jerseys.
Wearing white pants when the matte helmets feature absolutely no white is an interesting choice, but it actually does work better than you would think. The silver stripe on the matte maroon helmets (which many, myself included, think bring down the look), actually does match the maroon-gray-maroon stripes on the white pants. Still, I'd say that the gray pants that were worn last week against Florida better match the current matte helmets.
So, again, I still love the matte helmets. They looked absolutely incredible on the road at Kentucky in that Matte-White-Gray combo, and look great on their own. But for the next home game (or even at LSU in two weeks), I wouldn't mind seeing the shiny maroon helmets again; they haven't been worn since the season opener against Stephen F. Austin.
The win brought Mississippi State's all time record in matte helmets back to .500 at 12-12. It also brought State's record in the current matte helmets to .500 (2-2) after being worn in the last four consecutive games. Another interesting stat from this game is that it was Mississippi State's eighth consecutive win in white pants; the last loss the Bulldogs suffered in white pants was at Georgia early last season. The Bulldogs' last three losses have come in gray pants (Florida 18, Kentucky 18, Ole Miss 17), and the two before that came in maroon pants (Alabama 17, Auburn 17). It was also the third consecutive win over Auburn in white pants (18, 15, 14), as State wore maroon pants in losses to Auburn in 2016 and 17. Finally, it was the second straight win over Auburn in matte maroon helmets, which were also worn in the 2015 win at Auburn.
The six game of the season featured the first repeat uniform combination for Mississippi State in 2018. For the fourth straight game, the Bulldogs wore the matte maroon helmets with a silver facemask, decal, and stripe. They were paired with the maroon jerseys and white pants, creating the same Matte-Maroon-White combo that was worn in the Week 3 win over Louisiana.
My thoughts on the Matte-Maroon-White combo are pretty much the same as when it was worn three weeks ago: all three of the elements look great in a vacuum, but don't exactly flow perfectly together. The matte maroon helmets are slightly darker than the maroon jerseys, which creates a bit of a disconnect. This is compounded by the fact that, with all of the silver accents on the matte helmets, maroon and silver are always touching. On the maroon jersey, maroon and gray only touch at the end of the stripes. I will say, however, that playing at night significantly negates these issues; the color mis-match is greatly reduced when there isn't as much light reflecting off of the maroon jerseys.
Wearing white pants when the matte helmets feature absolutely no white is an interesting choice, but it actually does work better than you would think. The silver stripe on the matte maroon helmets (which many, myself included, think bring down the look), actually does match the maroon-gray-maroon stripes on the white pants. Still, I'd say that the gray pants that were worn last week against Florida better match the current matte helmets.
So, again, I still love the matte helmets. They looked absolutely incredible on the road at Kentucky in that Matte-White-Gray combo, and look great on their own. But for the next home game (or even at LSU in two weeks), I wouldn't mind seeing the shiny maroon helmets again; they haven't been worn since the season opener against Stephen F. Austin.
The win brought Mississippi State's all time record in matte helmets back to .500 at 12-12. It also brought State's record in the current matte helmets to .500 (2-2) after being worn in the last four consecutive games. Another interesting stat from this game is that it was Mississippi State's eighth consecutive win in white pants; the last loss the Bulldogs suffered in white pants was at Georgia early last season. The Bulldogs' last three losses have come in gray pants (Florida 18, Kentucky 18, Ole Miss 17), and the two before that came in maroon pants (Alabama 17, Auburn 17). It was also the third consecutive win over Auburn in white pants (18, 15, 14), as State wore maroon pants in losses to Auburn in 2016 and 17. Finally, it was the second straight win over Auburn in matte maroon helmets, which were also worn in the 2015 win at Auburn.
The uniform model for this week is QB1 Nick Fitzgerald, who had a big bounce-back game with 28 carries for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns. On a 39 yard run early in the 4th quarter, Fitzgerald broke Tim Tebow's record for most career rushing yards by a QB in SEC History.
At the halfway point of the season, the Bulldogs have a well-timed bye week upcoming, followed by a huge game in Baton Rouge in two weeks. Going into the bye week with a win is huge for momentum purposes as State attempts to forget the two losses and revitalize the season. Hail State.
At the halfway point of the season, the Bulldogs have a well-timed bye week upcoming, followed by a huge game in Baton Rouge in two weeks. Going into the bye week with a win is huge for momentum purposes as State attempts to forget the two losses and revitalize the season. Hail State.