In the first road game of the Joe Moorhead Era, Mississippi State traveled to Manhattan, KS to take on the Kansas State Wildcats. It was the first time the two teams had met in football since 1977, and Mississippi State’s first true power 5 road game since traveling to Georgia Tech in 2008. Thanks to the Bulldogs’ dominant defense as well as an explosive performance from sophomore running back Kylin Hill, Mississippi State cruised to a 21-point victory, their first road P5 win since winning at Baylor in 1995.
State went with what is arguably its best road look for the 11 am kickoff: white helmets, white jerseys, and white pants. I was hoping to see maroon-white-gray to matchup with Kansas State’s silver-purple-silver, but it’s hard to complain when all-white looks as clean as it does.
The game was the debut of Mississippi State’s white Primeknit A1 jerseys; as with the maroon jerseys, there were a few minor changes that made what was already a great road jersey even better:
By being worn this weekend, the Bulldogs’ white alternate helmet became the Bulldogs’ longest tenured helmet in the Adidas era. It’s never been worn in more than two games in a single season, but since debuting at Missouri in 2015, it has been worn in four consecutive seasons. No other helmet in the Adidas era has been worn in more than three seasons. With the metallic logo decal, white facemask, matte finish, and no stripe, the current white helmet is the perfect alternate helmet for Mississippi State.
With the win over Kansas State, Mississippi State is now 4-3 in the current white helmets. That’s 4-2 on the road, and 3-2 in the all-white look with maroon-gray-maroon stripes. State is working on bringing up its all-time record in alternate white helmets, which is currently 6-10; the Bulldogs went 2-6 in alternate white helmets from 2000-2003 and added another loss in 2012.
State went with what is arguably its best road look for the 11 am kickoff: white helmets, white jerseys, and white pants. I was hoping to see maroon-white-gray to matchup with Kansas State’s silver-purple-silver, but it’s hard to complain when all-white looks as clean as it does.
The game was the debut of Mississippi State’s white Primeknit A1 jerseys; as with the maroon jerseys, there were a few minor changes that made what was already a great road jersey even better:
- Collar color changed from solid maroon to striped maroon-gray-maroon.
- Adidas logo moved from directly under the collar to the left chest.
- SEC patch moved from left chest to right chest.
- More standard name on back font.
- More subtle, ribbed pattern in place of the more gaudy Primeknit pattern.
By being worn this weekend, the Bulldogs’ white alternate helmet became the Bulldogs’ longest tenured helmet in the Adidas era. It’s never been worn in more than two games in a single season, but since debuting at Missouri in 2015, it has been worn in four consecutive seasons. No other helmet in the Adidas era has been worn in more than three seasons. With the metallic logo decal, white facemask, matte finish, and no stripe, the current white helmet is the perfect alternate helmet for Mississippi State.
With the win over Kansas State, Mississippi State is now 4-3 in the current white helmets. That’s 4-2 on the road, and 3-2 in the all-white look with maroon-gray-maroon stripes. State is working on bringing up its all-time record in alternate white helmets, which is currently 6-10; the Bulldogs went 2-6 in alternate white helmets from 2000-2003 and added another loss in 2012.
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The other big uniform-related news this weekend was the re-introduction of pride stickers to Mississippi State’s helmets. I mentioned in last year’s season recap that it was possible that Joe Moorhead would add pride stickers; he previously implemented them in his time as HC at Fordham. In the past, Mississippi State has used dog bones as pride stickers; this year’s versions are silhouettes of a standing bulldog. I like the use of the bulldog silhouette; it’s a good way to get something “bulldog” related on uniforms that otherwise don’t mention the team’s mascot.
The only thing I don’t like about pride stickers is that they can start to make the helmets look too cluttered later on in the season. However, I’m all for anything that rewards players, and pride stickers are a great way to do that.
The only thing I don’t like about pride stickers is that they can start to make the helmets look too cluttered later on in the season. However, I’m all for anything that rewards players, and pride stickers are a great way to do that.
This week’s uniform model is #8 Kylin Hill. In his second game as Mississippi State’s starting running back, Hill averaged 12.4 yards per carry, gaining 211 yards on the ground for 2 touchdowns, in addition to a 16 yard touchdown reception. With Hill’s presence in the backfield, the Kansas State defense never stood a chance.
Next week, Mississippi State is back at home, taking on the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. Non-conference games that aren’t a season opener are usually good games to “experiment” uniform-wise, so don’t be surprised to see all-maroon, white-maroon-white, or another less traditional combo next weekend.
Next week, Mississippi State is back at home, taking on the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. Non-conference games that aren’t a season opener are usually good games to “experiment” uniform-wise, so don’t be surprised to see all-maroon, white-maroon-white, or another less traditional combo next weekend.