It's funny how things work out sometimes. In the debut of what I think might be the best uniform combination Mississippi State has ever worn, the Bulldogs were ranked #14 in the country and were a consensus favorite on the road at Kentucky. Despite a slow start, the Bulldogs held an early 7-0 lead until Kentucky tied the game up just before halftime. In the second half, it was all Wildcats. An incredibly sloppy, undisciplined performance from the Bulldogs led to an embarrassing 28-7 loss.
Last week, Mississippi State debuted new matte helmets that feature silver/gray facemasks, center stripes, and decals. My immediate thought, as I mentioned in last week's recap, was that these new helmets would be perfect for the Maroon-White-Gray combination. I was right; this week, the Bulldogs went with the new matte helmets again, this time paring them with the white jerseys and gray pants.
Saturday was the Bulldogs' first game in non-white pants this season, as well as the debut of the updated Primeknit A1 gray pants. It was the first time that gray pants had been worn on the road since the 2015 game at Arkansas, a thrilling 51-50 win in which the Bulldogs wore the Matte-White-Gray combo. That 2015 game at Arkansas was also the last time that State had worn matte helmets until last week's game against Louisiana.
I've been waiting to see the Maroon-White-Gray combo on the field again ever since, and aesthetically, it did not disappoint. The 2015 Matte-White-Gray combo, which was still a really good look, featured black outlines on the jerseys and no silver/gray on the helmets. The 2018 version perfected the look with changes to all three elements since 2015:
All of these changes took the great 2015 look and turned it into what is probably, in my opinion, the best uniform combination Mississippi State has ever worn. The problem? People's memory of them are now tainted due to State playing absolutely terrible in them. The same thing actually happened two years ago in Lexington with the then-newly updated all-white look. That look was redeemed with a huge Egg Bowl win later that year. Will Matte/White/Gray get a similar chance at redemption? I hope so; it really does look incredible. Enough cannot be said about how good of a job Mississippi State and Adidas have done with perfecting the Bulldogs' standard look.
Kentucky is one of the few teams that can pull monochrome off in my opinion, and they did just that Saturday night, going all-blue, complete with a new helmet design: blue helmet, no stripe, blue facemask. I thought it matched up pretty well with State's incredible M/W/G combo; it was the second-straight solid uniform matchup between State and Kentucky, after a string of black, gray, and chrome elements being worn in the matchup. Though it was a better look than usual for both teams, the inconsistency in the matchup continued: including Saturday, State and Kentucky have each worn 13 different helmet designs against each other in their last 30 matchups.
Last week, Mississippi State debuted new matte helmets that feature silver/gray facemasks, center stripes, and decals. My immediate thought, as I mentioned in last week's recap, was that these new helmets would be perfect for the Maroon-White-Gray combination. I was right; this week, the Bulldogs went with the new matte helmets again, this time paring them with the white jerseys and gray pants.
Saturday was the Bulldogs' first game in non-white pants this season, as well as the debut of the updated Primeknit A1 gray pants. It was the first time that gray pants had been worn on the road since the 2015 game at Arkansas, a thrilling 51-50 win in which the Bulldogs wore the Matte-White-Gray combo. That 2015 game at Arkansas was also the last time that State had worn matte helmets until last week's game against Louisiana.
I've been waiting to see the Maroon-White-Gray combo on the field again ever since, and aesthetically, it did not disappoint. The 2015 Matte-White-Gray combo, which was still a really good look, featured black outlines on the jerseys and no silver/gray on the helmets. The 2018 version perfected the look with changes to all three elements since 2015:
- Matte Maroon Helmets: Silver/gray facemask and decals instead of white. Honestly a lateral move overall, but the silver/gray works better with the gray pants.
- White Jerseys: Maroon/Gray/Maroon stripes on the sleeves, no black outlines anywhere. Fits much better with the gray pants.
- Gray Pants: Slightly thinner stripes and no more logo on top of the stripes on the left hip.
All of these changes took the great 2015 look and turned it into what is probably, in my opinion, the best uniform combination Mississippi State has ever worn. The problem? People's memory of them are now tainted due to State playing absolutely terrible in them. The same thing actually happened two years ago in Lexington with the then-newly updated all-white look. That look was redeemed with a huge Egg Bowl win later that year. Will Matte/White/Gray get a similar chance at redemption? I hope so; it really does look incredible. Enough cannot be said about how good of a job Mississippi State and Adidas have done with perfecting the Bulldogs' standard look.
Kentucky is one of the few teams that can pull monochrome off in my opinion, and they did just that Saturday night, going all-blue, complete with a new helmet design: blue helmet, no stripe, blue facemask. I thought it matched up pretty well with State's incredible M/W/G combo; it was the second-straight solid uniform matchup between State and Kentucky, after a string of black, gray, and chrome elements being worn in the matchup. Though it was a better look than usual for both teams, the inconsistency in the matchup continued: including Saturday, State and Kentucky have each worn 13 different helmet designs against each other in their last 30 matchups.
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The uniform model this week is #32 Brian Cole, who had an interception along with a tackle for loss.
Next week is the big one. Mississippi State welcomes back Dan Mullen as the Bulldogs take on the Florida Gators in Starkville. Hopefully State shows up with a more focused effort than they did this week; it could be a season-reviving win or a season-destroying loss.
Next week is the big one. Mississippi State welcomes back Dan Mullen as the Bulldogs take on the Florida Gators in Starkville. Hopefully State shows up with a more focused effort than they did this week; it could be a season-reviving win or a season-destroying loss.
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