In 2019, the second and final season under Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State's football jerseys saw some slight improvements, but their overall uniforms for the season took a step back due to helmet design and poor combination selection. The Bulldogs wore some great looks in 2019, most notably the W/M/W, W/W/W and M/W/G combinations. Mississippi State wore two alternate uniforms in 2019: a an all-black look inspired by the TK Martin Center that received universal praise as one of the best alternate uniforms in the country in 2019 and a gold-accented all-maroon look for the Bulldogs' 21-20 Egg Bowl victory over Ole Miss.
4 Helmets, 4 Jerseys, 5 Pants, 9 Combinations
4 Helmets, 4 Jerseys, 5 Pants, 9 Combinations
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| Changes Made in 2019: Updated Collar Design: Last season, the Bulldogs updated to Adidas's newest football uniform template, the Primeknit A1. Though it was an upgrade in most respects, the Primeknit A1 uniforms had a rather odd collar design that honestly didn't look the best. In 2019, Adidas rolled out a more traditional collar design to its major teams on the Primeknit A1 template, including Mississippi State. With the updated collar design, Mississippi State's maroon and white jerseys both had an improved look in 2019. Serif Name on Back Font: In addition to the collar change, the name on back font on the maroon and white jerseys was changed to a more traditional serif font. I think the font change was a slight upgrade and another improvement to the Bulldogs' look in 2019. CFB150 Patch Along with most other College Football teams in 2019, State wore the CFB150 patch on the right shoulder, above the SEC patch, in every game in 2019. Silver Stripe Removed from Matte Maroon Helmet: In last year's season recap, the #1 change that I said needed to happen in 2019 was the removal of the silver stripe from the matte maroon helmet. Though it looked fine on the helmet in a vacuum, it did not flow well with the rest of the uniform at all, particularly when worn with the maroon jerseys. I thought there was a good chance that this change would be made, but when the Bulldogs wore the matte maroon helmets for the first time this season against Kansas State, the stripe was still there. Two weeks later, it was announced that the Bulldogs would be wearing matte maroon helmets with white jerseys and maroon pants at Auburn; my first thought was that the silver stripe was going to clash big time with the white/gray/white stripes on the maroon pants. Luckily, those in charge agreed, and matte maroon helmets were worn without a center stripe for the first time since 2015. The Bulldogs would wear the matte maroon helmets three more times in 2019: at Texas A&M, vs Alabama, and vs Abilene Christian. The stripe was never re-applied, making the change to the helmet design permanent. In total, the matte maroon helmets were worn 5 times in 2019, once with the stripe and four times without. |  Keith Warren / Clarion Ledger  Mississippi State Athletics  Matt Bush / USA Today, Sam Craft / AP |
| Trends in 2019: White Helmets: Overworn?: Mississippi State's current white helmet design was first introduced back in 2015, when it was worn in a win at Missouri. It was only the second time that Mississippi State had worn white helmets since they were full-time in 2008; a special design had been worn in the 2012 "Snow Bowl reunion" game against Texas A&M. The 2015 design features a matte white shell with no stripe, a white facemask, and a metallic maroon M-State logo, outlined in gray. Its design has been unchanged for five seasons now, making it the Bulldogs' longest tenured helmet design under Adidas, and longest tenured helmet design overall since the 2004-2008 white helmets. If they are worn again in 2020, they will become the longest tenured helmet design since the 1996-2003 maroon interlocking MSU helmets. In Dan Mullen's final three seasons, the white helmets were worn exactly twice a year (and always to a 1-1 record). In 2015, the white helmets were worn in an all-white combination once and a White/Maroon/White combination once. In 2016 and 2017, they were simply worn in the all-white combination twice. In Joe Moorhead's first season in 2018, the usage of the white helmets doubled; the all-white combination was still worn twice, but White/Maroon/White and White/White/Gray were also worn once each. Each game in which the white helmets were worn in 2018 was a road game (the W/M/W game was at LSU). Now, in 2019, the white helmets were essentially the Bulldogs' "primary" helmet for the first time since 2008. Worn in 7 out of 13 games, the white helmets were arguably over-used in 2019. The all-white combination was worn four times, the most since 2008. The White/Maroon/White combination was worn in two home games, and the White/Maroon/Maroon combination was worn for the first time since 2008. To add insult to injury, the Bulldogs' classic shiny maroon helmets were only worn in the Egg Bowl with special decals, and never with the traditional decals. Matte maroon helmets were worn five times, but never in the traditional Maroon/Maroon/White or Maroon/White/White combinations. I'll be the first to tell you that White/Maroon/White and all-white are both great looks, and White/Maroon/Maroon isn't as bad as many State fans make it out to be. However, when they're being over-worn at the expense of better, more traditional combinations, that starts to become a problem. Hopefully one that will be solved in the Mike Leach era. Maroon Pants: Resurgence?: If you read any thread on a Mississippi State message board about uniforms, you'll usually see two things mentioned as "we should never wear that ever": white helmets and maroon pants. Now, I don't necessarily agree; I think that in the right context, both can look great. That being said, 2019 was a bad year for combination selection, and these two items being worn frequently was a big reason for that. Mississippi State wore maroon pants four times in 2019; the standard maroon pants were worn in three games: at Auburn, vs LSU, and vs Alabama. Each game was in a different combination: M/W/M, W/M/M, and M/M/M, respectively. The Bulldogs also wore special maroon pants with double gold stripes and a black-to-maroon fade at the bottom in their Egg Bowl victory over Ole Miss. Four times was the most Mississippi State had worn maroon pants since 2016. Here's a look at the number of times Mississippi State has worn maroon pants total over the past 15 seasons: 2019: 4 (3 reg, 1 alt) 2018: 1 2017: 2 (1 reg, 1 alt) 2016: 4 (3 reg, 1 alt) 2015: 2 2014: 1 2013: 4 (3 reg, 1 alt) 2012: 4 2011: 6 (5 reg, 1 alt) 2010: 3 2009: 5 2008: 8 2007: 7 2006: 8 2005: 0 |  Getty Images  Mississippi State Athletics |
| Alternates in 2019: Black "TK Martin" Alternates: Mississippi State's alternate uniforms have really hit their stride in recent seasons. After last year's all-gray "Statesman" uniforms received universal praise, this year's all-black "TK Martin" uniforms duplicated that praise. Worn in the homecoming win over Abilene Christian, the uniforms were all-black with white numbers and maroon-gray-maroon stripes on the sleeves and pants. The numbers and stripes were outlined in an iridescent circuit board pattern. They were worn with the stripe-less matte maroon helmet design, which flowed very well with this uniform. Just like the Statesman uniforms last year, the TK Martin uniforms were named the #1 uniform of the week by both UniSwag and UniAuthority. UniAuthority would also later name them the #1 all-black college football uniform of the season. The win over Abilene Christian was the seventh time that Mississippi State had worn black jerseys and first time since 2017. It was the fourth different black jersey design in program history, and, in my opinion, by far the best. It had a great aesthetically pleasing and consistent design, and had a great meaning behind that design. Just a great job from both Mississippi State and Adidas. Gold-Accented Egg Bowl Alternates: For the 2019 Egg Bowl, Mississippi State wore gold-accented alternate uniforms for the fifth time in program history and first time since 2014. The Bulldogs had previously worn Egg Bowl alternates from 2011 to 2014, but did not do so from 2015 to 2018. The 2019 design was arguably the best of the five gold-accented uniforms; it featured double shiny gold numbers, double gold stripes on the sleeves and pants, and a black-to-maroon fade on the sleeve and bottom of the pants. They were paired with the shiny maroon helmets, with shiny gold M-State decals and the standard white facemasks. The white facemasks did stand out a bit, but mostly I was just glad to see the Bulldogs' classic shiny helmet finish back in action. An interesting stat I realized about gold-accented Egg Bowl uniforms in the decade of 2010s is that Mississippi State never lost in them in Starkville but never won in them in Oxford. Conversely, Mississippi State never won a home Egg Bowl in traditional colors this decade, but never lost an Oxford Egg Bowl in traditional colors: Starkville Egg Bowls in Gold: 3-0 (2011, 2013, 2019) Oxford Egg Bowls in Maroon + White: 3-0 (2010, 2016, 2018) Starkville Egg Bowls in Maroon + White: 0-2 (2015, 2017) Oxford Egg Bowls in Gold: 0-2 (2012, 2014) Though they weren't as universally well-received as the all-black uniforms worn a week prior, the 2019 Egg Bowl alternates were still named the #1 uniform of the week by UniAuthority and were a part of the reason why UniAuthority named Mississippi State's uniform lineup as the best from Adidas in 2019. |  Mississippi State Athletics  Mississippi State Athletics |
2019 Uniform Stats:
Helmets:
Mississippi State wore only two helmet colors (white and maroon) in 2019, the least since 2015. But just like that 2015 season, the Bulldogs wore one white design but three different maroon designs in 2019, for a total of four different helmet designs.
White: 7 games. 4-3 (.571) Record
Matte Maroon w/ No Stripe: 4 games. 1-3 (.250) Record
Shiny Maroon w/ Gold Decal: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Matte Maroon w/ Stripe: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Jerseys:
The Bulldogs wore four jersey designs in 2019: the standard maroon and white jerseys, the "TK Martin" black jerseys, and the gold-accented maroon Egg Bowl jerseys.
White: 6 games. 2-4 (.333) Record
Maroon: 5 games. 2-3 (.400) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Egg Bowl: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Pants:
Mississippi State wore five pants designs in 2019: the standard maroon, white, and gray pants, the "TK Martin" black pants, and the gold-accented maroon Egg Bowl pants.
White: 6 games. 4-2 (.667) Record
Maroon: 3 games. 0-3 (.000) Record
Gray: 2 games. 0-2 (.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Egg Bowl: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Combinations:
The Bulldogs wore 9 combinations in 2019; this ties with 2012 for the fourth-highest season total of combinations in program history, behind 2015, 2016, and 2018 (all tied at 10).
White/White/White: 4 games. 2-2 (.500) Record
White/Maroon/White: 2 games. 2-0 (1.000) Record
Black/Black/Black (TK Martin): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Maroon/Maroon/Maroon (Egg Bowl): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Maroon/Maroon/Gray: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Maroon/White/Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
White/Maroon/Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Maroon/White/Gray: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Maroon/Maroon/Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Helmets:
Mississippi State wore only two helmet colors (white and maroon) in 2019, the least since 2015. But just like that 2015 season, the Bulldogs wore one white design but three different maroon designs in 2019, for a total of four different helmet designs.
White: 7 games. 4-3 (.571) Record
Matte Maroon w/ No Stripe: 4 games. 1-3 (.250) Record
Shiny Maroon w/ Gold Decal: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Matte Maroon w/ Stripe: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Jerseys:
The Bulldogs wore four jersey designs in 2019: the standard maroon and white jerseys, the "TK Martin" black jerseys, and the gold-accented maroon Egg Bowl jerseys.
White: 6 games. 2-4 (.333) Record
Maroon: 5 games. 2-3 (.400) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Egg Bowl: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Pants:
Mississippi State wore five pants designs in 2019: the standard maroon, white, and gray pants, the "TK Martin" black pants, and the gold-accented maroon Egg Bowl pants.
White: 6 games. 4-2 (.667) Record
Maroon: 3 games. 0-3 (.000) Record
Gray: 2 games. 0-2 (.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Egg Bowl: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Combinations:
The Bulldogs wore 9 combinations in 2019; this ties with 2012 for the fourth-highest season total of combinations in program history, behind 2015, 2016, and 2018 (all tied at 10).
White/White/White: 4 games. 2-2 (.500) Record
White/Maroon/White: 2 games. 2-0 (1.000) Record
Black/Black/Black (TK Martin): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Maroon/Maroon/Maroon (Egg Bowl): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Maroon/Maroon/Gray: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Maroon/White/Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
White/Maroon/Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Maroon/White/Gray: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Maroon/Maroon/Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
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What to Look For in 2020:
Changes That Need to be Made:
Changes That Need to be Made:
- BRING BACK THE SHINY MAROON HELMETS
- The #1 problem with Mississippi State's football uniforms under Joe Moorhead was the neglecting of the classic shiny maroon helmets. They were worn twice over Moorhead's two seasons, in his first home game and last home game. And the second time was with special gold decals, so the classic shiny maroon helmets were only worn with white decals once in 26 games under Moorhead. That's something that has to be fixed going forward.
- The design used in the 2018 Stephen F. Austin game, with a maroon 'M' and white banner, was an upgrade over white 'M' and maroon banner design that had been used from 2015 to 2017; this particular helmet design needs to be State's primary going forward.
- Ideally, the shiny maroon helmets should be worn in at least five home games a year, if not more. They should also be worn with the maroon jerseys in road games at LSU, and can be worn occasionally on the road (though I still do like the matte maroon helmets for road games). This needs to be priority #1 for the Bulldogs' uniforms in 2020 and going forward.
- Switch to white accents on the matte maroon helmets
- Mississippi State first introduced matte maroon helmets with white facemasks and decals in 2011, and wore them with varying but similar designs for five years until retiring them following the 2015 season. After two seasons without them, the Bulldogs brought back matte maroon helmets in 2018, but with silver facemasks and decals. While cool at first, the current matte maroon helmet design feels played out and marred by a lack of success in the Moorhead era.
- The fact that the helmets don't feature any white whatsoever makes them look super drab and prevents them from really matching the rest of the Bulldogs' uniforms. The obvious solution here is to go back to the 2011-2015 matte maroon format: white facemasks and white decals. Basically, what we need is for the matte maroon helmet design to be the same as the 2018 SFA game shiny helmet design, only matte.
- Improve combination selection
- The biggest problem with the Bulldogs' football uniforms in 2019 was combination selection. The Bulldogs wore all-white four times, white helmets at home three times, and failed to wear Maroon/Maroon/White or Maroon/White/White once. That should never happen. This one of the things I want to see improved under Leach; State's uniforms themselves are very good, we just need to wear them right. I know that Moorhead allowed a "leadership council" to pick the uniform combinations on a week-to-week basis; perhaps going to a season-long plan for when to wear which combinations would be a smart move.
- At home, Mississippi State needs to wear Maroon/Maroon/White a minimum of twice a year, one of which should be the home opener. I would also like to see Maroon/Maroon/Gray worn around twice a year at home. Other combinations such as Maroon/Maroon/Maroon and White/Maroon/White are also good enough to be worn once a year. Finally, one alternate uniform a year at home is acceptable, as long as its well designed, which the ones the last two years have been. Just to re-iterate one thing: if maroon jerseys are being worn with maroon helmets, it needs to be the shiny maroon helmets.
- On the road, Maroon/White/White needs to be worn at least once a year. Other combinations such as Maroon/White/Gray, Maroon/White/Maroon, and White/White/White should also be worn on a yearly basis. In seasons where one of the road games is against LSU, the Bulldogs should wear Maroon/Maroon/White against the Tigers; otherwise, they can either repeat an earlier combo or wear something different such as White/White/Gray in the fifth road game. To clarify: if white jerseys are being worn with maroon helmets, matte maroon (with white accents) are generally a better option; however, shiny maroon helmets are also always acceptable.
- You can see the graphic below for a visual aid for the suggested changes; if followed I believe it would result in the best uniform season in program history, by a wide margin.
- Stretch Goals
- All of the changes I laid out above would be easy to implement without making any major changes to the Bulldogs' current uniforms. However, if State were to upgrade templates, change manufacturers, or otherwise want to make larger changes, there are a few that I think could be made. Those include a simpler "STATE" wordmark on the chest, a darker (or simply less reflective) color for the maroon jerseys, thinner numbers, more-even pants stripes, and more consistent pants logos.
- A more in-depth look at these ideas, with mockups included can be found in the 2020 "Stretch Goals" Concept. Also included in that concept is an all-black alternate look with a Jolly Roger helmet logo in honor of the new head coach of the Bulldogs, "The Pirate" Mike Leach.
Mike Leach and Uniforms:
Mississippi State has a new head football coach in 2020. Mike Leach has been a P5 head coach for 18 seasons (10 at Texas Tech and 8 at Washington State), so we have plenty of data on the types of uniforms Leach's teams usually wear. Especially at Washington State, Leach's teams generally didn't wear outlandish alternate designs, but they did do a significant amount of mixing-and-matching of consistent uniform elements. That's pretty similar to what I laid out above (9ish uniform combinations a season, but with an emphasis on traditional combinations being worn the most), so I'm hopeful that a more balanced combination selection will be attainable under Leach.
It's interesting to note that, assuming Mississippi State is still with Adidas for the 2020 season, Leach will now have coached teams wearing uniforms from all three major suppliers (Texas Tech: Under Armor, Washington State: Nike, Mississippi State: Adidas). I had a bunch of people in my mentions on twitter asking about switching to Nike following Leach's hiring; players were even asking him at the airport about Nike after he had just landed in Starkville for the first time (though some did the same thing with Moorhead).
Obviously, apparel contracts aren't dictated by head coaching changes; it was a nice coincidence in 2009 that Mississippi State's rebranding effort and switch to Adidas coincided with Dan Mullen's first season. It is interesting to note, however, that Mississippi State's contract with Adidas ends this year (I couldn't find a specified date other than "2020", but it would most likely expire June 31) and no extension has been announced. It's therefore possible, though unlikely, that Mississippi State could switch apparel providers prior to the 2020 season.
Mississippi State has a new head football coach in 2020. Mike Leach has been a P5 head coach for 18 seasons (10 at Texas Tech and 8 at Washington State), so we have plenty of data on the types of uniforms Leach's teams usually wear. Especially at Washington State, Leach's teams generally didn't wear outlandish alternate designs, but they did do a significant amount of mixing-and-matching of consistent uniform elements. That's pretty similar to what I laid out above (9ish uniform combinations a season, but with an emphasis on traditional combinations being worn the most), so I'm hopeful that a more balanced combination selection will be attainable under Leach.
It's interesting to note that, assuming Mississippi State is still with Adidas for the 2020 season, Leach will now have coached teams wearing uniforms from all three major suppliers (Texas Tech: Under Armor, Washington State: Nike, Mississippi State: Adidas). I had a bunch of people in my mentions on twitter asking about switching to Nike following Leach's hiring; players were even asking him at the airport about Nike after he had just landed in Starkville for the first time (though some did the same thing with Moorhead).
Obviously, apparel contracts aren't dictated by head coaching changes; it was a nice coincidence in 2009 that Mississippi State's rebranding effort and switch to Adidas coincided with Dan Mullen's first season. It is interesting to note, however, that Mississippi State's contract with Adidas ends this year (I couldn't find a specified date other than "2020", but it would most likely expire June 31) and no extension has been announced. It's therefore possible, though unlikely, that Mississippi State could switch apparel providers prior to the 2020 season.
That's all for the 2019 Season Recap. It should be a very entertaining offseason, and it won't be long until September and the start of the Mike Leach era at Mississippi State. Until then, Hail State!
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