Mike Leach's first season as head coach at Mississippi State was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited the season to a 10-game SEC-only regular season and resulted in numerous re-schedulings and roster movements. In the shortened season, Mississippi State reverted to a more traditional uniform selection, bringing back the classic glossy maroon helmet design and wearing it in 8 of 11 games. Two alternate uniforms were worn in 2020, both with mass popular appeal. The first was a throwback to the 1969-1971 home uniform, including the fan favorite "Flying M" logo on the helmet, while the second was an all-black uniform which featured no maroon whatsoever and the first black helmet design in program history.
4 Helmets, 4 Jerseys, 4 Pants, 7 Combinations
4 Helmets, 4 Jerseys, 4 Pants, 7 Combinations
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New/Returning in 2020
Glossy Maroon Helmets Return
For most of Mississippi State's modern football history, glossy maroon helmets have been the standard. The Bulldogs primarily wore maroon helmets with a traditional finish from 1963 to 1966, 1973 to 2003, and 2009-2017. When Joe Moorhead took over as head coach in 2018, glossy maroon helmets were worn in his debut, but would not be worn again until his final home game at the end of the 2019 season, and never again with white decals. Instead, matte maroon helmets were worn as the primary maroon helmets and white helmets saw a more prominent role.
In 2020, the first year under Mike Leach, the glossy maroon helmets returned in an emphatic fashion, being worn in 8 of 11 games. The gloss finished helmets were the only maroon helmet design worn by the Bulldogs in 2020; they featured the same design worn in the 2018 season opener against Stephen F. Austin, with a maroon "M", white banner and outline around the M-State logo, and white facemasks. This had been a new design in 2018, replacing the 2015-2017 version which featured a white "M" and maroon banner; following its 2020 usage, the 2018 design has gone from one hit wonder to a potentially long-term primary design.
The return of the glossy maroon helmets was absolutely a high point of 2020; their absence was one of, if not the biggest issue with State's uniform set the last two seasons. With their return, the Bulldogs' combination selection and consistency was much better than in 2019.
New White Helmet Designs
Mississippi State's 2015-2019 white helmet design- featuring matte white shells, white facemasks, and a chrome maroon M-State logo outlined in silver- was by far the longest tenured helmet design of the Adidas era. While no other design has lasted more than three seasons, it was worn for five consecutive seasons. However, all things must come to an end, and that was the case this season for that design. For this year's Flying M throwbacks, the matte white facemasks were re-dipped in traditional gray paint; additionally, a single maroon stripe, large back numbers, and the Flying M logo were added.
For the Egg Bowl, the white helmets were worn again, this time with the M-State logo returning to the sides. New, non-chrome decals were ordered, creating a darker look than the 15-19 design. The stripe, back numbers, and gray facemask were retained from the Flying M design. This helmet design was very well received on social media, with the darker decal and gray facemask generally seen as upgrades from the 15-19 look.
Black Helmets Worn for First Time Ever
For the first time in program history, Mississippi State wore black helmets in its late December home win over Missouri. As part of its all-black look, the matte black helmets were paired with silver facemasks and silver-outlined M-State decals. It was essentially the exact same as last year's matte maroon helmet design, but with black replacing the matte maroon; in fact, I suspect that they were probably the same helmets, just repainted.
Helmet Stickers
Throughout the season, Mississippi State wore several different stickers on the back of its helmets. "Stronger Together" decals were worn for the entire season; they were silver in the first two games and then transparent for the rest of the season, with a white outline on the maroon helmets, maroon outline on the white helmets, and silver outline on the black helmets.
Against Arkansas and Kentucky, Mississippi State wore stickers featuring a teal ribbon in memory of Tyler Hilinksi. Against Texas A&M and Alabama, a pink ribbon sticker was worn for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
After Mississippi residents voted in favor of a new state flag design in November, the Bulldogs wore the new flag design alongside the American Flag on the back of their helmets. This started with the Vanderbilt game and continued for the remainder of the season.
Finally, in both the Military Appreciation game against Auburn and Armed Forces Bowl against Tulsa, the Bulldogs wore two special stickers. One was a circular logo for either a branch of the US Military or National Guard, while the other was a square-shaped camouflage sticker with black lettering that read “We Salute Our Military.” This was also worn by NFL teams earlier in the season.
Glossy Maroon Helmets Return
For most of Mississippi State's modern football history, glossy maroon helmets have been the standard. The Bulldogs primarily wore maroon helmets with a traditional finish from 1963 to 1966, 1973 to 2003, and 2009-2017. When Joe Moorhead took over as head coach in 2018, glossy maroon helmets were worn in his debut, but would not be worn again until his final home game at the end of the 2019 season, and never again with white decals. Instead, matte maroon helmets were worn as the primary maroon helmets and white helmets saw a more prominent role.
In 2020, the first year under Mike Leach, the glossy maroon helmets returned in an emphatic fashion, being worn in 8 of 11 games. The gloss finished helmets were the only maroon helmet design worn by the Bulldogs in 2020; they featured the same design worn in the 2018 season opener against Stephen F. Austin, with a maroon "M", white banner and outline around the M-State logo, and white facemasks. This had been a new design in 2018, replacing the 2015-2017 version which featured a white "M" and maroon banner; following its 2020 usage, the 2018 design has gone from one hit wonder to a potentially long-term primary design.
The return of the glossy maroon helmets was absolutely a high point of 2020; their absence was one of, if not the biggest issue with State's uniform set the last two seasons. With their return, the Bulldogs' combination selection and consistency was much better than in 2019.
New White Helmet Designs
Mississippi State's 2015-2019 white helmet design- featuring matte white shells, white facemasks, and a chrome maroon M-State logo outlined in silver- was by far the longest tenured helmet design of the Adidas era. While no other design has lasted more than three seasons, it was worn for five consecutive seasons. However, all things must come to an end, and that was the case this season for that design. For this year's Flying M throwbacks, the matte white facemasks were re-dipped in traditional gray paint; additionally, a single maroon stripe, large back numbers, and the Flying M logo were added.
For the Egg Bowl, the white helmets were worn again, this time with the M-State logo returning to the sides. New, non-chrome decals were ordered, creating a darker look than the 15-19 design. The stripe, back numbers, and gray facemask were retained from the Flying M design. This helmet design was very well received on social media, with the darker decal and gray facemask generally seen as upgrades from the 15-19 look.
Black Helmets Worn for First Time Ever
For the first time in program history, Mississippi State wore black helmets in its late December home win over Missouri. As part of its all-black look, the matte black helmets were paired with silver facemasks and silver-outlined M-State decals. It was essentially the exact same as last year's matte maroon helmet design, but with black replacing the matte maroon; in fact, I suspect that they were probably the same helmets, just repainted.
Helmet Stickers
Throughout the season, Mississippi State wore several different stickers on the back of its helmets. "Stronger Together" decals were worn for the entire season; they were silver in the first two games and then transparent for the rest of the season, with a white outline on the maroon helmets, maroon outline on the white helmets, and silver outline on the black helmets.
Against Arkansas and Kentucky, Mississippi State wore stickers featuring a teal ribbon in memory of Tyler Hilinksi. Against Texas A&M and Alabama, a pink ribbon sticker was worn for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
After Mississippi residents voted in favor of a new state flag design in November, the Bulldogs wore the new flag design alongside the American Flag on the back of their helmets. This started with the Vanderbilt game and continued for the remainder of the season.
Finally, in both the Military Appreciation game against Auburn and Armed Forces Bowl against Tulsa, the Bulldogs wore two special stickers. One was a circular logo for either a branch of the US Military or National Guard, while the other was a square-shaped camouflage sticker with black lettering that read “We Salute Our Military.” This was also worn by NFL teams earlier in the season.
Not Returning from 2019
Gray Pants not worn for first time since 2014
In 2015, Mississippi State introduced gray pants with maroon-white-maroon stripes as a callback to the silver pants worn from 1986 to 1988. These pants were immensely popular upon their introduction- in part because the white, maroon, and black pants at the time still featured the big ass M-State logo. The striping pattern from the gray pants was applied to new white pants, maroon pants, and white jerseys in 2016 and then to the maroon jerseys in 2017. These changes introduced gray to the rest of the Bulldogs’ uniform set as an accent color, and that remains the case in 2020.
The gray pants underwent some minor changes in 2018, with the stripes being thinned and the M-State logo being moved to the right hip, but remained a part of the Bulldogs' uniform lineup for five seasons. That was no longer the case in 2020, as gray pants did not see the field once during the Bulldogs' 11 game season. Instead, white pants were worn 7 times, maroon pants were worn 3 times, and black pants were worn once.
An explanation has not been publicly given for the gray pants' absence; it's unclear on whether or not they will be available return in 2021. It's possible that their absence was simply due to the shorter season- with two home alternates on top of what was already shortened slate, opportunities were certainly limited. Still, as great as the gray pants are, I would've liked to have seen them worked into the rotation if they were available.
Matte Maroon Helmets not worn for first time since 2017
Mississippi State wore matte maroon helmets with white facemasks and accents from 2011 to 2015 before retiring them prior to the 2016 season in favor of new silver helmets. After a two year absence, they returned in 2018, this time with silver facemasks and accents. Though it looked great in a vacuum, the silver-accented matte maroon helmets never flowed as well with the Bulldogs' uniforms, with the exception of the maroon-white-gray combinations. The matte maroon helmets were once again retired prior to the 2020 season, this time in favor of matte black helmets.
The matte maroon helmets with white facemasks and accents were some of my favorite Mississippi State helmet designs of all time, and they always looked exceptionally good in road games. I would absolutely not mind seeing them return at some point in the future.
College Football 150 Patch
Along with most other college football programs in 2019, Mississippi State wore the CFB150 patch on the right chest. This was a one-year deal, so the patch was not present in 2020. As a result, 2020 was the first time that the Bulldogs' jerseys with the updated collars had been worn without the patch.
Helmet Reward Stickers
Under Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State had worn Bulldog silhouette helmet reward stickers on the back of their helmets. This practice was not continued under Leach.
Gray Pants not worn for first time since 2014
In 2015, Mississippi State introduced gray pants with maroon-white-maroon stripes as a callback to the silver pants worn from 1986 to 1988. These pants were immensely popular upon their introduction- in part because the white, maroon, and black pants at the time still featured the big ass M-State logo. The striping pattern from the gray pants was applied to new white pants, maroon pants, and white jerseys in 2016 and then to the maroon jerseys in 2017. These changes introduced gray to the rest of the Bulldogs’ uniform set as an accent color, and that remains the case in 2020.
The gray pants underwent some minor changes in 2018, with the stripes being thinned and the M-State logo being moved to the right hip, but remained a part of the Bulldogs' uniform lineup for five seasons. That was no longer the case in 2020, as gray pants did not see the field once during the Bulldogs' 11 game season. Instead, white pants were worn 7 times, maroon pants were worn 3 times, and black pants were worn once.
An explanation has not been publicly given for the gray pants' absence; it's unclear on whether or not they will be available return in 2021. It's possible that their absence was simply due to the shorter season- with two home alternates on top of what was already shortened slate, opportunities were certainly limited. Still, as great as the gray pants are, I would've liked to have seen them worked into the rotation if they were available.
Matte Maroon Helmets not worn for first time since 2017
Mississippi State wore matte maroon helmets with white facemasks and accents from 2011 to 2015 before retiring them prior to the 2016 season in favor of new silver helmets. After a two year absence, they returned in 2018, this time with silver facemasks and accents. Though it looked great in a vacuum, the silver-accented matte maroon helmets never flowed as well with the Bulldogs' uniforms, with the exception of the maroon-white-gray combinations. The matte maroon helmets were once again retired prior to the 2020 season, this time in favor of matte black helmets.
The matte maroon helmets with white facemasks and accents were some of my favorite Mississippi State helmet designs of all time, and they always looked exceptionally good in road games. I would absolutely not mind seeing them return at some point in the future.
College Football 150 Patch
Along with most other college football programs in 2019, Mississippi State wore the CFB150 patch on the right chest. This was a one-year deal, so the patch was not present in 2020. As a result, 2020 was the first time that the Bulldogs' jerseys with the updated collars had been worn without the patch.
Helmet Reward Stickers
Under Joe Moorhead, Mississippi State had worn Bulldog silhouette helmet reward stickers on the back of their helmets. This practice was not continued under Leach.
Alternates
Flying M Throwbacks
Mississippi State wore straight up, era-accurate throwback uniforms for the first time ever in 2020, bringing back the popular "Flying M" helmet design along with the entire 1969-1971 home uniform. The uniform featured a white-maroon-white color combination, with gray facemasks and a single maroon stripe on the white helmet, block numbers and double white sleeve stripes on the maroon jerseys, and double maroon stripes on the white pants. A more in-depth analysis of these uniforms, which were worn in the homecoming win over Vanderbilt.
All-Black
For the first time in program history, Mississippi State wore black helmets as part of an all-black look in the regular season finale victory over Missouri. This marks the fifth different helmet color that the Bulldogs have worn over the years, following maroon, white, silver, and gold. The full uniform was black from head-to-toe, with exclusively silver accents, meaning no maroon was featured in the entire uniform. In my opinion, it was by far the Bulldogs' best black uniform look, and the fact that it extended a decade-long, 6-game winning streak in black jerseys didn't hurt. A closer look at the Bulldogs' all-black alternates.
Flying M Throwbacks
Mississippi State wore straight up, era-accurate throwback uniforms for the first time ever in 2020, bringing back the popular "Flying M" helmet design along with the entire 1969-1971 home uniform. The uniform featured a white-maroon-white color combination, with gray facemasks and a single maroon stripe on the white helmet, block numbers and double white sleeve stripes on the maroon jerseys, and double maroon stripes on the white pants. A more in-depth analysis of these uniforms, which were worn in the homecoming win over Vanderbilt.
All-Black
For the first time in program history, Mississippi State wore black helmets as part of an all-black look in the regular season finale victory over Missouri. This marks the fifth different helmet color that the Bulldogs have worn over the years, following maroon, white, silver, and gold. The full uniform was black from head-to-toe, with exclusively silver accents, meaning no maroon was featured in the entire uniform. In my opinion, it was by far the Bulldogs' best black uniform look, and the fact that it extended a decade-long, 6-game winning streak in black jerseys didn't hurt. A closer look at the Bulldogs' all-black alternates.
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Uniform Stats
Helmets
Mississippi State wore three different helmet colors and four different helmet designs in 2020; the primary design was worn 8 times while the other three were worn once each.
Maroon: 8 games. 2-6 (.250) Record
White (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
White (M-State): 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Jerseys
The Bulldogs wore four jersey designs in 2020: the standard maroon and white jerseys, the 1969-1971 "Flying M" throwback jerseys, and the black alternate jerseys.
Maroon: 5 games. 2-3 (.400) Record
White: 4 games. 0-4 (.000) Record
Maroon (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Pants
Mississippi State wore four pants designs in 2020: the standard maroon and white pants, the 1969-1971 "Flying M" throwback pants, and the black alternate pants.
White: 6 games. 1-5 (.167) Record
Maroon: 3 games. 1-2 (.333) Record
White (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Combinations
The Bulldogs wore 7 combinations in 2020, the same number as was worn in 2011, 2013, and 2017. Historically, the Bulldogs have worn as few as 2 and as many as 10 combinations in a given season.
Maroon-Maroon-White: 3 games. 1-2 (.333) Record
Maroon-Maroon-Maroon: 2 games. 1-1 (.500) Record
Maroon-White-White: 2 games. 0-2 (.000) Record
White-Maroon-White (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black-Black-Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Maroon-White-Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
White-White-White: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Twitter Polls
After the season concluded, I conducted a series of twitter polls to determine which look from the 2020 season was the fan favorite. The first poll, to determine the best maroon jersey combination, was handily won by Maroon-Maroon-White. The second poll, to determine the best white jersey combination, was won by White-White-White, which *nearly* clinched a majority as the two maroon helmet looks split votes. The third poll, determining the best alternate uniform, was in my opinion the toughest one, as both looks were so good. The Flying M throwbacks prevailed with 69.8% of the vote.
In the final poll, the Flying M throwbacks ran away with the victory, winning 60% of the vote against Maroon-Maroon-White and White-White-White. It comes as no surprise that the very popular Flying M throwback look is Mississippi State Twitter's favorite uniform of the 2020 season. The throwback uniform was perfectly executed and looked great on the field!
Helmets
Mississippi State wore three different helmet colors and four different helmet designs in 2020; the primary design was worn 8 times while the other three were worn once each.
Maroon: 8 games. 2-6 (.250) Record
White (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
White (M-State): 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Jerseys
The Bulldogs wore four jersey designs in 2020: the standard maroon and white jerseys, the 1969-1971 "Flying M" throwback jerseys, and the black alternate jerseys.
Maroon: 5 games. 2-3 (.400) Record
White: 4 games. 0-4 (.000) Record
Maroon (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Pants
Mississippi State wore four pants designs in 2020: the standard maroon and white pants, the 1969-1971 "Flying M" throwback pants, and the black alternate pants.
White: 6 games. 1-5 (.167) Record
Maroon: 3 games. 1-2 (.333) Record
White (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Combinations
The Bulldogs wore 7 combinations in 2020, the same number as was worn in 2011, 2013, and 2017. Historically, the Bulldogs have worn as few as 2 and as many as 10 combinations in a given season.
Maroon-Maroon-White: 3 games. 1-2 (.333) Record
Maroon-Maroon-Maroon: 2 games. 1-1 (.500) Record
Maroon-White-White: 2 games. 0-2 (.000) Record
White-Maroon-White (Flying M): 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Black-Black-Black: 1 game. 1-0 (1.000) Record
Maroon-White-Maroon: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
White-White-White: 1 game. 0-1 (.000) Record
Twitter Polls
After the season concluded, I conducted a series of twitter polls to determine which look from the 2020 season was the fan favorite. The first poll, to determine the best maroon jersey combination, was handily won by Maroon-Maroon-White. The second poll, to determine the best white jersey combination, was won by White-White-White, which *nearly* clinched a majority as the two maroon helmet looks split votes. The third poll, determining the best alternate uniform, was in my opinion the toughest one, as both looks were so good. The Flying M throwbacks prevailed with 69.8% of the vote.
In the final poll, the Flying M throwbacks ran away with the victory, winning 60% of the vote against Maroon-Maroon-White and White-White-White. It comes as no surprise that the very popular Flying M throwback look is Mississippi State Twitter's favorite uniform of the 2020 season. The throwback uniform was perfectly executed and looked great on the field!
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General Thoughts / Looking Forward to 2021
2020 was a fantastic season for Mississippi State's football uniforms, and I can honestly say that I have no major complaints. The Bulldogs have a very consistent set with good color balance and they had fantastic combination selection this season. If every uniform year from here on out is similar to 2020, Mississippi State will be in great shape. Of course, there's always ideas to be thrown around, so I'll conclude this recap by looking at a few of those.
Bring back the gray pants
The biggest negative of the 2020 uniform season for Mississippi State was the lack of gray pants. The gray pants are a personal favorite of mine, especially when paired with the glossy maroon helmets and maroon jerseys or matte maroon helmets and white jerseys. I was hoping to see the return of the former this season, and was admittedly disappointed when it didn't happen. Going forward, I hope that the gray pants return as a part of the Bulldogs' uniform set. Even if it's just two or three times a season, the gray pants are a great way to mix things up while keeping it traditional, and I hope that's something that we won't be missing out on for a longer period of time.
Evaluate the usage of gray throughout the uniform set
Since 2016, Mississippi State has used gray as an accent color throughout its primary uniforms as an inside stripe color. I like this application well enough- it looks fantastic when paired with the gray pants and still works when it's not. It works particularly well on the white jerseys and pants, but not quite as well on the maroon elements because the gray is always immediately flanked by white, and contrast can sometimes become an issue. Still, I think it's fine, but it's not an uncommon thought that removing the gray could result in a sharper look, particularly on the maroon jersey and pants.
I made a concept this past summer exploring this idea, and Bulldog Graphics had a Twitter thread last week detailing a similar one. The basic idea is that taking the double stripe idea from the baseball uniforms and applying it to the football uniforms has the potential to work really well. The Flying M throwbacks showed that the double stripe on the sleeve and pants works in practice, giving further credence to the idea.
I realize that, on the surface, the first two points here seem to be in conflict: bring back gray pants but remove gray elsewhere? My argument there would be that 2015 and 2016 showed that gray pants still look great even when the jerseys don't feature any gray. Having the gray accents on the jerseys certainly helps bring the whole look together, but they aren't necessary. If gray pants are going to have a reduced or nonexistent role in the future, then going strictly maroon and white for the rest of the set is something worth consideration.
Find a more permanent white helmet design
This year's Flying M throwback helmet design was immensely popular, as was the helmet design worn in the Egg Bowl, which replaced the Flying M logo with the M-State logo but kept the rest of the design in tact. While it was great for a one-year deal, going forward I'd like to see a white helmet design that's more consistent with the rest of the set.
I love the gray facemask and would like to see it stay. Instead of a single maroon stripe, which is featured nowhere else in the Bulldogs' uniforms, I'd rather see either no stripe or a maroon-gray-maroon stripe. I think the latter could look really good with the current uniform set.
Keep it up with the great alternates
The past three seasons have seen Mississippi State really step things up in the alternate uniform game. The Statesman uniforms from 2018, the TK Martin and Egg Bowl alternates from 2019, and Flying M + All-Black looks from this season have all been fantastic, with great attention to detail and consistent design in all five instances. Clearly, the people in charge know exactly what they're doing here, so the only thing I'll offer is "keep it up!" Personally, I would love to see gray jerseys, silver helmets, and/or matte maroon helmets return in the future; if any of those things happen, I have complete faith in Stick + Co. to do it right.
2020 was a fantastic season for Mississippi State's football uniforms, and I can honestly say that I have no major complaints. The Bulldogs have a very consistent set with good color balance and they had fantastic combination selection this season. If every uniform year from here on out is similar to 2020, Mississippi State will be in great shape. Of course, there's always ideas to be thrown around, so I'll conclude this recap by looking at a few of those.
Bring back the gray pants
The biggest negative of the 2020 uniform season for Mississippi State was the lack of gray pants. The gray pants are a personal favorite of mine, especially when paired with the glossy maroon helmets and maroon jerseys or matte maroon helmets and white jerseys. I was hoping to see the return of the former this season, and was admittedly disappointed when it didn't happen. Going forward, I hope that the gray pants return as a part of the Bulldogs' uniform set. Even if it's just two or three times a season, the gray pants are a great way to mix things up while keeping it traditional, and I hope that's something that we won't be missing out on for a longer period of time.
Evaluate the usage of gray throughout the uniform set
Since 2016, Mississippi State has used gray as an accent color throughout its primary uniforms as an inside stripe color. I like this application well enough- it looks fantastic when paired with the gray pants and still works when it's not. It works particularly well on the white jerseys and pants, but not quite as well on the maroon elements because the gray is always immediately flanked by white, and contrast can sometimes become an issue. Still, I think it's fine, but it's not an uncommon thought that removing the gray could result in a sharper look, particularly on the maroon jersey and pants.
I made a concept this past summer exploring this idea, and Bulldog Graphics had a Twitter thread last week detailing a similar one. The basic idea is that taking the double stripe idea from the baseball uniforms and applying it to the football uniforms has the potential to work really well. The Flying M throwbacks showed that the double stripe on the sleeve and pants works in practice, giving further credence to the idea.
I realize that, on the surface, the first two points here seem to be in conflict: bring back gray pants but remove gray elsewhere? My argument there would be that 2015 and 2016 showed that gray pants still look great even when the jerseys don't feature any gray. Having the gray accents on the jerseys certainly helps bring the whole look together, but they aren't necessary. If gray pants are going to have a reduced or nonexistent role in the future, then going strictly maroon and white for the rest of the set is something worth consideration.
Find a more permanent white helmet design
This year's Flying M throwback helmet design was immensely popular, as was the helmet design worn in the Egg Bowl, which replaced the Flying M logo with the M-State logo but kept the rest of the design in tact. While it was great for a one-year deal, going forward I'd like to see a white helmet design that's more consistent with the rest of the set.
I love the gray facemask and would like to see it stay. Instead of a single maroon stripe, which is featured nowhere else in the Bulldogs' uniforms, I'd rather see either no stripe or a maroon-gray-maroon stripe. I think the latter could look really good with the current uniform set.
Keep it up with the great alternates
The past three seasons have seen Mississippi State really step things up in the alternate uniform game. The Statesman uniforms from 2018, the TK Martin and Egg Bowl alternates from 2019, and Flying M + All-Black looks from this season have all been fantastic, with great attention to detail and consistent design in all five instances. Clearly, the people in charge know exactly what they're doing here, so the only thing I'll offer is "keep it up!" Personally, I would love to see gray jerseys, silver helmets, and/or matte maroon helmets return in the future; if any of those things happen, I have complete faith in Stick + Co. to do it right.
That wraps up the 2020 Football Season! I touched on this in the bowl game uni recap, but I just want to reiterate how great of a job everyone involved did to not only make this season happen, but to make it one of the better ones in Mississippi State's football uniform history. From bringing back the Flying M to introducing the first black helmets in program history to restoring the glossy maroon helmets to primary status, 2020 was a great year for Mississippi State's football uniforms. Stick and the EQ guys deserve all the credit in the world for making it happen.
Until next year, Hail State!
Until next year, Hail State!
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