For the first time since 2001, Mississippi State played a regular season game after the Egg Bowl, as they played host to Auburn in a re-scheduled matchup that was originally set to be played in early November before COVID issues struck. It was a low scoring game at halftime, with Auburn holding a 6-3 advantage, but the Tigers pulled away in the second half and ended up with a 24-10 win over the Bulldogs.
State was originally slated to wear all-black alternate uniforms against Auburn, both on the original November 14th date and after the game was moved to December 12th (and likely even on the pre-covid original date of October 31st). However, at some point, the blackout game was quietly changed to be on the 19th against Missouri.
A reason was never announced, so all we can do is speculate, but this decision was likely made when the Missouri game was rescheduled from December 5th to December 19th. This likely changed the date of Senior Night from the 5th to the 12th. Again, I can’t confirm that this was the reason, but it would make sense for State’s seniors to want to wear the more traditional maroon and white uniforms for the Senior Night ceremonies.
It should be noted that State has not let alternate uniforms get in the way of Senior Day/Night festivities in the past. The Bulldogs wore the all-gray “Statesman” uniforms on Senior Day in 2018 and wore gold-accented uniforms on Senior Nights in 2011, 2013, and 2019; this was actually the first time that State had worn Maroon-Maroon-White on Senior Night since 2014.
On the surface, moving the all-black uniforms from a night game against a blue + orange team to an afternoon game against a team who’s primary color is black certainly seems like an odd choice. But I’m sure that whatever the reason was, be it the Senior Night thing or something else- it was a reasonable one.
A reason was never announced, so all we can do is speculate, but this decision was likely made when the Missouri game was rescheduled from December 5th to December 19th. This likely changed the date of Senior Night from the 5th to the 12th. Again, I can’t confirm that this was the reason, but it would make sense for State’s seniors to want to wear the more traditional maroon and white uniforms for the Senior Night ceremonies.
It should be noted that State has not let alternate uniforms get in the way of Senior Day/Night festivities in the past. The Bulldogs wore the all-gray “Statesman” uniforms on Senior Day in 2018 and wore gold-accented uniforms on Senior Nights in 2011, 2013, and 2019; this was actually the first time that State had worn Maroon-Maroon-White on Senior Night since 2014.
On the surface, moving the all-black uniforms from a night game against a blue + orange team to an afternoon game against a team who’s primary color is black certainly seems like an odd choice. But I’m sure that whatever the reason was, be it the Senior Night thing or something else- it was a reasonable one.
Instead of all-black, State wore its classic Maroon-Maroon-White combination against Auburn. After it was not worn at all in 2019, Saturday was the third time this season that State had worn its most traditional combination. It had previously been worn in the season opening win over LSU and subsequently in the home opener against Arkansas.
State wore two new stickers on the back of their helmets for this game- both in honor of the Armed Forces, as this game was originally scheduled for the Saturday following Veterans Day. One sticker with 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 decal was also worn by NFL teams earlier this season.
State wore two new stickers on the back of their helmets for this game- both in honor of the Armed Forces, as this game was originally scheduled for the Saturday following Veterans Day. One sticker with 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 decal was also worn by NFL teams earlier this season.
I’m always happy to see State wear M-M-W; it’s our traditional look for a reason, and that reason is that it looks fantastic. Especially after it inexplicably wasn’t worn last season, it’s been great to see it more often than any other combination this season. That being said, it was a bit bittersweet to see M-M-W announced as the combination on Saturday, as it meant that gray pants would not be worn in the regular season for the first time since 2014.
First re-introduced in 2015, gray pants with maroon-white-maroon stripes have been a staple of State’s football uniforms ever since, even influencing the rest of the Bulldogs’ uniform design. The striping pattern 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 have been a favorite among the the fanbase, myself included. They’re always a great look; M-W-G is probably my favorite color combination that State has worn, and the M-M-G look from 2017 with the gloss-finished maroon helmets and maroon jerseys with the gray accents is one of my favorite home looks ever. So to not see them worn this season is certainly disappointing- hopefully they will return next year, or potentially even in a bowl game this year
First re-introduced in 2015, gray pants with maroon-white-maroon stripes have been a staple of State’s football uniforms ever since, even influencing the rest of the Bulldogs’ uniform design. The striping pattern 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 have been a favorite among the the fanbase, myself included. They’re always a great look; M-W-G is probably my favorite color combination that State has worn, and the M-M-G look from 2017 with the gloss-finished maroon helmets and maroon jerseys with the gray accents is one of my favorite home looks ever. So to not see them worn this season is certainly disappointing- hopefully they will return next year, or potentially even in a bowl game this year
The last six times State had hosted Auburn, the Bulldogs had alternated between white and maroon pants, wearing white pants in 2010, 2014, and 2018 and maroon pants in 2008, 2012, and 2016. By going with white pants again in 2020, this weekend marked the first time that State has worn white pants in consecutive home games against Auburn since 1998 and 2000, which actually wrapped up a 6-game streak (1990-2000) of State wearing M-M-W against Auburn in Starkville.
As always, the Maroon-Maroon-White combination looked great against Auburn’s White-White-White. Despite the fact that most of this recap has been about what *wasn’t* worn, between the all-black alternates and gray pants, I still want to underscore the fact that what *was* worn still looked incredible and was a great choice for Saturday’s game.
As always, the Maroon-Maroon-White combination looked great against Auburn’s White-White-White. Despite the fact that most of this recap has been about what *wasn’t* worn, between the all-black alternates and gray pants, I still want to underscore the fact that what *was* worn still looked incredible and was a great choice for Saturday’s game.
This upcoming Saturday, the Bulldogs are scheduled to conclude the regular season by hosting the Missouri Tigers. State is set to finally wear their all-black alternate uniforms during that game, including the first black helmet design in school history. Set for a 2:30 kickoff, we should get some nice nighttime looks at the all-black uniforms during the second half.
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