Mississippi State took 49 players to Athens, Georgia on Saturday Night, and though they didn't come out with the win, the Bulldogs put on their best performance since the season opener, hanging with a top-15 Georgia team until the very end.
State debuted its fifth uniform combination of the 2020 season at Georgia, pairing the gloss-finished maroon helmets with the white jerseys and maroon pants. It was the first time that the Bulldogs had worn the Maroon-White-Maroon color combination since last season at Auburn, and the first time they had worn it with the gloss-finished maroon helmets since 2017, also at Auburn.
State last won in Maroon-White-Maroon at Arkansas in 2013; including Saturday's game, the Bulldogs have now lost five games in a row in the color combination. This is mostly a result of wearing the combination exclusively in road SEC games; from 2009-2013, State wore M-W-M much more frequently and to more success, going 8-5 in the look during those seasons.
I'm a big proponent of wearing the Maroon-White-Maroon combination in one road game a year, and this past Saturday was the perfect time to do so. This was the first time that the look had been worn with the current maroon helmets, which feature a maroon "M" outlined in white and a white banner; as a result I think that this was the best version of M-W-M in quite some time. Last year's edition featured the matte maroon helmets, which were noticeably darker than the maroon pants and also featured silver accents and lacked any white, causing a disconnect with the rest of the uniform. The version worn in 2016 and 2017 most closely resembled this year's, with the primary differences being thicker pants stripes a white "M' on the helmet. On both accounts, I think this year's look is an improvement; it was a really clean, consistent uniform that looked excellent under the lights in Athens.
Georgia broke out their new black alternate jerseys, which were revealed prior to the season, against State on Saturday. Georgia had last worn black jerseys in 2016, when they did so in a win over Louisiana. They'd last done so against an SEC opponent in 2008 against Alabama, a game which they trailed 31-0 at halftime and resulted in Georgia ditching the black jerseys for a while. They had previously worn them in wins over Auburn and Hawaii in 2007. Even though Georgia won the game over Mississippi State, getting their first conference win in black jerseys in 13 years, they struggled more than expected to do so. It'll be interesting to see if they bust the black alternates out more frequently in the future or if the fact that they didn't blow out a 2-win State team keeps them hesitant to bring the black jerseys out of the closet.
State debuted its fifth uniform combination of the 2020 season at Georgia, pairing the gloss-finished maroon helmets with the white jerseys and maroon pants. It was the first time that the Bulldogs had worn the Maroon-White-Maroon color combination since last season at Auburn, and the first time they had worn it with the gloss-finished maroon helmets since 2017, also at Auburn.
State last won in Maroon-White-Maroon at Arkansas in 2013; including Saturday's game, the Bulldogs have now lost five games in a row in the color combination. This is mostly a result of wearing the combination exclusively in road SEC games; from 2009-2013, State wore M-W-M much more frequently and to more success, going 8-5 in the look during those seasons.
I'm a big proponent of wearing the Maroon-White-Maroon combination in one road game a year, and this past Saturday was the perfect time to do so. This was the first time that the look had been worn with the current maroon helmets, which feature a maroon "M" outlined in white and a white banner; as a result I think that this was the best version of M-W-M in quite some time. Last year's edition featured the matte maroon helmets, which were noticeably darker than the maroon pants and also featured silver accents and lacked any white, causing a disconnect with the rest of the uniform. The version worn in 2016 and 2017 most closely resembled this year's, with the primary differences being thicker pants stripes a white "M' on the helmet. On both accounts, I think this year's look is an improvement; it was a really clean, consistent uniform that looked excellent under the lights in Athens.
Georgia broke out their new black alternate jerseys, which were revealed prior to the season, against State on Saturday. Georgia had last worn black jerseys in 2016, when they did so in a win over Louisiana. They'd last done so against an SEC opponent in 2008 against Alabama, a game which they trailed 31-0 at halftime and resulted in Georgia ditching the black jerseys for a while. They had previously worn them in wins over Auburn and Hawaii in 2007. Even though Georgia won the game over Mississippi State, getting their first conference win in black jerseys in 13 years, they struggled more than expected to do so. It'll be interesting to see if they bust the black alternates out more frequently in the future or if the fact that they didn't blow out a 2-win State team keeps them hesitant to bring the black jerseys out of the closet.
The Bulldogs now sit at five uniform combinations worn on the season; aside from the Flying M throwbacks worn in the homecoming win over Vanderbilt, the traditional, gloss-finished maroon helmets have been worn in every game.
In those 6 games, the combination selection and distribution has been nothing short of outstanding, a major improvement from last season when seemingly every week's uniform selection was a head scratcher. The primary maroon jerseys and primary white jerseys have been worn three times each, both being paired with white pants twice and maroon pants once. You can't draw that up in a more symmetrical fashion.
The biggest thing missing from this season's uniform selection has been the gray pants, which I think are arguably the Bulldogs' best. If all remaining games are able to be played (which is a big if), the Bulldogs have two games left in which the gray pants can make an appearance: at Ole Miss and vs Missouri. In the currently scheduled season finale, vs Auburn, the Bulldogs are set to wear an all-black uniform which features the first black helmets in program history.
For the Missouri game, I think Maroon-Maroon-Gray is a super obvious choice, and I'll be disappointed if that's not the look for that game. The Egg Bowl, which as of now is the next game on the schedule, is slightly more complicated; I would absolutely love to see the Maroon-White-Gray combination worn in Oxford, especially if the Rebels counter with PowderBlue-Red-Gray. If the season were to conclude with M-W-G in Oxford, M-M-G against Missouri, and B-B-B against Auburn, then this would have to go down as the best uniform combination selection in program history, with maximum levels of symmetry among the primary combinations.
However, given that the Bulldogs have won the last two Oxford Egg Bowls by a combined score of 90-23 and wore white helmets in both games, it's hard to argue against sticking with that trend. In 2016, the Bulldogs won 55-20 in All-White, while in 2018 they won 35-3 in the first and thus far only appearance of the White-White-Gray combination. This year, with the facemasks for the white helmets dipped in gray for the Flying M throwbacks, could we see a potentially improved version of the White-White-Gray look with gray facemasks? Maybe the more standard all-white? Would we keep the Flying M logo from homecoming or go back to the M-State logo which was worn on the white helmets from 2015-2019? There are a lot of different directions that State could go with the Egg Bowl uniform combination this year, and assuming that the game does get played this weekend, we'll find out which direction they go within the week!
Let's just not go with gold.
In those 6 games, the combination selection and distribution has been nothing short of outstanding, a major improvement from last season when seemingly every week's uniform selection was a head scratcher. The primary maroon jerseys and primary white jerseys have been worn three times each, both being paired with white pants twice and maroon pants once. You can't draw that up in a more symmetrical fashion.
The biggest thing missing from this season's uniform selection has been the gray pants, which I think are arguably the Bulldogs' best. If all remaining games are able to be played (which is a big if), the Bulldogs have two games left in which the gray pants can make an appearance: at Ole Miss and vs Missouri. In the currently scheduled season finale, vs Auburn, the Bulldogs are set to wear an all-black uniform which features the first black helmets in program history.
For the Missouri game, I think Maroon-Maroon-Gray is a super obvious choice, and I'll be disappointed if that's not the look for that game. The Egg Bowl, which as of now is the next game on the schedule, is slightly more complicated; I would absolutely love to see the Maroon-White-Gray combination worn in Oxford, especially if the Rebels counter with PowderBlue-Red-Gray. If the season were to conclude with M-W-G in Oxford, M-M-G against Missouri, and B-B-B against Auburn, then this would have to go down as the best uniform combination selection in program history, with maximum levels of symmetry among the primary combinations.
However, given that the Bulldogs have won the last two Oxford Egg Bowls by a combined score of 90-23 and wore white helmets in both games, it's hard to argue against sticking with that trend. In 2016, the Bulldogs won 55-20 in All-White, while in 2018 they won 35-3 in the first and thus far only appearance of the White-White-Gray combination. This year, with the facemasks for the white helmets dipped in gray for the Flying M throwbacks, could we see a potentially improved version of the White-White-Gray look with gray facemasks? Maybe the more standard all-white? Would we keep the Flying M logo from homecoming or go back to the M-State logo which was worn on the white helmets from 2015-2019? There are a lot of different directions that State could go with the Egg Bowl uniform combination this year, and assuming that the game does get played this weekend, we'll find out which direction they go within the week!
Let's just not go with gold.
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