The Air Raid has arrived in Starkville. In a stark contrast from the offensive woes of the past two seasons, Mississippi State began the Mike Leach era today with a record-setting offensive performance. Stanford grad-transfer KJ Costello broke not just the Mississippi State single game record but also the SEC single game record for passing yards with 623.
A Mississippi State quarterback threw for Six Hundred and Twenty-Three yards in a football game. Wearing a Mississippi State uniform. Passing. You read that correctly.
Combined with a stellar performance from a young defense, Costello, along with veteran leaders Kylin Hill and Osirus Mitchell, plus fellow grad-transfer Tyrell Shavers, led Mississippi State to a 44-34 victory over the LSU Tigers, handing the defending National Champions their first loss since November of 2018.
A Mississippi State quarterback threw for Six Hundred and Twenty-Three yards in a football game. Wearing a Mississippi State uniform. Passing. You read that correctly.
Combined with a stellar performance from a young defense, Costello, along with veteran leaders Kylin Hill and Osirus Mitchell, plus fellow grad-transfer Tyrell Shavers, led Mississippi State to a 44-34 victory over the LSU Tigers, handing the defending National Champions their first loss since November of 2018.
The 2020 season opener marked the return of the shiny maroon helmets with a gloss finish, white facemasks, and white decals for Mississippi State. Last worn in Joe Moorhead's debut game two years ago, the Bulldogs' traditional helmet shell design was ditched in favor of matte maroon and white helmets for the vast majority of Moorhead's tenure in 2018 and 2019. The glossy shells did return for the final home game of the 2019 season, the instant-classic 21-20 Egg Bowl victory over Ole Miss, but with gold decals.
This game also marked the return of the Bulldogs' traditional Maroon/Maroon/White combination, which astonishingly was not worn in 2019. It was worn four times in 2018, once with the shiny maroon helmets in the aforementioned season opener, and three more times with the matte maroon helmets (wins over Louisiana, Auburn, and Louisiana Tech).
So when Mississippi State made the announcement on Friday that the classic shiny maroon helmets, alongside the Maroon/Maroon/White combo, would return, fans were ecstatic. It wasn't necessarily a surprise; with a new coach making his debut, it was very much widely expected that the classic combination would be making its return. But to see it officially be back was a joyous experience.
The uniform worn on Saturday in Leach's debut was very similar to the one worn two years earlier in Moorhead's debut. This effectively snapped a streak of there always being significant uniform changes when a new head coach is hired; however, compared to when the look was worn in Moorhead's debut, there were a few minute changes, including the collar design, name on back font, and helmet bumper wordmark (all of which were changed prior to the 2019 season, but were never worn with the traditional shiny maroon helmet).
The biggest changes for 2020 were the removal of the CFB150 patch (which was a one-year deal and wasn't present in 2018) and the addition of a "Stronger Together" decal on the back of the helmet. The shiny maroon helmet design, which has been changed a number of times since 2009, was the same design as the one worn in 2018, featuring a maroon "M" outlined in white on the maroon shell. This is the second Mississippi State helmet design to be worn in two non-consecutive seasons, after a unique matte maroon design was worn in both the 2011 Music City Bowl and 2014 Orange Bowl.
This game also marked the return of the Bulldogs' traditional Maroon/Maroon/White combination, which astonishingly was not worn in 2019. It was worn four times in 2018, once with the shiny maroon helmets in the aforementioned season opener, and three more times with the matte maroon helmets (wins over Louisiana, Auburn, and Louisiana Tech).
So when Mississippi State made the announcement on Friday that the classic shiny maroon helmets, alongside the Maroon/Maroon/White combo, would return, fans were ecstatic. It wasn't necessarily a surprise; with a new coach making his debut, it was very much widely expected that the classic combination would be making its return. But to see it officially be back was a joyous experience.
The uniform worn on Saturday in Leach's debut was very similar to the one worn two years earlier in Moorhead's debut. This effectively snapped a streak of there always being significant uniform changes when a new head coach is hired; however, compared to when the look was worn in Moorhead's debut, there were a few minute changes, including the collar design, name on back font, and helmet bumper wordmark (all of which were changed prior to the 2019 season, but were never worn with the traditional shiny maroon helmet).
The biggest changes for 2020 were the removal of the CFB150 patch (which was a one-year deal and wasn't present in 2018) and the addition of a "Stronger Together" decal on the back of the helmet. The shiny maroon helmet design, which has been changed a number of times since 2009, was the same design as the one worn in 2018, featuring a maroon "M" outlined in white on the maroon shell. This is the second Mississippi State helmet design to be worn in two non-consecutive seasons, after a unique matte maroon design was worn in both the 2011 Music City Bowl and 2014 Orange Bowl.
Saturday's game snapped a 693 day drought for the Maroon/Maroon/White combination, and a 756 day drought for the *Gloss*Maroon/Maroon/White combination. What Saturday's game did not snap though, was a streak of 1,484 days without a loss in the classic Maroon/Maroon/White combination. With Saturday's win over LSU, the Bulldogs have now won 9 consecutive games in their most traditional color combination; the most recent loss was in the 2016 season opener against South Alabama. The win improved the Bulldogs to 30-13 (.698) in Maroon/Maroon/White since 2009, and 26-11 (.703) in *Gloss*Maroon/Maroon/White in that span.
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Saturday marked the fourth consecutive win over LSU in which the Bulldogs have been in shiny maroon helmets and maroon jerseys; the State beat the Tigers in white pants in 1999, 2014, and 2020, and in gray pants in 2017. Going back to 1980, all 11 of the Bulldogs' wins over LSU have come in shiny maroon helmets, and 9 of them have come in maroon jerseys.
This marked a return to form for the Mississippi State vs LSU matchup, which in most years is Maroon/Maroon/White vs Gold/White/Gold. This was the case for five consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2015, but it had not been for the last four meetings. In 2016, LSU wore gold jersey throwbacks, forcing State to wear white jerseys in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1994. In 2017, State wore gray pants; in 2018, LSU wore alternate uniforms in a Purple/White/White combination, and State countered with White/Maroon/White. Last year in Starkville, State wore White/Maroon/Maroon. The return to form was very much welcomed, and resulted in State's second consecutive win in Maroon/Maroon/White in Baton Rouge!
This marked a return to form for the Mississippi State vs LSU matchup, which in most years is Maroon/Maroon/White vs Gold/White/Gold. This was the case for five consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2015, but it had not been for the last four meetings. In 2016, LSU wore gold jersey throwbacks, forcing State to wear white jerseys in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1994. In 2017, State wore gray pants; in 2018, LSU wore alternate uniforms in a Purple/White/White combination, and State countered with White/Maroon/White. Last year in Starkville, State wore White/Maroon/Maroon. The return to form was very much welcomed, and resulted in State's second consecutive win in Maroon/Maroon/White in Baton Rouge!
This past summer, I launched a brand new website called the Hail State Unis Database, which contains sortable, filterable tables with historical uniform records for Mississippi State's Football, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, and Baseball teams. All of the stats I've mentioned in this article were determined using the database. Some relevant links involving Saturday's game:
Next week, Mississippi State hosts the Arkansas Razorbacks in its 2020 home opener! Even at 25% capacity, it should be an exciting atmosphere for Mike Leach's first home game as head coach of the Bulldogs, especially with a win over the defending National Champions already under his belt!
I expect the Bulldogs to stick with the classic Maroon/Maroon/White combination for the Arkansas game, as is tradition for home openers. It's always possible that they mix it up with gray pants or white helmets, so don't write anything in pen, but I give heavy odds to the 1-0 Maroon/Maroon/White combo making its 2020 debut at Davis Wade Stadium.
I expect the Bulldogs to stick with the classic Maroon/Maroon/White combination for the Arkansas game, as is tradition for home openers. It's always possible that they mix it up with gray pants or white helmets, so don't write anything in pen, but I give heavy odds to the 1-0 Maroon/Maroon/White combo making its 2020 debut at Davis Wade Stadium.
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