The unorthodox 2020 regular season came to an end this past Saturday for Mississippi State on a cold mid-December afternoon in Starkville. State's latest regular season game ever was a great one, as the Bulldogs bookended the 2020 regular season with wins over Tigers, blowing past Missouri en route to a 51-32 victory.
After multiple delays, Mississippi State was finally able to debut its new all-black alternates in the win over Missouri. The brand new look featured the first black helmets in program history and the fifth black jersey design. The jerseys and pants featured silver carbon fiber numbers and stripes, while the helmets were matte black with silver facemasks and silver M-State decals. No maroon was present in the entire uniform.
The all-black uniform was originally slated to be worn against Auburn. Due to COVID-19, that Auburn game was re-scheduled twice. Pre-COVID, it was set for Halloween, which would have been the perfect time for the black and silver look. In the re-worked, SEC-only schedule, the Auburn game was set for November 14th, but was postponed due to a breakout. When the game was finally played on December 12th, it was Mississippi State's Senior Day, and they opted to wear school colors for the occasion. Thus, the all-black look was pushed back one final time, to this weekend's game against Missouri.
With Saturday's win, Mississippi State won its sixth consecutive game in black jerseys, continuing a winning streak that began in 2011. Despite the Bulldogs' success in black, the narrative that they're bad luck still persists- maybe this year's victory is the one that finally puts that mindset to rest. State made poor decisions in 2009 and 2010 by wearing black jerseys against Alabama and LSU, getting off to an 0-2 start (with a -50 point differential) in black and creating the (then valid) mindset that the Bulldogs perform poorly in black. The decade since has been the complete opposite, with State winning six straight in black, including 3 wins over SEC opponents, highlighted by the upset of then #4 Texas A&M in 2016.
After multiple delays, Mississippi State was finally able to debut its new all-black alternates in the win over Missouri. The brand new look featured the first black helmets in program history and the fifth black jersey design. The jerseys and pants featured silver carbon fiber numbers and stripes, while the helmets were matte black with silver facemasks and silver M-State decals. No maroon was present in the entire uniform.
The all-black uniform was originally slated to be worn against Auburn. Due to COVID-19, that Auburn game was re-scheduled twice. Pre-COVID, it was set for Halloween, which would have been the perfect time for the black and silver look. In the re-worked, SEC-only schedule, the Auburn game was set for November 14th, but was postponed due to a breakout. When the game was finally played on December 12th, it was Mississippi State's Senior Day, and they opted to wear school colors for the occasion. Thus, the all-black look was pushed back one final time, to this weekend's game against Missouri.
With Saturday's win, Mississippi State won its sixth consecutive game in black jerseys, continuing a winning streak that began in 2011. Despite the Bulldogs' success in black, the narrative that they're bad luck still persists- maybe this year's victory is the one that finally puts that mindset to rest. State made poor decisions in 2009 and 2010 by wearing black jerseys against Alabama and LSU, getting off to an 0-2 start (with a -50 point differential) in black and creating the (then valid) mindset that the Bulldogs perform poorly in black. The decade since has been the complete opposite, with State winning six straight in black, including 3 wins over SEC opponents, highlighted by the upset of then #4 Texas A&M in 2016.
This year's black jersey design was the fifth that State has worn; the Bulldogs previously wore a single design from 2009-2011, another design twice in 2015 and 2017, and two one-off designs in 2016 and 2019. The 2009-2011 design featured maroon numbers outlined in white; it was worn with white pants in 2009, black pants in 2010, maroon pants in 2011, and glossy maroon helmets each time. The 2015 and 2017 design featured silver numbers outlined in maroon, double maroon sleeve stripes outlined in silver, and an oversized silver M-State logo on the pants; it was worn with matte maroon helmets in 2015 and silver helmets in 2017.
The 2016 design (which, despite our success in them, I still consider to be the single worst uniform in Mississippi State football history) featured white numbers, a silver American flag design on the shoulders, a white-outlined oversized M-State logo on the pants, and was worn with silver helmets. Last year's design, which at the time was easily the best ever, honored the TK Martin Center and featured white numbers and maroon-gray-maroon stripes on the sleeves and pants, all outlined by a reflective pattern. Like the 2015 look, it was paired with matte maroon helmets.
This year's design finally broke the black helmet barrier, with the Bulldogs dropping their matte maroon helmets in favor of a matte black look, which worked incredibly well with this uniform. The helmets alone make this the best black alternate look State has ever worn, but the rest of the uniform lives up to that standard as well. The simple, consistent black + silver design goes a long way- there's no maroon to muddle things up, no gigantic pants logo, and no over-complicated design aspects. It's just a really clean look, and I absolutely loved it.
This was easily the best black uniform that State has ever worn, and I would even put it above the 2018 Statesman uniforms and say that it's the best non-throwback alternate that they've ever done. Along with the Flying M throwbacks, these make up what is far and away State's best ever alternate uniform lineup. The credit for that goes to Stick Rogers, State's Director of Football Equipment, whose fantastic attention to detail has led to all of State's sharp looks over the past few seasons.
My one hesitation with saying that these should be "permanent" alternates is, ironically, the aspect that makes them super clean- the lack of maroon. The black and silver works great, and I would not complain at all if these made another appearance. However, I think that an all-black look that utilizes maroon and white would have the potential to be even better and more "Mississippi State." State's black baseball jerseys prove that maroon and black can coexist, especially with the utilization of a white-maroon-white stripe. I think something similar to the all-black uniform in this concept could be a better "permanent" all-black uniform, but as good as this weekend's uniform looked, it may not be wise to mess with it.
The 2016 design (which, despite our success in them, I still consider to be the single worst uniform in Mississippi State football history) featured white numbers, a silver American flag design on the shoulders, a white-outlined oversized M-State logo on the pants, and was worn with silver helmets. Last year's design, which at the time was easily the best ever, honored the TK Martin Center and featured white numbers and maroon-gray-maroon stripes on the sleeves and pants, all outlined by a reflective pattern. Like the 2015 look, it was paired with matte maroon helmets.
This year's design finally broke the black helmet barrier, with the Bulldogs dropping their matte maroon helmets in favor of a matte black look, which worked incredibly well with this uniform. The helmets alone make this the best black alternate look State has ever worn, but the rest of the uniform lives up to that standard as well. The simple, consistent black + silver design goes a long way- there's no maroon to muddle things up, no gigantic pants logo, and no over-complicated design aspects. It's just a really clean look, and I absolutely loved it.
This was easily the best black uniform that State has ever worn, and I would even put it above the 2018 Statesman uniforms and say that it's the best non-throwback alternate that they've ever done. Along with the Flying M throwbacks, these make up what is far and away State's best ever alternate uniform lineup. The credit for that goes to Stick Rogers, State's Director of Football Equipment, whose fantastic attention to detail has led to all of State's sharp looks over the past few seasons.
My one hesitation with saying that these should be "permanent" alternates is, ironically, the aspect that makes them super clean- the lack of maroon. The black and silver works great, and I would not complain at all if these made another appearance. However, I think that an all-black look that utilizes maroon and white would have the potential to be even better and more "Mississippi State." State's black baseball jerseys prove that maroon and black can coexist, especially with the utilization of a white-maroon-white stripe. I think something similar to the all-black uniform in this concept could be a better "permanent" all-black uniform, but as good as this weekend's uniform looked, it may not be wise to mess with it.
Mississippi State has been very successful in alternate uniforms as of late, winning their last five games in one-off looks. In addition to this weekend's win in all-black, the Bulldogs won in the Flying M throwbacks earlier this season. Last year, the Bulldogs won in both the gold-accented Egg Bowl uniforms and black TK Martin alternates. These games actually account for State's last four home victories; the Bulldogs haven't won a home game in their primary uniforms since September 2019 against Kentucky. With the 2020 regular season concluded, this is a streak that will continue into at least fall of 2021.
The last time that State lost in an alternate uniform was in the silver-maroon-maroon Veteran's Day alternates against Alabama in 2017. Overall, the Bulldogs have a 12-7 (.632) record in alternate uniforms, dating back to 2009.
The last time that State lost in an alternate uniform was in the silver-maroon-maroon Veteran's Day alternates against Alabama in 2017. Overall, the Bulldogs have a 12-7 (.632) record in alternate uniforms, dating back to 2009.
Though the 2020 regular season has concluded, Mississippi State's season is not over. The Bulldogs will take on Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl on New Year's Eve to conclude Mike Leach's first season as head coach.
 |  |
RSS Feed