What's in store for 2015?- Part 2: Alternates

In 2015, when the DWS 100 unis take over full time (confirmed by Scott Stricklin on Twitter as recently as yesterday), don't expect them to be the only jerseys the Bulldogs take the field in.  In this post, I will give a couple of possibilities as to what alternate unis the Bulldogs might wear in 2015.

Obviously, you can expect Egg Bowl jerseys for the 5th year in a row.  Version 3.0 of the maroon jerseys with gold accents should hit the field this fall, and it's anyone's guess as to what they will look like.  My concept, seen below, would keep the DWS 100 stripes and reuse the chrome gold helmet from 2013.  Now, in the 4 years that the Bulldogs have worn Egg Bowl uniforms, they have never been consistent with that year's regular uniforms.  So don't expect them to look exactly like this.  Just hope that they do.

What else will Adidas throw at us?  It's been painfully obvious over the last few years that while Adidas fails miserably at modern designs, they are great at old-school looks.  There are plenty of examples of this across their college football, basketball, and baseball designs.  So, if Adidas does give Mississippi State an alternate jersey this year, I hope they go the traditional route.

Taking inspiration from uniforms Adidas has already issued to Mississippi State's baseball and basketball teams, I think a cream (vintage white) - based jersey would be a good look for the Bulldogs.  Oklahoma's wood alternates are the only example of cream jerseys in College Football that I can think of- so this would be a relatively unique uniform.  Of course, these are purely my idea- there have been no indications that Adidas will unveil a jersey similar to this at all.

This will be the last post in the 2014 edition of the uni tracker.  Baseball season is next- the season starts on February 13.  Expect the Bulldogs to unveil exactly what they will wear in 2015 sometime this off-season, as early as March and as late as mid-August.  I'll keep you updated when that happens.

What's in store for 2015?

It was known coming into the 2014 season that the 2012 version of the ribbon-stripe uniforms were in their last year.  What we didn't know is that they would already be overtaken by the end of the season.

Last March, the Bulldogs announced throwback jerseys for the 100th anniversary of Davis Wade Stadium.  The jerseys were based on the late 90s and early 2000s Jackie Sherill-era uniforms, with double white sleeve stripes with black outlines.  The jerseys initially had "Hail State" on the front, but the NCAA ruled it must be replaced with the "Mississippi State" wordmark logo, which vastly improved the look of the uniform in my opinion.

The "DWS 100" unis, as they soon came to be known, were originally planned to be worn against Southern Miss.  However, the uniforms were popular amongst fans, and were subsequently worn in wins vs then top-10 teams LSU, Texas A&M, and Auburn.  After being worn in three huge wins (and being featured in two Sports Illustrated covers), the jerseys skyrocketed in popularity and became the go-to jerseys for the Bulldogs.

Adidas claimed not to be able to produce white versions until the next season, so the regular (ribbon stripe) white jerseys were worn for the remainder of the season.  The regular (ribbon stripe) maroon jerseys were worn twice, as opposed the 7 times (all 7 were wins) that the DWS 100 jerseys were worn.  The Bulldogs did finally break out white versions of the DWS 100 unis for the Orange Bowl. 

Scott Stricklin, Mississippi State Athletic Director, has said that the DWS 100 uniforms, or a version of them, will be the regular uniforms in 2015.  This is not a surprise, given the popularity of the DWS 100 unis and the fact that the Bulldogs were getting new uniforms in 2015 anyway.  The question is, what exactly will they look like?  Will they be the exact same as the DWS 100 unis, right down to the oversized logo on the pants?  Or will there be slight differences?  And if so, to what extent?

CONCEPT- WHAT IF- Mississippi State Switched back to Nike

Many know the story of the slanted “MSU” logo that Nike owns, not allowing Mississippi State to use it to this day.  A new logo set was created in 2009 and is in use currently.  Mississippi State is in a contract with Adidas until 2020, so this is strictly conceptual, but I put this together today to show what Nike might do if it got Mississippi State back.

The design is based on the DWS 100 unis from this year, which themselves are based on MSU’s Nike unis of the late 1990s.  Black is removed from the uniforms, something I hope happens with the current uniforms.  Gray is added in place of it, and as a result, the sleeve stripes mirror Kansas State’s.  A similar striping pattern adorns the pants and white helmet.

The slanted “MSU” logo is added back to the helmets; three different designs are used.  The first is a maroon helmet with a regular, shiny finish and a white facemask.  It would be worn only with the maroon jerseys.  The second is a maroon helmet with a matte finish and a white facemask.  It would be worn only with the white jerseys.  The final helmet would be white, with a maroon facemask and maroon double stripe.  It would be worn only with the white pants, but with both jerseys.  A maroon Egg Bowl jersey with gold accents is also included.

Also posted here: What if- Mississippi State Switched back to Nike

The Curse of the Special White Uniforms?

Wednesday’s loss in the 2014 Orange Bowl was the latest of many losses while wearing special white uniforms for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.  Why does this happen?  To start with, it’s harder to win on the road than it is at home.  But two of the examples of this phenomenon took place in neutral-site bowl games.  What gives?