Helmet Logo to Change for 2015?

                It appears that there may be another change coming to the Bulldogs’ uniforms in 2015. Last night, Hailstatesnap sent out a video (thanks to @calbrown85 on twitter for pointing it out) that appears to show an altered logo on the Bulldogs’ helmet.  (EDIT- A second picture has popped up, showing the change more clearly.)  This in no way confirms that a change is being made, but it is unfortunately a possibility.  Up until this point, there had been no indication of a helmet logo change.  Previous offseason uniform news included new black jerseys (yet to be officially released) and new maroon pants.

                The above photo is the one in question, and if you look closely at the player on the right’s helmet, you will see that the version of the “M-State” logo on the helmet has been modified.  Can’t tell the difference?  Here’s a graphic:

                As you can see, this is not the first time that the “M-State” logo on the helmet has been modified.  An earlier version was worn from 2004-2008, but from 2009 to the present, the updated version has been worn in 3 differing options.  Up until now, the M and the banner have always both been white.  From 2009-2010, the logo featured an immediate gray outline.  In 2011, the outline was removed.  For the Music City Bowl in 2011, the outline was brought back, this time with maroon space between the logo and the outline.  This style was used from 2012-2014.  Now it appears that in 2015, the banner may be turned maroon while the M stays white.  Click here for an extensive breakdown ofMississippi State’s helmets since 2009.

For 1600x900 images of MSU Logos, click here.

                In my opinion, this would be a huge downgrade if it were to happen.  The transparent banner M-State doesn’t look terrible, but the helmets worn by the Bulldogs with the DWS 100 uniforms in 2014 were the best they had ever worn.

                Why would this change be made?  As it was pointed out to me on twitter (by @pom5), this may be to create brand consistency at Mississippi State, following the recently changed visualguidelines, in which the all-maroon M-State logo was completely removed and the all-white only appears a few times (never in the athletics section).  Though I’m a big proponent of brand consistency, I just can’t get over the fact that the all-white (with gray outline) M-State looks SO good on the football helmet.  And if the university was so concerned about getting the transparent banner M-State everywhere, why did they let Adidas plaster a SINGLE color (though I guess technically all-transparent) M-State on the pants.  From that angle, the change creates even more inconsistency.

                The potential change would bring about more uniform consistency in one way: gray has been completed removed.  The helmet and pants would be solely maroon and white (I previously incorrectly thought that the pants logo was gray), with the only color inconsistency being the black on the uniforms.  Of course, we know that the leaked black alternate will feature silver numbers and outlines, so the inconsistency lives on in a different way.

                Finally, here is my mockup of what the Bulldogs’ 2015 uniforms would look like with the “updated” helmet:

New Maroon Pants: Just for Practice, or For Game Use Also?

               Last night, the Bulldogs debuted a new pair of maroon pants at their scrimmage at Davis Wade Stadium.  The pants are plain on the right side but feature an outline of an oversized M-State logo on the left side.  They’ve raised several questions on social media and message boards, with a surprising amount of people dismissing them as “old, leftover practice pants.”  While the practice pants part might be true, these are most certainly not old or leftovers.  They are a brand new design, similar to the white DWS 100 pants worn last year; the main difference is that the logo is slightly more slanted and is further down on the leg.  Full Photo Gallery

                If you look closely, you’ll notice that the pants feature the new Adidas PrimeKnit (ShockWeb 2.0) pattern.  Adidas debuted these pants this summer, so this dismisses any “leftovers” argument.  As to whether or not these will be restricted to practice, we’ll have to wait and see.  It does seem strange to debut them in a scrimmage, but it would also be strange to wear new pants in practice when you could use leftovers, as they had been doing.

                My guess?  This was their way of “unveiling” the new pants.  State needs maroon pants this year, and while I don’t like the oversized logo, an outline looks better than a filled-in logo.  I expect them to show up throughout the season, likely starting with the game at Southern Miss.  They could be doing like the rainbow baseball uniforms in 2013 and restricting Adidas’ crazy concepts to practice, but I doubt it.

These pants only continue the inconsistency between the DWS 100 (101 now?) uniform elements:

Helmet: Maroon, White, and Gray

Jerseys: Maroon, White, and Black

Pants: Maroon and White

It would make sense for MSU and Adidas to sit down and get a consistent uniform together, but that just doesn’t seem to be their style.  For now, we’ll continue with a great helmet, throwback jerseys, and crazy Adidas pants.  And don’t forget multiple alternate jerseys…

Finally, here's my mockup of the 4 possible regular uniform combinations for the Bulldogs this year: