They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s true, Mississippi State and Adidas are huge fans of the New England Patriots.
The Bulldogs will pay Massachusetts a visit -- and not for a vacation, an actual football game -- on Saturday, and the Minutemen will use the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium as their own.
So Mississippi State will dress like the Patriots.
Take a look, and then compare with the shot of the Patriots’ uniform above.
BREAKING | MSU, Adidas Unveil Alternate Uniform for Game at Gillette Stadium
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) September 19, 2016
📰: https://t.co/h2ZULoUMR6#HailState pic.twitter.com/7KaqfUbjUy
PHOTO GALLERY | Get a closer look at our alternate uniforms!
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) September 19, 2016
📸: https://t.co/4rnsQHDJKH
#HailState pic.twitter.com/ZoavtfR4h3
It's a homecoming. @HailStateFB is bringing the noise and the style on 9.24.16.#HailState #teamadidas pic.twitter.com/KqdFtE9PRb
— adidas Football US (@adidasFballUS) September 19, 2016
Here's an up close look at the style for this weekend at Gillette Stadium#HailState pic.twitter.com/6QYYXxMUzF
— Mississippi State Football (@HailStateFB) September 19, 2016
Mississippi State and UMass have never met previously, so how is this a “homecoming,” as Adidas describes it? Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen grew up in Manchester, N.H., which Google Maps tells me is just a short two-hour drive from Foxborough.
Anything you can do to psyche yourself up to play UMass in an empty stadium, I guess.