Michigan State football debuting a new helmet on Saturday night

On Thursday, Michigan State football unveiled their uniforms for their upcoming matchup against Boston College. In addition to it being a new combo, the Michigan State helmets are debuting in a new color. The Spartans will be wearing white helmets with a black stripe and black Spartan head, black uniforms, and white pants.

from thy shadows, light reigns pic.twitter.com/IfOXleAfaP

— Michigan State Football (@MSU_Football) September 4, 2025

For the first time in my recollection, there will not be the steady presence of green on a Spartan helmet. The only green spotted in Brandon Tullis’s helmet to show the fit was on the rubber “State” badge above the facemask.

Maybe it is a switch to try to get the black uniforms to work? With the recent lack of success with black jerseys (49-0 loss to Michigan in 2023, 47-10 loss to Indiana last season), anything is welcome.

The players have expressed their love for the black jerseys, and the Spartans host a crucial crop of visitors with Boston College in town. Two of their remaining priority 2026 prospects, DL Frederic Sainteus and K/P Cooper Peterson, are heading to Spartan Stadium for the game. Similarly, the 2027, 2028, and even a few 2029 prospects will be on hand to witness the Spartans take on the Eagles.

A multitude of prospects always gravitated towards the black uniforms, so this combination on a heavy-visitor week makes sense. Let the uniform design team cook and show off for the incoming prospects.

This combination, before even mentioning the completely unique helmet, is a new combo for Michigan State football. There has been (helmet-jersey-pants) black-green-black and black-white-black before, but never with black as the jersey option.

What is the public opinion?

Opinions from fans, Spartan alumni, and player’s parents were mixed. While some liked the uniforms, others, such as Matt Seybert, disagreed. While not directly taking a shot at the Spartan uniform, he mentioned the tradition of a consistent uniform.

Listen I love cool uniforms and new ideas. But there’s nothing more I love than a classic uniform, Alabama, Penn State, Georgia, USC, there’s something about a classic uniform & rich tradition that never really changes, that is just awesome.

— Matt Seybert (@mattseybert82) September 5, 2025

In his comments, the You Are the Program podcast, ran by Spartan alumni Brian Lewerke, Dante Razzano, and Tyler Higby, agreed with Seybert.

Meanwhile, for Ashleigh Collier, the mother of freshman receiver Braylon, she was right at home.

We’re familiar with these colors! 🖤🤍💚 https://t.co/dULslaUbrB

— Ashleigh Collier (@moyer_ashleigh) September 4, 2025

The Colliers watched Perkins High School play in their black and white for Braylon’s high school career, and now, they get to watch their son wear the same colors on Saturday.

Personally, I will withhold my judgement until I see the uniform in action on the field. They are not an obvious eyesore (hello, neon green pants), nor are they my favorite jersey pieces ever (2021 helmets for Michigan State vs. Michigan), so the play on the field will decide my final opinion.

To see these uniforms, tune in at 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on NBC.