LSU opened up a generational debate throughout its fan base this week when it unveiled special alternate uniforms for this week’s Mississippi State game in Tiger Stadium.

After practice on Thursday, coach Ed Orgeron said that the players didn’t get any advance notice of the reveal. But Greg Stringfellow, LSU’s director of equipment, explained the history of the uniform.

The uniforms are for a special 1918 tribute that includes purple helmets that change colors.

The Tigers are paying homage to the lost season that year because of World War I and Saturday night’s all-white uniforms don’t have names on the back for those unknown soldiers that were lost in the war.

The school has a grove of oak trees on campus that pays tribute to those who died in the war. There is a pattern of oak leaves in the purple trim and numbers on the jerseys. The helmet on the uniform looks purple. But it changes color to gold under the light, a unique addition for a night game at Tiger Stadium.

“I like the traditional look, obviously, but I think once a year it’s OK, for this occasion, the honor it is,” Orgeron said. “It meant a lot to us. It’s a wonderful uniform, they’re going to love it. It’s always good for recruiting. I think once a year.”

The uniform debate is always a tricky tight rope to walk in the fan base because younger fans, and most importantly, recruits, like the new schemes and alternates, while older fans typically enjoy the classic look.

Orgeron also hit on other topics that he’s touched on earlier in the week: