Mississippi State beats Texas A&M 48-31 as Dak Prescott becomes Heisman contender
Welcome to the land of the elite, Mississippi State.
The No. 12 Bulldogs absolutely throttled No. 6 Texas A&M 48-31 on Saturday, forcing A&M QB Kenny Hill to throw three interceptions as MSU QB Dak Prescott accounted for five TDs.
It's the first time Mississippi State has beaten top-10 teams in consecutive games.
We'd also like to issue another welcome, to Prescott, as he's now squarely in the Heisman race. Prescott threw for two touchdowns and ran for three as Texas A&M's defense was helpless to stop either Mississippi State's running or passing game.
Of course, it didn't benefit the A&M defense much that Hill found MSU LB Richie Brown multiple times. Brown had all three of the Bulldogs' interceptions, including two on back-to-back drives in the first half.
After Texas A&M marched 69 yards and scored in two minutes on the opening drive of the game, the Aggies didn't get another TD the rest of the half despite having the ball seven times. The drive results? Fumble, turnover on downs, punt, punt, interception, interception, field goal.
As the Bulldog defense was forcing mistakes and punts, Prescott was repeating the performance he had against LSU. As Mississippi State beat the Tigers, Prescott had three TDs, 268 yards passing and 105 yards rushing. Against A&M, Prescott had 259 yards passing and 77 yards rushing.
He's always been a good runner, but his improvement as a passer is why he's now one of the best QBs in college football and why Mississippi State has emerged as one of the top teams in the SEC West. Last season, Prescott threw for over 250 yards twice and completed 58 percent of his passes. This season he's completing 62 percent of his throws (including going 19-of-25 passing Saturday) and has thrown for over 250 yards three times in five games.
The Bulldogs' path to the SEC West title may be the most favorable of any team in the conference. Auburn comes to Starkville next week and Mississippi State's two SEC East opponents are Kentucky and Vanderbilt, the two weakest teams in the division.
While MSU has to go to Tuscaloosa, Ala., and to Ole Miss for the season-ending Egg Bowl, the Alabama game in Novemeber sets up for a Manziel-type moment for Prescott. If MSU keeps winning, a repeat performance of the last two games on what surely will be a national stage will win over numerous Heisman voters.
Hill may not get the chance to have his Manziel moment. While his performance against South Carolina is unforgettable, he threw as many interceptions Saturday as he had all season to date. He's not eliminated from the Heisman race – his touchdown passes in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach makes his stat line look better – but his margin for error is razor thin. With five ranked opponents remaining in A&M's next six games, Hill is going to have to get some serious help from his defense.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
