Mississippi State remains undefeated behind 'the behind'
LEXINGTON, Ky. – How big is Josh Robinson's backside?
Put it this way: Kim Kardashian is jealous.
The nearly spherical Mississippi State running back's bountiful booty is his most attention-grabbing physical characteristic. And if you believe the fun-loving little man, it has made him a Southeastern Conference sex symbol.
"I think that's why the women come to the games," he said, eyes twinkling.
You thought chicks dig the long ball? In Starkville (Miss.) they apparently dig the Human Bowling Ball, which is the 5-foot-9 (cough), 215-pound Robinson's nickname.
That posterior also is the key to Robinson's power, along with his thunder thighs. Asked how much he squats, the senior exclaimed, "Oooh, a ton. A good 700."
His Maurice Jones-Drew-like lower body and low center of gravity allows him to pound through tacklers, as he did on one run in the Bulldogs' 45-31 victory at Kentucky Saturday – a third-quarter stampede in which seven Wildcats hit him without taking him down. Tacklers 8 and 9 finally combined to take Robinson to the ground, after he covered about 40 yards east and west and gained 22 north and south.
"He was carrying our team on his back," said coach Dan Mullen. "And sometimes carrying their team on his back."
Quarterback Dak Prescott has been the State headliner, with good reason. But Robinson (ahem) butted into the spotlight on national TV Saturday. In addition to that tackle-breaking tour de force in the third quarter, Robinson broke a 73-yard touchdown run in the fourth that featured an eyes-in-the-back-of-his-head cutback to escape pursuing Kentucky defenders. The SEC's leading rusher will remain in that spot after this 198-yard performance.
Mississippi State (6-0) needed all those yards and Robinson's two touchdowns to win its first-ever game as the No. 1 team in America. This did not come easy. Kentucky (5-3) is much improved in its second year under coach Mark Stoops, and was good enough to exploit some weaknesses in the Bulldogs defense. In addition, Mullen believes his team was tight early, feeling the previously foreign pressure of being No. 1.
The coach was concerned enough about it that he called the team together in the locker room at halftime and ordered a group exhale. State was up 17-10 then, and immediately pushed the lead to two touchdowns early in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs never trailed and were only briefly tied, but they also failed to put this game away for a long time. There was no official exhale for nearly 58 minutes, until tight end Christian Holmes rumbled 61 yards with an onside kick for the final margin.
Mississippi State didn't scare any of its pursuers in the polls. But it accomplished the most important thing Saturday by remaining undefeated.
"Hopefully we'll get all this ranking stuff behind us," Mullen said. "You can drop us if you want. I don't really care."
If Mississippi State does drop, it won't be far. The Bulldogs will be solidly in the top four when the College Football Playoff selection committee reveals its first rankings Tuesday night.
The biggest individual reason is the play of Prescott, who was just OK by his standards Saturday: 18-of-33 passing for 216 yards and a touchdown, with 88 rushing yards and two more TDs on the ground. (He also left Commonwealth Stadium with a walking boot on his left foot, but described it as merely "precautionary.") He got a splendid supporting-actor performance from Robinson.
Like Prescott, Robinson was a modestly recruited prospect in a loaded 2011 senior class in Louisiana. His teammate at Franklinton High School, current LSU running back Terrence Magee, was the more coveted recruit. But Mullen liked Robinson from early on.
State athletic director Scott Stricklin recalls dropping by the Bulldogs football complex the day after they beat rival Mississippi in the 2010 Egg Bowl. Stricklin popped his head in to congratulate the coaching staff and found them watching recruiting video. On the screen was Robinson.
"He reminds me of Anthony Dixon," Mullen told Stricklin, referencing the Bulldogs' star senior running back that season.
State was the only SEC school to offer Robinson a scholarship. Oklahoma State was the only other major-college program to make an offer. His only official recruiting visit was to Starkville.
"Mississippi State knew what I had in me," Robinson said. "I'm glad they chose to give me a scholarship. The other teams missed out on their blessing, put it like that."
The blessing took a while to blossom. Robinson didn't have his first double-digit carry game until Nov. 23 last year, when he went for 101 yards on 17 carries in a win over Arkansas. Perhaps not coincidentally, that marked the beginning of a Bulldogs winning streak that is now 10 games – longest for the school since 1944.
Robinson is inherently goofy – Stricklin said he will sneak up behind him at practice, pick him up and carry him 10 yards, just on a whim. Mullen was waiting for evidence that the Bowling Ball was ready to roll straight and hard through an entire off-season of conditioning before entrusting him with the bulk of the running back duties. He finally saw it this year.
"He was the same fun-loving, goofy kid," Mullen said. "But when it was time to work, he really worked hard."
Combining work ethic with sheer physics – "He's low to the Earth," said State linebacker Bernardrick McKinney – Robinson has been the breakout star of this team. This was the second time he's come within a few yards of a 200-yard game – the other was a 197-yard performance against LSU in Tiger Stadium earlier this season. Something about road games seems to make the little big man even harder to tackle.
"Seeing him in person, he was very, very tough," Stoops said. "He was compact, low to the ground. He was very strong. Great balance."
And a great behind propelling Josh Robinson forward. The SEC's sex symbol and his teammates roll on.
