1. Who will play quarterback for Mississippi State?
It’s unclear whether sophomore quarterback Dak Prescott will play Saturday after his mother, Peggy Prescott, lost her long battle with colon cancer Sunday morning. Dak Prescott left the MSU program Sunday to be with his family in Haughton, La., and funeral proceedings were Wednesday. MSU (4-4, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) will travel Friday afternoon to No. 11 Texas A&M. MSU coach Dan Mullen said Monday he was unsure if Prescott would play against Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (WCBI). If Prescott is unable to play, senior quarterback Tyler Russell has been taking the first-team reps in practice this week.
2. How does MSU try to contain quarterback Johnny Manziel?
Mullen described playing Johnny Manziel as having to choose to stop his passing, his running, or his improvisation. Manziel is Southeastern Conference’s leading passer at 318.6 yards per game. He also is completing 72.5 percent of his attempts, and is also the 13th best runner in the league. He is the second-most prolific running quarterback in the league with 24 rushes of 10 yards or more. When Manziel freelances, he is dangerous and averages 9.22 yards per play as the leader in total offense in the SEC. On the road to winning the 2012 Heisman Trophy, Manziel had 440 total yards (311 passing, 57 rushing) and two touchdowns in a 38-13 victory against MSU in Davis Wade Stadium. Manziel threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more scores in less than three quarters to lead No. 12 Texas A&M to a lopsided 57-7 victory against UTEP last weekend.
3. Can Mike Evans back up his coach’s Heisman Trophy talk?
Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans leads all receivers in the conference in yards (1,147), touchdowns (12), and yards per touch (22.1 yards).Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said Saturday after a victory against UTEP that Evans should be included in the Heisman Trophy conversation. “I’m puzzled why Mike Evans isn’t in the Heisman race,” Sumlin said. “I think he’s as good a player as there is in the country. He’s second in the country in yards per game and everybody knows we’re going to throw him the ball.”
4. Will Mullen finally beat a top-15 opponent?
Mullen is 2-22 as a coach against schools ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll, and 3-22 when the opponent leads after halftime. Mullen’s teams at MSU are 5-10 in November.
5. Who won win the kicker/punter competitions in practice and will play Saturday?
Those who thought the kicker and punter debates at MSU were done after Saturday’s solid performances from sophomore punter Devon Bell and redshirt freshman Evan Sobiesk can think again.
Mullen said Monday the battles between Bell, Sobiesk, and senior punter Baker Swedenburg would continue in practice. Last week in a 34-16 loss at South Carolina, redshirt freshman walk-on Evan Sobiesk made a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter. It was the first made field goal for MSU since Devon Bell hit a 22-yarder against LSU. Bell is 5 of 11 on field goals this season. Mullen said practice reports still would be the determining factor to who wins the job on a weekly basis going forward.
— Matt Stevens
MSU
Senior quarterback Tyler Russell
Russell admitted this season hasn’t gone the way he planned with all of the injuries and lineup changes. However, the fifth-year senior is fifth in career yards (4,957), third in completions (369), eighth in attempts (633), and fourth with nine 200-plus yard passing games. He has reached those places in MSU’s record books despite missing three games with a concussion and sitting most of the Kentucky game with a left ankle injury that took him out of the South Carolina game last weekend. With Prescott having little to no practice time, Russell will be counted on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman defensive tackle Chris Jones
Jones has six quarterback hurries in the last five games and has been the Bulldogs’ most disruptive lineman in the last month. The freshman from Houston will once be asked to try to contain Texas A&M’s running game and to keep Manziel in the pocket.
Texas A&M
Sophomore wide receiver Mike Evans
Evans is a big-play target on every passing play in coach Kevin Sumlin’s spread offense. Evans is one of only six receivers in the Football Bowl Subdivision to surpass the 1,000-yard plateau. He leads the nation with 15 catches of 30 or more yards.
Senior left tackle Jake Matthews
The returning All-America offensive tackle, the son of former NFL offensive lineman Bruce Matthews, was listed No. 1 on the top 100 college seniors list compiled by NFL.com senior analyst Gil Brandt. Sports Illustrated NFL draft analyst Chris Burke ranks Matthews the nation’s third-best overall prospect. Phil Steele and Sports Illustrated listed Matthews on their midseason All-SEC teams.
By the Numbers
1
Games under Kevin Sumlin that Texas A&M hasn’t scored first, a streak of 21 of 22 games. The only game Texas A&M didn’t score first was the 2013 season opener against Rice. Manziel was suspended for the first half of that game.
2
Football Bowl Subdivision schools with 25 rushing and 25 passing touchdowns this season: Texas A&M and Ohio State.
70
Plays Texas A&M has for more than 20 yards, which was one behind Oregon for the lead entering Thursday night’s action.
27.7
In the last five games, MSU’s opponents are operating at only 27.7-percent efficiency (18 of 65) on third-down conversions.
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