STARKVILLE – As the 2014 college football season turned the corner and began to head for the home stretch Saturday, it did so with the Mississippi State Bulldogs watching from home due to the team’s second open date in three weeks.
For the first time in school history, the Bulldogs watched as the No. 1 team in the country.
Time will ultimately tell if MSU’s 2014 season goes down as the best in school history, but right now, one point can not be debated: The Bulldogs just turned in their best start in the history of the program.
First came a 3-0 start where MSU barely broke a sweat in dispatching Southern Miss, UAB, and South Alabama.
MSU’s season really began entering uncharted territory at LSU, though, as the Bulldogs earned a 34-29 over then-No. 8 LSU, the first sign that these Bulldogs are different.
Once MSU drilled Texas A&M 48-31 and followed that with a 38-23 thumping of No. 2 Auburn, it became clear that this MSU team was headed where no other MSU group had ever been. Last Sunday, it happened. One day after the Auburn win, MSU was unveiled as the nation’s No. 1 team in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25.
MSU coach Dan Mullen was flattered, but he knows the Bulldogs have unfinished business. Upon being told his team had completed the fastest rise from unranked to No. 1 in the history of the AP poll, Mullen didn’t blink.
“I just hope it’s not the fastest fall in history,” said Mullen, who has led MSU to nine straight wins and the top of the college football world. “The rankings, the polls, they don’t mean that much. It’s a neat deal and our kids like it, but ultimately, we’ll still be in this facility putting in the same work. They don’t give out trophies at the halfway point.”
No, they don’t. But we do. So with that, here’s MSU’s Offensive and Defensive MVP for the first half of this incredible season, along with three more observations.
Midseason MVP, Offense: Dak Prescott, Quarterback
It’s Prescott, though the list of candidates is long.
Sophomore wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson has morphed into one of the Southeastern Conference’s brightest young stars at wide receiver, and he leads MSU in touchdowns, catches and receiving yards. Of his six touchdowns, three have come in SEC play, as the 6-foot-6, 225-pound mismatch scored a touchdown in wins over No. 8 LSU, No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 2 Auburn.
Then there’s Robinson, who could very likely lead the SEC in rushing by the end of his junior season. Teaming with Prescott to give MSU the SEC’s deadliest one-two backfield combination, Robinson currently has 689 rushing yards and eight touchdowns to his credit. He currently sits 41 yards behind Georgia tailback Todd Gurley for the SEC lead, but with Gurley’s playing status uncertain going forward, the conference rushing crown could be Robinson’s to lose. Even without that title, though, Robinson has been a revelation for the Bulldogs in 2014, averaging a team-best seven yards per carry, and he has scored multiple touchdowns in half of MSU’s games this season.
“He can do it all,” said Prescott of Robinson. “He’s just Josh. He makes this offense go.”
But only one Bulldog is currently the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, given annually to the nation’s best player. And that’s Prescott, the junior quarterback from Haughton, Louisiana who graces the cover of Sports Illustrated this week due to his meteoric rise. It’s a rise that coincides with the Bulldogs’ ascent from the realm of the unranked to the top of the college football world, as the Bulldogs reached that lofty perch on the back of Prescott. Already MSU’s career touchdown leader – he broke that mark against Auburn – Prescott has been one of the nation’s best players in 2014, and he’s done it with his arm and his legs.
So far, MSU’s leader has thrown for 1,478 yards and 14 touchdowns, keeping him on pace to break the team’s season record for both categories. He’s also rushed for 576 yards and eight scores, including two each against Auburn and Texas A&M, as well as a season-defining 56-yard romp in the win at LSU.
“He’s one of the best players in the country,” said Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin after Prescott’s 356-yard, five-touchdown evisceration of the Aggies.
Midseason MVP, Defense: Preston Smith, Defensive End
Again, the list of potential candidates is long.
There’s linebacker Beniquez Brown, who has emerged as one of MSU’s emotional and intellectual leaders on defense, serving as an extra coach of the field for defensive coordinator Geoff Collins while placing second on the team in total tackles.
There’s also linebacker Richie Brown, who had three interceptions against Texas A&M on his way to national defensive player of the week honors.
Cornerback Will Redmond has been quietly spectacular as well, leading the Bulldogs with 10 tackles in the win against Texas A&M.
But no Bulldog has been as consistently strong defensively as defensive end Preston Smith, the 6-foot-6, 267-pound force that earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors in each of the season’s first three weeks.
Smith leads MSU in sacks with five, has added a pair of interceptions two blocked field goals, nine tackles for loss and he scored one of MSU’s two defensive touchdowns this season.
Three More Midseason Observations
These Bulldogs have resolve: It became evident early that nothing fazes these Bulldogs.
That much was made clear on one specific play at LSU. After leading his team to a 17-3 halftime lead over the No. 8 Tigers, Prescott made a rare mistake coming out of halftime fumbling on the first play of the second half. When LSU defensive end Danielle Hunter returned the fumble 25 yards for a touchdown, LSU had cut the Bulldogs’ lead in half and had all the momentum.
Not for long, though. Prescott, in a fashion rarely seen in previous MSU editions, scored on a dramatic 56-yard run five plays later, then added a 74-yard touchdown pass to Jameon Lewis on the Bulldogs’ next drive to turn LSU’s threat into a 31-10 blowout after three quarters.
“That’s just who he is,” said Mullen of Prescott. “Nothing bothers him.”
And nothing has bothered the Bulldogs. After starting center Dillon Day was suspended by the league for actions in the LSU game, MSU’s offensive line simply replaced him with guard Ben Beckwith and kept rolling, paving the way for 314 rushing yards against Texas A&M.
When MSU uncharacteristically committed four straight turnovers in the first half against Auburn, Prescott finished the half with a 15-yard touchdown to push the lead back to double digits, setting the stage for one of the biggest wins in program history.
“That’s our team, that’s our mindset,” said Mullen “These guys have put in the work and that’s the good thing about having a veteran team. They don’t get down on themselves, no matter what happens.”
Defensive dominance: This Bulldogs’ defense makes plays. It started in the opening week and has stayed consistent throughout. Through six games, MSU’s defense leads the conference in sacks (21) and tackles for loss (45) and ranks No. 2 in the country in red zone scoring percentage, all hallmarks of a Collins-led defense.
“We want to get after you up front,” said Collins. “We want to play in the opposing backfield, so sacks, tackles for loss, negative plays, that’s what we are after.”
And the MSU defensive backfield, thought to be the team’s weakness after a 435-yard outing against UAB, is second in the SEC with 11 interceptions and No. 8 in the country in completion percentage, allowing a completion just 51 percent of the time.
Rarely tested: On paper, the Bulldogs are currently ranked No. 1 because of three straight wins over top 10 teams, a first in school history.
But more than that, MSU is on top because of how it has won those games. Following last Saturday’s 15-point win over Auburn, MSU has entered the fourth quarter with a lead in all six games, and only one of those leads (eight points against Auburn) was under 20 points. Further, MSU has led by at least 20 points in all three SEC wins.
Follow Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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