STARKVILLE — It’s easy to pinpoint record-setting quarterback Dak Prescott as the central cause of the Mississippi State football team’s 10-2 regular season.
It’s also natural to assume the same thing of quarterback Justin Thomas, who has led Georgia Tech to its second Orange Bowl in the past four years.
For Prescott, at least, the real work starts up front.
“I trust all of those guys up there,” Prescott said of MSU’s offensive line earlier this season. “It all starts with them. If they don’t block, the holes aren’t there for me and (tailback Josh Robinson). We know how valuable those guys are.”
One of the most veteran groups in the country, MSU’s offensive line was one of the driving forces in the team’s historic offensive season.
Nearly six hours away in Atlanta, the same can be said of a mature, physical Georgia Tech offensive line. Four of five Yellow Jacket starters up front started every game this season, and Georgia Tech finished the regular season No. 3 nationally in a pair of telling statistics, including sacks allowed (0.77 per game) and rushing yards.
On Dec. 31, the offensive lines will compete on one of the biggest stages in college football when their teams collide in the Orange Bowl. And like their seasons to this points, the chances for the Yellow Jackets or Bulldogs pulling out a victory will hinge upon which offensive line can assert its will.
Both offensive lines are led by senior leaders who have exploded onto the national scene. For Georgia Tech, that role is played by right guard Shaquille Mason, a 6-foot-1, 300-pounder who excels in the pulling role that has proven so vital in the triple option.
Mason, a three-year starter, was named a first-team All-American by USA Today on Thursday. Earlier this week, he was named second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference. Mason is a four-time winner of the ACC’s Offensive Lineman of the Week award.
For MSU, the lynch pin is become senior guard Ben Beckwith, a former walk-on who assumed a starting role for the first time last season with little fanfare.
A lightly regarded recruit five years ago out of Benton Academy, Beckwith had no major scholarship offers and opted to take the road less traveled, accepting a walk-on offer from MSU with plans to work into the rotation.
It worked.
“I knew I could play in the SEC,” Beckwith said. “Ever since then I have done everything (offensive line coach John Hevesy) has told me to do, and it has worked for me.”
Five years later, Beckwith is one of MSU’s most indispensable commodities, a three-time winner of the Southeastern Conference’s Offensive Lineman of the Week award and a first-team All-Southeastern Conference performer, according to the league’s media.
Experience isn’t a problem. For the Bulldogs, three seniors start on the offensive line. They are joined by junior guard Justin Malone and third-year sophomore Justin Senior at right tackle.
Center Dillon Day leads MSU with 45 career starts. Left tackle Blaine Clausell is right behind him at 41. Of 60 possible starting assignments for MSU’s five offensive linemen this season, MSU’s starters accounted for 59 of them. Only Day, suspended for the game against Texas A&M, missed a start.
Georgia Tech’s offensive line has enjoyed similar continuity. Four of the team’s five starters played in every game. Right tackle Errin Joe, a junior, is the only one who hasn’t started all 12 games.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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