STARKVILLE — The doors to the Mississippi State football team’s locker room opened, and coach Dan Mullen led his team onto the field confidently, as the Bulldogs ran straight for their Saturday afternoon showdown with No. 2 Auburn.
They didn’t stop running until the second quarter.
Fueled by a capacity crowd and with the national spotlight shining brightly, MSU scored 21 first-quarter points to build a 21-0 lead before Auburn could blink.
“That’s on the defense. They did that,” MSU quarterback Dak Prescott said. “We went three-and-out our first possession and then they go out and get a pick. We score, then they get a fumble recovery. They just kept giving us the ball in great situations.”
The interception came courtesy of safety Jay Hughes on Auburn’s first play. It set up Prescott’s 34-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson. The fumble recovery was delivered by linebacker Benardrick McKinney, and led to a 1-yard touchdown run by tailback Josh Robinson, which gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead three-and-a-half minutes into the game. When Prescott scored from 2 yards out five minutes later, the No. 3 Bulldogs were cruising.
“A lot of that is our fans, the energy they had,” said MSU coach Dan Mullen, who improved to 42-28 in six seasons. “Every time we needed to make a play, especially early, guys stepped up and made the play.”
Prescott did his part, too, throwing for 134 of his 246 yards in the first quarter.
Dak Bounces Back
A week after tossing his name into legitimate Heisman Trophy contention with a 356-yard, five touchdown effort in a victory against then-No. 6 Texas A&M, Prescott earned the biggest win of his life Saturday. But even though he finished with 367 yards and three touchdowns, Prescott was far from perfect. He threw a pair of second-quarter interceptions, his first turnovers since Sept. 6.
“The team did a great job tonight,” said Prescott, who was 18 of 34 for 246 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 121 yards and two scores. “I had a subpar game, didn’t really play well. But the team rallied around me and they played great to pick me up.”
Prescott’s two second-quarter interceptions allowed Auburn to stay within striking distance, but he responded to the turnovers with a 15-yard touchdown run late in the first half to give the Bulldogs a 15-point halftime lead.
“He’s a great leader,” Mullen said of Prescott. “He didn’t play his best game, he’ll tell you he didn’t play his best game … but leaders move on to the next play. They forget the last one and make the next one. That’s what Dak did.”
Defense shines again
Prescott gets the bulk of the headlines, but MSU’s defense has been consistently fantastic in the 6-0 start. That continued Saturday as MSU held Auburn 21 points under its season average. The Bulldogs sacked quarterback Nick Marshall three times and forced four turnovers.
“I have a lot of confidence in our defense,” Mullen said. “They make all the plays they need to make. We made some mistakes offensively, made some bad calls offensively that put the defense in bad situations, but the defense did their job. They always do.”
Not perfect
Leading 21-0 midway through the first quarter, the Bulldogs threatened to run away with the game. But four turnovers — three in the second quarter — gave Auburn life.
The first turnover, an interception off the arm of punter Logan Cooke on a fake punt from the MSU 34-yard line, got the ball rolling. Prescott also was intercepted twice. When freshman punt returned Jamoral Graham muffed a punt that led to a fumble for the second week in a row, the Bulldogs had four turnovers and found themselves clinging to a 21-13 lead.
“Definitely a lot of things to clean up,” Mullen said. “We will work on that stuff. A lot of mistakes, a lot of silly mistakes. We can’t have the fumbles, can’t have the turnovers. Fortunately we have a bye week, so we will enjoy this win and get to work fixing that stuff this week.”
Danger, Josh Robinson
Throughout the season, MSU has turned to tailback Josh Robinson when tough yards were needed. That was the case again Saturday. Against a defensive line that is fourth in the Southeastern Conference against the run, Robinson was tasked with moving the chains and making big plays.
No problem.
The Franklinton, Louisiana, junior rushed 19 times for 97 yards and scored two touchdowns, which included a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 1-yard scoring plunge to put the game out of reach four minutes into the fourth quarter.
Bear of a target
Wilson continues to be Prescott’s favorite target, particularly in the red zone. The two hooked up for one touchdown, a 34-yarder in the first quarter, but the biggest play between the two was one that didn’t result in a catch at all. With MSU nursing a 28-20 lead and facing a fourth-and-8 at Auburn’s 26-yard line early in the fourth quarter, Mullen and Prescott decided to turn to Wilson on a fade route down the visitor’s sideline. While he didn’t make the catch, Wilson drew a pass interference penalty, giving the Bulldogs first-and-goal, which led to a field goal.
“We knew he’d either catch it or there’d be defensive pass interference, so it was a no-brainer to go his way,” Prescott said of Wilson.
Wilson had four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown.
Special delivery
Quadry Antoine is a sophomore linebacker who rarely plays, but he turned in perhaps the biggest play of the season late in the game.
Charging down the field on the ensuing kickoff after MSU took a 31-20 lead, Antoine tackled kick returner Ricardo Louis and jarred the ball loose. MSU linebacker Matthew Wells recovered the fumble and four plays later, Robinson scored on a 1-yard run to put the game away.
“That was so big,” Prescott said. “Big-time guys make plays like that, and Quadry answered when his number was called.”
Still Believin’
It has become a Davis Wade Stadium tradition. When the third quarter ends, the speakers blare Journey’s 1981 hit “Don’t Stop Believin'” while more than 60,000 fans with plenty of cowbells join in.
It has been noticed by MSU’s players.
“It feels so good when they play that song,” MSU defensive end Preston Smith said. “When that song came on, I started playing the air drums out there. The cowbells start ringing, everybody’s singing … That’s awesome.”
A well-deserved rest
Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they can enjoy this win. After consecutive victories against Texas A&M and Auburn at home, the Bulldogs will enjoy their second bye week in less than a month as they prepare for their next game, an Oct. 25 visit to Kentucky.
“We will enjoy this and then we will head into our bye week to get healthy, to get some things fixed,” Mullen said. “The difference in a pat on the back and a kick in the pants is about six inches. Tonight, we’ll let them enjoy the upper part for a few days. After that, well get back to work and we’ll move that down about six inches.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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