Can Dak Prescott Enter the Heisman Race?
Oct 24, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) celebrates after running for a touchdown during the first quarter of the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Dak Prescott put on a quarterback clinic against the Kentucky Wildcats. The Bulldogs romped to an easy 42-16 win over the Wildcats.
It was arguably the best game in Dak Prescott’s career, despite the fact Dak Prescott threw his first interception since last season’s Orange Bowl. Dak completed 25 of 35 pass attempts with 3 touchdown receptions, and 1 interception with 348 passing yards on the night. Prescott also tacked on 114 yards rushing on 13 carries and 3 touchdowns.The 6 touchdowns Dak Prescott accounted for was the most in his career.
As Dak began to accumulate bigger and bigger numbers, Brent Musburger, who was calling the game for the SEC Network, began to openly campaign campaign for Dak to be included in the Heisman race. His numbers for the year are still really impressive. After the huge game, Prescott’s numbers look like this.
- Completions: 173
- Attempts: 260
- Completion Percentage: 66.5%
- Passing Yards: 2,048
- Touchdowns: 14
- Interceptions: 1
- Rushing Yards: 439
- Rushing Touchdowns: 7
- Total Yards: 2,487
- Total Touchdowns: 21
Those are great numbers. And the fact Dak’s best game came against an SEC opponent is a nice little added bonus as well.
But if Mississippi State fans want to see Dak Prescott in New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation, he needs the remaining four games to look a lot like the one he had tonight.
But most importantly, Dak Prescott needs to reverse the narrative surrounding him that was created last season in November. Against Alabama, Prescott had the worst game of his season, and the mistakes he made in that game were the biggest contributors to Mississippi State losing that game.
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No one is going to start pushing Dak Prescott as a Heisman Trophy candidate because of this game against Kentucky. The Bulldogs have the last weekend in October off, but their first game in November against Missouri won’t help either. Missouri lost to Vanderbilt and only scored three points, so winning and winning big, even on the road, won’t do anything to help Prescott. The game that matters is the Alabama game.
Dak Prescott could go in and put his name in the middle of the Heisman discussion if Alabama comes to Starkville, and Dak Prescott does something similar to what he did against Kentucky. It would be similar to what Johnny Manziel did in 2012 against Alabama.
A huge game against the Tide would allow Prescott to make his final push against Arkansas and Ole Miss. But first things first. Prescott won’t have a prayer of getting an invitation to New York if the Bulldogs don’t win in 11 days in Columbia.