Let’s Play Hypothetical: Cam Newton or Dak Prescott

Earlier this week I was posed the question on twitter by Tyler Keith, one of our listeners to our Make it Rain Sports Radio Show (which can be heard every Tuesday on Rebel and Bulldog Sports Radio), “IF State signed Cam Newton which MSU team would be better; This year’s State team or that year (2010)?

I sat and thought about that for about two minutes and asked him to let me get back to him on that, because honestly that’s a great question.  Yes I know Newton signed with Auburn and won a national title, but play along with me here for a minute.

Just a little background information here before we get going should help.  Auburn finished the 2010 season 14-0 and National Champions, while Mississippi State finished 9-4 and fifth in the West.  That year the West, like most years was loaded.  Arkansas finished the year 10-3, LSU 11-2 and Alabama 10-3.

Again, remember – Cam Newton was set to sign with the Bulldogs and would’ve been the quarterback for Mississippi State in the 2010 season instead of Chris Relf. Dak Prescott was committed to the Bulldogs at the time and was scheduled to enroll the coming January for spring practice.

So if I had to choose one, which scenario would I pick?  Newton in a Bulldog uniform or Prescott and the number-one Bulldogs of 2014 with tons of work left to do? Which would you pick?

First let’s look at the Bulldogs schedule of 2010 and see what might have changed with Newton at the helm.

The Bulldogs blasted Memphis in game one, but lost to Auburn and Newton in game two, 17-14.  Immediately I think we can assume the Bulldogs would have beaten the Tigers with Newton on their side, so that’s a one game swing in the season.

The following week the Bulldogs went down to Baton Rouge and lost to the Tigers 29-7, but that game was 12-7 in the middle of the third period.  The Bulldogs ended up throwing five-interceptions that day so you would assume Newton would have at least cut that number in half.  But, at the end of the day, I’m not sure the Bulldogs could have won that ballgame, even with Newton.

The Bulldogs beat Georgia, Alcorn State, Houston, Florida, UAB and Kentucky in succession so we would assume that would happen with Newton as well.

Then the Bulldogs rolled into Tuscaloosa and took a 30-10 thumping.  That game was a 6-3 score at the end of the first period, with Alabama leading the way, but again I just don’t think Newton would have made that big a difference – I’ll explain in a moment.

The Bulldogs lost a close one to Arkansas the following week (38-31) so we will assume the Bulldogs flip that score with Newton.

Mississippi State finished the year out thumping Mississippi, then Michigan in the Gator Bowl.  If we flip two ball games because of Newton, the Bulldogs would have finished 10-2 and had a great year.  State would have been in a two way tie for first in the west with LSU at 6-2 and the Tigers would have gone on to Atlanta.

The 2014 Bulldogs and Dak Prescott meanwhile have a chance to do some history writing of their own tomorrow in Tuscaloosa as their season is still being played out in real time.  Best case scenario for this team is 12-0 and worst case is 10-2, in the regular season.

If you look at Prescott’s numbers at this juncture of the 2014 season, they are very similar to Newton, as that has been well documented.

Vick Ballard was MSU’s top rusher in 2010 with 981-yards and 20-touchdowns.  Josh Robinson has already eclipsed Ballards total-yards by four, with three games to go, while scoring 11-touchdowns.

The 2010 Bulldogs best pass catcher was Chad Bumphis with 634-yards and five scores.  He was complemented by Arceto Clark (362-yards, 3 TDs), Brandon Heavens (316-yards, 2 TDs) and Chris Smith ( 264-yards, 1 TD).

The 2014 Bulldogs have seven wide-receivers with right at 200-yards receiving or more and all are averaging about 2-yards more per catch than anyone on the 2010 team; add in the fact the 2010 team had nobody like De’Runnya Wilson or Fred Brown and Ross that could stretch the field.  Chad Bumphis was the Bulldogs lone threat down the field at 5-10.

Defensively the 2010 Manny Diaz led Bulldogs gave up 19.8 points per game, where Geoff Collins group is giving up 19.7 PPG.

The 2010 defense collected 26-sacks and 13-interceptions, while having a turnover ratio of (plus-7). Teams had a 72.5% success rate in the red zone against the 2010 Bulldogs as well.

The 2014 defense has thus far collected 32-sacks, 12-interceptions, have a turnover ratio of zero, but teams are only scoring 58% of the time when they reach the Bulldog red zone.

So after all of that, my answer is based on better receivers in 2014, a more physical, opportunistic defense and the fact that State has already beaten everyone in the west minus Alabama and Mississippi – I take Dak Prescott over Cam Newton.

No doubt Newton would have made State that much better in 2010, but the team as a whole would not be on the same level as the 2014 version.

After all the kicking and screaming about Cam Newton going to Auburn in 2010 by Mississippi State fans, who would have thought a 3-star quarterback from Haughton, LA, who would enter spring practice a few months after Auburn’s National Title run, would eventually make everyone in Maroon forget about Cam Newton?

A win in Tuscaloosa and Prescott will be well on his way to mimicking Newton’s 2010 accomplishments and cementing himself as the greatest Bulldog quarterback of all time.  How bout them apples?

Of course don’t get me wrong, if I had my rather’s, Prescott would have followed Newton in Maroon, creating a pipeline of dual threat quarterbacks in Starkville, but that wasn’t the question posed by Tyler.

I loved Cam Newton and the way he played, but Number-15 has made me forget about the Newton fiasco.

After I think about it, I’d take Dak Prescott over Cam Newton any day, and that’s something none of us would have said back a few years ago.