Dak Prescott and Bo Wallace Interception Obsession

Nov 8, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) rolls out to pass against the UT Martin Skyhawks during the first quarter at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

The Egg Bowl Rivalry has always been special. There is lots of animosity, and people like to hurl barbs in the direction of the opposing side. There was a chance that the Egg Bowl was going to be the game of the year, but 3 straight SEC losses by Ole Miss and a loss to Alabama by Mississippi State has let a little bit of the air out of the balloon for the game. But it is still one of the top games of the week for what is known as Rivalry Week. Mississippi State is still playing for a chance in the SEC Championship Game if Auburn can win the Iron Bowl, and possibly a spot in the first ever College Football Playoff.

Both teams came in to this season with heightened expectations. With the heightened expectations came heightened animosity early. The Dak Prescott as a dark horse Heisman contender ramped it up another notch. This led to both fans trumpeting their quarterback as the better player. It has been interesting to see the way people have responded.

It was fun for a while to watch unfold, but it has become dull to watch now. Our own Jake Wimberly has been trying to compare the two using a Fantasy Football model, but everyone seems to have abandoned any logical discourse on the two players. The debate about who was the better quarterback has devolved into a celebration every time one of the other quarterbacks throws an interception. Here are some examples from Mississippi State fans:

And Ole Miss fans aren’t any better. This is what the discourse on Dak Prescott has been like.

So we are just going to abandon actual evaluations of a player and just throw parties every time one of them throws an interception? Are we that lazy? I think we can do better.

The problem we are ultimately facing is that the two players aren’t easily comparable. They have a different skill set and run different offenses. So instead of actually challenging ourselves as fans and trying to have an intelligent conversation, we have decided to just troll each other with talk of interceptions. I certainly believe that Dak has been the better player, but that isn’t surprising. I also don’t think it makes me a homer to think that. Dak will likely be the first team All SEC quarterback, and he still has a good chance of being a Heisman trophy finalist, even though he probably won’t win the award. Unfortunately, doing a statistical breakdown doesn’t do much good, but just to show that the stats don’t drastically favor Bo, here they are.

The passing stats are a virtual wash. Dak Prescott and Bo Wallace have done almost the same exact thing in the passing game this year. Prescott obviously has the clear advantage in the running game. So yeah, I will go with Dak, but it isn’t because of stats. I think Dan Mullen has done a better job building the offense to allow Prescott to flourish. The fact that Ole Miss continues to struggle to run the ball is one of the biggest things holding Bo Wallace back. I also believe that if you put Prescott in Freeze;s offense, and Wallace in Mullen’s offense, both would struggle mightily. It’s not a knock on either player, it’s just the way the game works.

But I know that isn’t as much fun as throwing up interceptions and attaching memes of people drinking water and saying but that’s none of my business. If you’re interested in having an intelligent conversation, then comment or find me on Twitter. If you aren’t, then continue on as you were.