Stop Asking to Take the Football Away from Dak Prescott

Oct 10, 2015; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott (15) walks to the sideline before the game against the Troy Trojans at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

I have a pretty set routine when I watch one of Mississippi State’s football games. I sit on my couch with my computer on and Tweetdeck running. then I make my observations about the game through Twitter.

Increasingly this season, I have sent out tweets along these lines.

"Great throw from Dak Prescott on 3rd and 9 to find Fred Ross for the first down."

And a typical response from fans will go along these lines.

"Wouldn’t have to be throwing on 3rd and 9 if we played (Lee, Williams, Dear) at running back!!!"

And yes, it normally includes three exclamation points or more. And after 7 games, I’m over it. Not only am I over it, I’m befuddled by it.

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Dak Prescott is the greatest quarterback to ever play for Mississippi State. There is no denying this. He’s done things that most Mississippi State fans had dreamed would never be possible by a quarterback at the school.

And we want to take the ball away from him and hand it to inexperienced freshmen? How does that make sense?

Yes, I know we want a running game. Mississippi State has never won football games by being a pass first team. But do you really think after 7 games a running game is going to miraculously appear?

And before you start talking about the freshmen again, don’t you think if they were showing out in practice Mullen would play them. Mullen wants a running game much more than you do. He has on many occasions said he likes to have a balanced offense, so the only way he can get a balanced offense is to establish a running game.

The facts of the matter are simple. Both Williams and Lee have a total of under 50 touches combined and have fumbled the ball twice. I’m very confident the Bulldogs would have more yards per carry and have more total rushing yards if they played more, but there would also be more critical mistakes made that could cost us a game. This is what the coaches are seeing in practice so they are hesitant to play them.

The most mind boggling part of all this to me is fans aren’t happy Dan Mullen won’t take the ball out of the hands of our most dynamic offensive weapon in the history of the school. Or we get upset because he decided to throw for the first down instead of put himself in harm’s way and run for that first down instead.

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Why Mississippi State fans hate seeing Dak Prescott throw the ball so much simply doesn’t make sense. Consider these numbers.

• Dak Prescott has a completion percentage this season that is four percent higher than any other quarterback in Mississippi State history. The person who is four percent behind him is 2014 Dak Prescott.
• Dak Prescott passed for more yards than any quarterback at Mississippi State last season when he passed for 3, 449 yards. Through 7 games in 2014, Prescott had 1,694 yards which is four less than the 1,700 he has thrown for this season.
• The only way Mississippi State has turned the ball over is by running the ball. We have 7 turnovers, all on fumbles. We protect the ball better as an offense when we throw it.

Mississippi State is a good passing team. We are a very good passing team. How good? Here are some more numbers for you.

• Only Ole Miss has thrown for more passing yards than Mississippi State in the SEC.
• The only player in the SEC with a higher completion percentage than Dak Prescott is Will Grier, and he won’t be playing any more this season.
• Kyle Allen and Chad Kelly have both thrown for more passing touchdowns than Dak Prescott, but they have also thrown 5 and 7 interceptions respectively. Dak Prescott hasn’t thrown a single one.

Next: Will Mississippi State's Blackout Look Like Ohio State's?

It’s okay to embrace Mississippi State as a passing team. We have a legend playing quarterback. We don’t have to have 250 or 300 yards rushing per game to be successful. As long as the offense is in the hands of Dak Prescott, I’ll feel pretty good about our chances.