The hype started late last season. Dak Prescott came into a frigid Egg Bowl with a hurt shoulder in the fourth quarter. Prescott would lead the Bulldogs to an overtime comeback victory that will be fondly remembered by Bulldog fans for decades to come. The national media took notice; Prescott turned in a record-breaking performance in the Liberty Bowl that put him on the map.
During the entire off-season, the hype around Prescott began to rise. Almost every college football writer or analyst had Prescott as a dark horse candidate to win the Heisman. 
Through the first three games Prescott, who was named this week’s Athlon Sports National Player of the Week, led the Bulldogs to three blowouts, but against lesser competition was expected. The question began to be begged; what about against top-tier SEC talent? Can he continue his strong play?
“Heisman Trophy winners don’t lose five or six games,” Prescott said to sportingnews.com before the season began.
Prescott knew Saturday, in his home state, against an Louisiana State University that didn’t recruit him until late in his senior season, was the perfect stage to show the nation the hype was warranted. 
The second half of Saturday’s game opened up with a Prescott run up the middle, a typical play considering Mississippi State University was up 17-3 at the time in one of the hardest places to win a football game on any given Saturday. Prescott, of course, fumbled the ball away and LSU would return it for a touchdown.
Death Valley was back to its wild self, LSU was only down a touchdown and it seemed like MSU would fold, because that is just what MSU does. The only difference was a Louisiana-native wearing number 15. Prescott went up to almost every offensive player to what appeared to be taking the blame, and assure his teammates that it wouldn’t happen again. It would not.
On the ensuing drive Prescott had his first Heisman moment of the season. On third and short Dan Mullen dialed a classic. A Prescott run up the middle, he got past the line of scrimmage and showed an immediate burst into the secondary. He stiff-armed the safety, cut back to the right and flew through the air to complete a 56-yard touchdown run. 
“You are going to put the ball in his hands to make things happen at the key moments in the game,” Mullen told reporters after the game.
“And we did that for the whole game, and he stepped up and made those plays.”
The very next possession, Prescott surveyed the field for a pass. His pocket broke down, and Prescott tucked the ball for another run. LSU was ready for the improvisation maneuver and stopped him in his tracks, but Prescott was not done yet. He quickly ran back to left to find a wide open Jameon Lewis streaking down the left sideline for a 74-yard touchdown pass, a 31-10 lead and the attention of every Heisman voter in America. 
“He ad-libbed and ran their offense extremely well,” LSU coach Les Miles said about Prescott to reporters after the game. “Hats off to him, a very quality competitor.”
Through the first four games of the season, Prescott has amassed 964 passing yards, 378 rushing yards and 15 total touchdowns including a touchdown catch from a trick play. Prescott already has the stats and now has the Heisman moments on a national stage. Prescott has done everything thing he can to be a part of the Heisman conversation. The only thing left will be a storybook season for the team from Starkville.