Sept. 9, 2004 is the day Mississippi State lost at home to Maine in Davis-Wade Stadium by a score of 9-7. This was probably the lowest day in MSU football history, which says a lot looking at the history of MSU football. However, fast forward 11 years later and MSU is on top of the world, No. 1 in the country and going through the best two years in its history.
Most of the responsibility for this can be given to one man, Dak Prescott.
Prescott is the greatest player in MSU football history, it is non debatable. He has scored 107 total touchdowns, 64 passing, 40 rushing and three receiving. That is 642 points in touchdowns. He has 8,742 passing yards, 2,411 rushing yards and 88 receiving yards in his career. He was MSU’s highest ever finisher on the Heisman ballot when he finished eighth last season and holds every single passing record in MSU history.
MSU is no longer seen as a SEC cellar dweller but as a legitimate contender for the SEC West every year. They are consistently ranked in the AP polls. They have been in every College Football playoff ranking but one since it began in 2014. If someone had said these things 30 years ago, people would have laughed. The program is starting a golden era of MSU football and it all began because of Prescott.
MSU Head coach Dan Mullen, who coached Heisman winner Tim Tebow and No. 1 overall draft pick Alex Smith, had high praise for Prescott after MSU beat Arkansas last weekend.
“I’d say he (Dak) might be the best player I’ve ever coached,” Mullen said. “Look at my resume, that’s pretty impressive.”
Speaking of the MSU versus Arkansas game last weekend, which MSU won 51-50 in a thriller, Dak might have had the best game of his career. In a shootout, he completed 38 of his 50 passes for 508 yards, five passing touchdowns and one interception. He also had 46 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. That game also made Prescott only the second player in SEC history to have 550 plus yards of total offense in a single game, the other was Johnny Manziel.
Prescott’s journey has not been without its own adversities. Dak’s mother Peggy Prescott died of colon cancer on Nov. 4, 2013. The entire MSU community rallied around Prescott and it was one of the defining moments of that year for the MSU team. Showing his resilience, he would go on to play in a game against Texas A&M, which MSU lost 51-41, that Saturday. Just six days after his mother passed away.
Mullen spoke of Prescott after that game saying, “He’s an amazing young man beyond being a football player; a man that most parents would be proud if their kids grew up that way.”
Dak has done it the right way. Where greats like Johnny Manziel were in the news every week with the next big scandal, there never has been any baggage for Prescott. He operated with class on and off the field and was a great ambassador for the school. He truly is all a coach wants from his Quarterback on and off the field.
So, Prescott will take the field for the last time at Davis-Wade this Saturday against Ole Miss. It will be senior night and an emotional night for sure as MSU will say good bye to the best player to don the Maroon and White. Enjoy the last few moments watching Dak line-up behind the center, because our genration has been affored the opportunity to witness the greatest football player Mississippi State University has ever seen.
