Dak Prescott is a load for defenders to bring down. (Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports)
It has been a truly magical season for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
It started last summer with the renovations and expansion of Scott Field at Davis Wade Stadium in the 100th year of the Bulldogs home stadium. The capacity went from 55,000 to more than 61,000 and it could not have come at a better time because State fans flocked to see their team play.
The Bulldogs responded by opening the season with nine consecutive wins that had them ranked No. 1 in the nation for five straight weeks before losing on the road to Alabama. The Bulldogs won their 10th game of the season the following game with a 51-0 win over Vanderbilt before a disappointing Egg Bowl loss to Ole Miss to finish 10-2.
The Bulldogs finished No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings and No. 8 in the two traditional media polls. State enters its Orange Bowl meeting with Georgia Tech as the highest ranked Mississippi State bowl team in history. This is Mississippi State’s 18th bowl game and fifth consecutive bowl game under coach Dan Mullen. The Bulldogs record is 10-7 in postseason play and has won six of their previous seven bowl games. This will be their third Orange Bowl appearance.
The Bulldogs’ unquestioned leader has been quarterback Dak Prescott. He led the Bulldogs to 506.2 yards of total offense, the best mark in the SEC and ninth-best in the nation. Prescott threw 17 touchdown passes on third-down plays, the top mark in the nation and broke 10 MSU single-season records along the way. He has scored 14 touchdowns, 13 rushing and one receiving and is responsible for 37 touchdowns which gives him the career school record with 68 touchdowns responsibility.
“If you are going to make a mold of what a modern-day NFL QB out to look like, I think it would be Prescott,” said ESPN’s Rece Davis. “He’s a natural leader.”
“Dak Prescott is a very talented guy in a lot of ways,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban. “He’s a big physical runner. He reminds you of [Tim] Tebow in a lot of ways but he’s also a very, very good passer.”
Prescott is the Bulldogs’ second-leading rusher with 939 yards and 13 touchdowns. Josh Robinson is State’s leading rusher with 1,128 yards and 11 touchdowns. De’Runnya Wilson led the team with 38 receptions for 575 yards and seven touchdowns. Wilson is one of six receivers who had over 20 catches and one of 12 different Bulldogs who caught at least one touchdown pass.
What Prescott is to the Bulldogs offense, 6-foot-5, 249-pound linebacker Bernardrick McKinney and 6-6, 270-pound defensive end Preston Smith are to the defense. McKinney led the team with 61 tackles and had 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. He recovered three fumbles, which was eighth in the FBS. Smith led the team with 14.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks.
“We came here on a mission,” said McKinney. “We’re going to do our jobs to win the game and focus on the game. When it is time to have fun, we’ll have fun and when it is time to lock in, we’ll lock in.”
The Bulldogs will face a Georgia Tech team out of the Atlantic Coast Conference that finished the season 10-3 after a 37-35 loss to Florida State in the ACC Championship Game. The Yellow Jackets have played in 42 previous bowls and has four national championships to their credit.
Any team playing Georgia Tech knows that Paul Johnson’s team is going to pound the football on the ground. Tech’s triple-option offense confounds defenses to the tune of 333.6 rushing yards per game while throwing for 135.2 yards.
“Obviously they’re going to be a great challenge,” said Mullen. “They run a very unique style on offense. They have a very underrated defense and they didn’t become one of the top teams in the country by not being great in every phase of the game.”
Tech quarterback Justin Thomas doesn’t throw much but he is productive with the passing game throwing for 1,594 and 17 touchdowns against five interceptions. Georgia Tech, as you might expect, had three runners gain over 700 yards for the season. Thomas led the way with 965 yards and five touchdowns. Zach Laskey added 788 yards and nine touchdowns while Synjyn Days had 753 yards and six touchdowns.
Andre Smelter is Georgia Tech’s leading receiver with 35 catches for 715 yards and seven touchdowns. Darren Waller added 31 receptions for 328 yards and five scores.
“Normally, you have to win our league championship game,” Johnson said. “Fortunately, like Mississippi State, the team that won our league is going to the Playoffs.”
This season saw Mississippi State win 10 games in the regular season for the first time in school history. Now, the players want more.
“The task at hand is to get 11 wins and go out with a win in Miami, but at the same time it is my last bowl game and we want to have a little fun while we’re down here,” said offensive lineman Ben Beckwith. “You always have the game in the back of your mind with everything you do and every time you do something you think about beating Georgia Tech, but we’ll have fun with it.”
The SEC Crystal Ball says Mississippi State will win it.
