Texas A&M Loses At Mississippi State

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STARKVILLE, Miss. — With all eyes around the country on the state of Mississippi, No. 12 Mississippi State was the first to make some noise on Saturday.

The Bulldogs used a dominating offensive performance led by quarterback Dak Prescott’s 341 yards of total offense and strong defense to upset No. 6 Texas A&M, 48-31, as Ole Miss was entertaining Alabama across the state.

“We did what we needed to do to win,” coach Dan Mullen said. “We made a couple of errors, but we did a lot of things that are real important to do to win.

“We knew it would be a battle and we told our guys we have to continue to play for four quarters.”

Two quarterbacks entered the ball game as the centerpiece of the SEC West.

Kenny Hill of Texas A&M put up another 300-yard effort, but it was Prescott who emerged as the quarterback to watch moving forward. Decision-making, accuracy in the passing game and grit could have put him in the conversation for the Heisman trophy this coming week.

It was the Aggies (5-1, 2-1 in the SEC) who came out of the gate hot to begin the game in what seemed to be a sign of things to come.

Hill drove Texas A&M 69 yards down the field on six plays and connected with Josh Reynolds for a 13-yard score to take a 7-0 lead only 1:41 into the game.

The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0) came back with a punch of their own that would

put them in the driver’s seat for the duration of the game.

Prescott sent Mississippi State down the field 75 yards on seven plays and running back Josh Robinson ended the drive with a two-yard score to tie the game, 7-7.

The Bulldogs made a statement the rest of the way on both sides of the ball, as Prescott did it with his arm and his legs on the way to outscoring the Aggies, 48-24, after the opening score.

“Dak Prescott was extremely efficient in his handling and how he played running the ball,” Aggie Head Coach Kevin Sumlin said. “(Mississippi State) made some plays on the perimeter in tight coverage, and some of the back shoulder throws were perfect.”

The Aggies scored two late touchdowns, but the game was never in doubt for Mississippi State after the first half.

As the clock hit zero, the Bulldogs completed a second straight victory over a top-10 team, accomplishing the feat for the first time in school history. The Bulldogs beat LSU two weeks ago.

After a 2-26 start against top 25 teams, Mullen has earned two of his biggest wins of his career.

“This was a pretty big statement,” Prescott said. “I think we made a Mississippi STATEment. This game was very big. We want to win the SEC West, so knocking off another top 10 team was big for us.”

Prescott completed 19-of-25 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns and ran 23 times for 77 yards and three more scores. Josh Robinson had his third-consecutive 100-yard rushing performance with 17 carries for 107 yards and two scores.

“(Dak) played like he has all year, like one of the best players in the country,” Sumlin said. “We weren’t able to match that as a team.”

Hill passed for 365 yards by completed 37-of-62 passes, with four touchdowns and three interceptions, all by linebacker Richie Brown.

The Aggies had a 10-catch performance from freshman receiver Ricky Seal-Jones, as he netted 72 yards. Freshman Speedy Noil had three catches for 50 yards and two touchdowns, both coming late in the ball game.

“We watch the film, and when the clock hits zero on the film we start to prepare for the next week,” Hill said of the loss. “We have to keep fighting. We have a long season ahead of us and we are only on game six.”

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