Saturday Down South is chronicling Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott’s junior season as he pursues his chance to win this year’s Heisman Trophy. Prescott has led the Bulldogs to a 4-0 start to the season with wins over Southern Miss, UAB, South Alabama and most recently on the road against LSU.

Normally this weekly article is dedicated to what Prescott did in his last game and how it impacted his ongoing Heisman campaign, but since Mississippi State was off last weekend, we’ll take this opportunity to look ahead to Saturday’s showdown between MSU and Texas A&M to determine how Prescott can raise his Heisman stock against the Aggies.

The No. 1 key for Prescott to remain in the Heisman discussion after this weekend is to beat A&M. A win Saturday would mark back-to-back wins over top 10 teams from the SEC West, which would earn Mississippi State plenty of national attention going forward. And as the face of the team, any national attention the Bulldogs can garner will soon become national attention for Prescott as well.

So what does Prescott need to do to beat A&M? That answer is three-fold:

  1. Prescott must have at least three runs of 10 or more yards to open up the rest of Mississippi State’s offense. It doesn’t matter if he does this through designed runs or broken plays, but he must break off a few big runs to make Texas A&M respect his running abilities as much as his throwing abilities. If Prescott gashes A&M on designed runs, it’ll open gaping holes for tailback Josh Robinson to run through later in the game. If he beats the A&M defense on broken plays and scramble drills, it’ll allow receivers to sneak behind the defense the way Jameon Lewis did on his 74-yard touchdown reception against LSU. Texas A&M can defend against a traditional offense, as we saw last week when it limited a high powered Arkansas offense to just 28 points in an overtime win. However, if Prescott asserts his dominance in the run game, it’ll turn MSU’s “traditional” offense into a wild-card the Aggies will struggle to stop.
  2. He must hit on his first play-action pass to keep the A&M defense honest. Mississippi State has run the ball with great success through four games this season, and it will look to continue that trend against the Aggies to own time of possession and keep their offense off the field. Texas A&M will likely counter by loading the box to force Mississippi State to beat it through the air, and if Prescott hits on his first play-action pass, the Aggies will think twice about loading the box the rest of the game. It doesn’t have to be a big play, just a successful play to prove to A&M the Bulldogs offense has multiple dimensions.
  3. Prescott must consistently win on third downs to keep MSU’s offense on the field. The only way for Mississippi State to keep A&M’s offense off the field is to execute long, sustained drives ending with points. And the only way to execute long, sustained drives is to be successful on third downs. Prescott won’t need to throw the ball 40-50 times or throw for 300 yards to have a huge day, but he does need to consistently complete passes in obvious passing situations on third downs. If Prescott can have as much success dropping back and throwing the ball as he’s had running around the field and creating plays, it’ll be virtually impossible for A&M to stop him.

Prescott doesn’t need to overwhelm Texas A&M with any one element of his game, but he must bring all his skills as a thrower and a runner to the table Saturday afternoon. If he can assert his versatility, the Aggies will dictate how Prescott can beat them on any given play.