Football is a team game. That may seem obvious, but I mean football is a true team game.

Unlike baseball, a game predicated on one-on-one matchups between pitcher and hitter, or basketball, a game where one individual can greatly effect the final outcome, football truly requires all 11 players on the field to play in unison for a team to come away victorious.

But sometimes, especially at the college level, there are teams that sure feel like they’re being carried by one individual. Mississippi State may be one of those teams in 2015, with its focal point being first-team All-SEC quarterback Dak Prescott. The Bulldogs lost more than half their starters on both sides of the ball from last year, and they return zero rushers and only two receivers with more than 300 yards last season.

Mississippi State has talent at other spots, but that talent doesn’t quite stack up to the rest of the loaded SEC West. Prescott is one of few MSU starters who would also likely start on most other SEC teams, and the Bulldogs will only go as far as he takes them this fall.

Prescott isn’t the first individual star put in this position. A number of SEC legends have taken on the same responsibilities, and many (but not all) thrived in almost single-handedly carrying their teams.

Can Prescott do the same? Let’s see how he stacks up to some former stars whose shoes he may fill in 2015:

Ole Miss 1969 — Archie Manning: As a second-year starter, the eldest original Manning had a brilliant year for Ole Miss, posting career highs in passing and rushing yards while leading the Rebels to an 8-3 mark at season’s end. Manning was not only the team’s leading passer (of course), but he was also the team’s leading rusher with 502 yards. Furthermore, he only had one receiver top the 500-yard mark, but he still led the Rebels past the 30-point plateau four times on the year, twice exceeding 45 points.

Georgia 1982 — Herschel Walker: The Bulldogs finished 11-1 in 1982, Walker’s Heisman season, despite not throwing for 1,000 as a team for the entire season and despite its leading receiver posting only 175 yards for the season. That’s how good Walker (and, to be fair, Georgia’s defense) was that season. He ran for more than 1,700 yards and 16 touchdowns, and maintained a yards per carry average of better than 5 all season despite facing loaded defensive fronts on every snap. He didn’t win the Heisman that year, he seized it and never left anyone else a chance.

Kentucky 1998 — Tim Couch: Not only did Couch throw for 4,200 yards and 36 touchdowns as a senior in 1998, but he did so on an offense without a 1,000-yard rusher and with only one receiver topping 600 yards. If you’re wondering, that’s the epitome of spreading the ball around. Not to mention, Kentucky’s defense that season allowed 30 points per game, part of which was due to the Cats’ Air Raid offense that rarely consumed much time, but part of which was indeed due to a lack of talent. Kentucky closed the year with a 7-5 record, but that didn’t keep Couch from becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.

Auburn 2010 — Cam Newton: Newton did play with a 1,000-yard rusher his lone year at Auburn in Michael Dyer, who finished with just shy of 1,100 yards in 2010, but Newton still led the team in rushing with more than 1,400 yards in addition to his 2,800 yards passing. He threw for 30 touchdowns and ran for 20 more, and he accounted for 50 of Auburn’s 75 touchdowns as a team (two of every three scores including defensive and special teams touchdowns). Newton only had three receivers catch more than 17 passes, and did a lot with very little at the receiver position upon leading Auburn to a 14-0 record and a BCS championship.

What does this mean for Prescott? Well, last year Prescott not only threw for 3,000 yards but also finished second on the team with 986 yards rushing. He actually led the team in rushing two years ago with more than 850 yards, and he only started seven games that year. So he is clearly a player who is athletic enough, and savvy enough, to present two true threats on every play. That bodes will for his ability to maximize the talent around him in 2015. The grueling West division won’t do him any favors, but Prescott has a great shot to replicate what a guy like Manning did for MSU’s biggest rival more than 45 years ago, leading his team in passing and rushing as the top playmaker in the conference.