Mississippi State football was ranked No. 1 for five weeks of the 2014 season. That was a program first. Before that, plenty of Bulldogs were No. 1 in the hearts of some of the sport’s most passionate fans.

This list of the 10 greatest players in Mississippi State football history ranges from a wishbone stud to a new-age hero.

10. John Bond, QB

A pro-style passer turned into a wishbone quarterback from 1980-83. Bond ranks third in Mississippi State history with 6,901 career total yards. He threw for 4,621 yards and rushed for 2,280, an SEC rushing mark for quarterbacks that lasted nearly two decades. Bond is part of the 1980 6-3 win over Alabama, perhaps the school’s greatest win and is the only quarterback in history to beat LSU four times.

9. Mardye McDole, WR

McDole was a three-time All-SEC receiver who finished his college career as MSU’s all-time leading receiver in yards (2,214) and catches (116). Those numbers now rank third and ninth on the school’s career lists. He led the SEC in catches and yards-per-catch as a sophomore and was a Sporting News All-American his senior season. His 1,035 receiving yards in 1978 remains a school high mark.

8. Johnthan Banks, DB

Johnthan Banks holds or shares the Bulldogs' record for career INTs (16) and pick-sixes (3).

Banks made an immediate impact and left Mississippi State with a school-record 16 interceptions (tied with Walt Harris). That’s also tied for seventh in SEC history. In four seasons, he played in 51 games, had 221 tackles and four sacks. As a senior, he was a first-team All-SEC and All-American and won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back.

7. Ray Costict, LB

Costict is the Bulldogs’ all-time leading tackler with 467 for his career, despite playing fullback his freshman season. He was a first-team All-SEC, second-team All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 1976. Costict still holds the school record with 29 tackles in a game, against Kentucky in 1976. He went into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.

6. Eric Moulds, WR

Moulds caught 118 passes for 2,022 yards and 17 touchdowns in three years. He ranks fifth on the school’s receiving list and fourth in touchdowns. The versatile Moulds led the NCAA in 1994 with 32.8 yards per kick return. Considered by many to be the greatest receiver in Mississippi State history, Moulds was a two-time All-SEC pick and a 2005 pick for the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.

5. Kent Hull, C

Hull started at center as a 200-pound freshman and made the All-SEC freshman team. He was second team All-SEC in 1980 and started all four seasons. His durability was phenomenal, once playing 108 consecutive games in the NFL. In 1989, he did no miss a single snap. Hull was Jim Kelly’s center for the Buffalo Bills’ AFC title run from 1990-93. The Kent Hull Trophy is given annually to Mississippi’s top offensive lineman.

4. Jackie Parker, QB

2 Mississippi State players are in the College Football Hall of Fame: Jackie Parker and D.D. Lewis.

Before Dak, there was Jack. Parker led the NCAA with 120 points in 1952, a mark that stood as an SEC record for 40 years. He was All-SEC in 1952 and 1953 and an All-American in 1952. Before he played football for the Bulldogs, he played shortstop for the baseball team because of a coaching policy against married players. Parker was a 1976 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame.

3. D.D. Lewis, LB

Lewis played two ways and started for three seasons during the mid-1960s. He was a two-time All-SEC pick and an All-American as a senior. A 2001 College Football Hall-of-Famer, Lewis was once called by Bear Bryant “the best linebacker in the country.” He led the Bulldogs in tackles for three seasons, a rare shining star on a team that won one SEC game and went 7-23.

2. Johnie Cooks, LB

Cooks was a terror to every offense he faced. In four seasons at Mississippi State, the 6-4, 243-pound linebacker amassed 373 tackles, 241 of them solo. He had 24 tackles against Auburn as a junior and was named All-SEC four times. Cooks was the Defensive MVP of the 1981 Hall of Fame Bowl, a 10-0 win against Kansas in Birmingham and was named All-American. Baltimore took Cooks No. 2 overall in the 1982 NFL Draft.

1. Dak Prescott, QB

Prescott transcended the game and even the bitter in-state rivalry with Ole Miss. Prescott came to Starkville unheralded and left with 38 school records. He was the highest-drafted quarterback in Mississippi State history.

A career underdog, Prescott led the Bulldogs to a school-record 19 wins in two seasons and a monumental rise to No. 1 for five weeks on the 2014 season. His rise to Dallas Cowboys starter as a rookie resonated throughout Mississippi, a mesmerizing player matched by maybe only dually-admired Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning.