Mississippi State was never in danger of losing Saturday to Northwestern (La.) State, but that is only part of the story. In the 62-13 win, the Bulldogs got other things on their agenda accomplished.

5 TAKEAWAYS

  • Dak Prescott was cool in the heat. Not only was the temperature on the field at Davis-Wade Stadium hovering around the 100-degree mark, at times, the two teams began to get a little chippy with each other. Prescott, as cool as he has been under center all season, stepped in and got his teammates to calm themselves and thus avoided penalties and possible escalation. That is what leaders do.
  • There was no ill-affect from the loss in the LSU game. This could have easily been a trap game for Mississippi State. The Bulldogs sandwiched an FCS team between two SEC West games, so it is not unthinkable to believe the Bulldogs would still be dwelling on last week or looking forward to next. MSU was focused on the opponent at hand.
  • They know they are still in the hunt for the SEC West title. It will be difficult for any team to run the table in the division, so an early loss is not that devastating to MSU. The Bulldogs showed that attitude. They know there is still a long way to go and a trip to Atlanta is not out of the question. Auburn now has a league loss, as does Alabama. Arkansas has lost two straight out of conference. Only Texas A&M, LSU and Ole Miss are undefeated. State gets each one of them down the road.
  • Friday the team received some bad news. Campbell Dale was a five-year-old suffering from cancer who desperately wanted to be a Mississippi State Bulldog. Through the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he got his wish last month. He passed away Friday. Campbell made fast friends with Prescott and other players. Perhaps the news did not have time to sink in or since there was no time to plan any ceremony for Dale, the team was able to keep its focus on the game. State plans to honor Dale in a home game soon.
  • Mississippi State’s offensive line is pretty good. They are big, move well and most importantly, they communicate. Northwestern State tried a few stunts and blitz packages, but at each opportunity, the Bulldogs picked them up without much effort. The line allowed for three MSU quarterbacks to throw for 372 yards and four touchdowns.

REPORT CARD

Offense: A. Mississippi State did exactly what it should have done. There was no Auburn or Arkansas syndrome of playing down to the competition. The Bulldogs established the offense from the first drive and did not take the foot off the gas in a balanced attack.

Defense: B. The Bulldogs kept Northwestern State out of the end zone until midway through the third quarter, but there are things that need to be addressed. Mainly tackling, or the lack thereof. Several Demons runners gained extra yards by breaking arm tackles by MSU. On more than one occasion, the defense was poised to stop a NSU drive, but a missed tackle and four yards later, it was first down Demons. Tackling has to get better down the stretch for Mississipi State.

Special teams: A-. There wasn’t a lot of special teams action for MSU other than kickoffs and extra points. The kickoff team got in some wind sprints and more often than not, the kick resulted in a touchback. There was a bad snap after the first touchdown, but it really did not matter in this game. Later in the schedule, it will.

Coaching: A. A game like this one allows coaches to coach more during the game instead of keeping their nose buried in the game plan. As the reserves got playing time, the coaches were able to evaluate the younger players. As a result, when the backups came off the field, the coaches were already there with criticism, praise and most importantly, instruction.

Overall: A-. It could have been an A, but the tackling is the one major issue Mississippi State must address. If some of those tackles had been made, the Bulldogs were looking at an A+.

GAME PLAN

Mullen’s game plan seemed to be a simple one. He wanted to do what MSU does — run the ball effectively and use the pass to spread the defense. The Bulldogs did that. On defense, the plan was to bottle up the Demons. It was okay if NSU picked up yards here and there, but the Dawgs did not want them in the end zone. State also hoped to get in younger players for them to get real-game experience. Mission accomplished.

GAME BALLS

  • QB Dak Prescott: He completed 10-of-11 for 227 yards and two touchdowns and chipped in another 54 yards on the ground. He also became Mississippi State’s all-time leading passer. In addition, he has not thrown an interception in his last 151 attempts and has thrown a touchdown in each of his last 18 games.
  • CB Taveze Calhoun: He accounted for five total tackles and while that doesn’t seem to be impressive enough to jump off the stat sheet at you, realize two of them were tackles for loss. The pair of stops cost the Demons 12 yards.
  • WR Donald Gray: He only had four catches, but when he got them, it was exciting. He picked up 140 yards and scored a touchdown in the game, but the most impressive part of his day was he averaged 35 yards per reception.
  • K Devon Bell: Kickoff specialists are not usually mentioned as receiving game balls, but Bell had a good day. He kicked off eight times in the game and five of them went for touchbacks forcing Northwestern State into facing a long field most of the day.

INJURY UPDATE

  • Long snapper Winston Chapman tore his ACL during the game and he will be lost for the rest of the season.
  • Defensive back Kendrick Market did not dress for the game, but it was a precaution. He ruptured his Achilles last year against Ole Miss, but his rehabilitation went well and he did play in the season opener against Southern Miss. He is expected to return to practice this week.
  • Linebacker Kalen Chavis continued to sit out after being suspended indefinitely for a legal issue.