In four drives totaling 10 minutes, 48 seconds, Georgia Tech pounded home four touchdowns against Mississippi State to put the Orange Bowl out of reach.

That Georgia Tech’s option offense was able to grind down another defense is no surprise, as the overlooked Yellow Jackets have been doing it all year. Their big-play offense once again beat down an opponent, a Mississippi State team that’s been unable to stop the big gains all season.

The Bulldogs main issue all season was the deep ball, something that Georgia Tech quarterback Justin Thomas took advantage of. While Thomas didn’t throw much, he found Darren Waller wide open in the secondary consistently when he did. Even without his top target, DeAndre Smelter, Thomas had the arm to exploit the holes Mississippi State had been leaving open all year.

More surprising was the way the Yellow Jackets gashed the Bulldogs over and over on the ground, picking up big chunks of yards play after play. Yes, Georgia Tech led the ACC in explosive runs, but Mississippi State had been good at stopping that kind of play all season. With fast, smart defenders in the front seven, the Bulldogs seemed equipped to handle the triple-option.

They were no match for Thomas’ blazing speed, or Synjyn Days’ power, or anything else Georgia Tech threw at them. In all, the Jackets piled up 452 rushing yards on 7.4 yards per carry, both by far the most Mississippi State’s usually tough run defense gave up all season.

How much of the problem was the lack of a defensive coordinator? Geoff Collins, coordinator of the Psycho Defense, left during bowl preparation to take the same position at Florida. Despite interim defensive play caller Deshea Townshend’s best efforts, State looked lost trying to do slow down Georgia Tech’s offense as the game wore on. GT coach Paul Johnson switched it up throughout the game, realizing Mississippi State had no chance of slowing down the rushing onslaught.

Dan Mullen blasted his defense for its poor performance well before getting rolled over the Orange Bowl; after the Egg Bowl loss to Ole Miss, when the Rebels burned Mississippi State with endless big plays, leading to Mullen going off in his post-game press conference.

Mississippi State’s between-the-20s defense was its biggest issue all year. Thanks to an offense that was generally able to put up points in bunches, the Bulldogs were able to overcome.

On Wednesday night, they got Dak Prescott’s most prolific game of his budding career: 453 yards and three touchdowns, a completion percentage over 60. It wasn’t enough, as the Bulldogs needed him to throw it 51 times just to keep them afloat.

Prescott may or may not be back for 2015; the ESPN broadcast said that he will, Prescott himself after the game said he hasn’t made that decision yet. If he is, Mississippi State already has the biggest components of being an SEC West contender once again: a star quarterback and a coach that can maximize his talent.

The defense will be losing its core. Collins is already gone, defensive end Preston Smith is graduating and middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney will likely head to the NFL. There’s rebuilding to be done on that side that’ll start with Beniquez Brown, Ryan Brown, Chris Jones and others and finish with a new defensive coordinator and reconstructed secondary.