Dak Prescott and the Mississippi State Bulldogs keep on winning, but the Bulldogs and their Heisman hopeful quarterback haven’t looked quite as impressive in recent weeks as they did earlier this season.

Prescott threw two more interceptions in a 17-10 win over Arkansas last weekend, bringing his total to five in his last three games (against Auburn, Kentucky and the Razorbacks). The redshirt junior threw only two interceptions in his first five games this year, but he’s had problems protecting the football in recent weeks, which could open the door for the rest of the current Heisman contenders to make their move on Prescott’s spot atop the most recent voter polls.

His pair of picks masked an otherwise impressive outing in Week 10. He posted the first 300-yard passing game of his career in the victory over the Hogs, completing 67 percent of his passes in the process. However, turnovers killed two productive drives that each had a great chance to end with a score, and as a result the Bulldogs mustered just 17 points after scoring at least 34 in each of their first seven games of the season.

Prescott’s turnovers had an obvious negative impact on the MSU offense, and the Bulldogs were nearly upset at home by a team that hasn’t won an SEC game since 2012. For a player trying to prove he’s the best in all of college football, games like last Saturday are not going to get it done.

Prescott’s seven interceptions are tied for the third-most among current SEC starters, ahead of only South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson (10) and Missouri signal caller Maty Mauk (9). The man he’s tied with at seven picks? Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace — a quarterback known for his inconsistencies and propensity for throwing interceptions in critical moments.

That’s not exactly keeping what you’d call Heisman company.

The following quarterbacks have thrown fewer interceptions than Prescott this season: Arkansas’ Brandon Allen, LSU’s Anthony Jennings, Kentucky’s Patrick Towles and Georgia’s Hutson Mason. Not one Heisman contender in the bunch. Heck, none of those players could even be considered a top 5 quarterback in the conference, no less one of the best in the nation.

Oregon’s Marcus Mariota has thrown just two interceptions all season despite attempting 32 more passes than Prescott has in 2014. Those are the kind of numbers it takes to win a Heisman, and Prescott was on that kind of pace until his recent three-game skid.

One could argue Prescott is not a Heisman contender because of his passing, but instead because of his electric dual-threat abilities and his potential to put defenses in a bind on every snap. And that’s true — without his impressive rushing abilities he’d just be another starter in the SEC. But Prescott was actually worse as a runner than he was as a thrower in the loss to Arkansas last week, closing any loopholes in justifying his two-interception performance.

Prescott ran for only 61 yards against the Hogs, his second-lowest rushing output of the season, and failed to rush for a touchdown for the first time since Week 1. He accounted for just one total touchdown in Week 10, a 69-yard completion to a wide open Fred Ross, and even that play was tainted by a blown assignment in the Arkansas secondary. Trust me, Prescott and Ross won’t score an easier touchdown for the remainder of their careers.

It was the first time all season Prescott hasn’t accounted for multiple touchdowns in a game, and the first time all year he’s committed more turnovers than touchdowns in a game. Even if he’d thrown for 3,000 yards in last week’s game, it wouldn’t have been enough to mask the warts riddled along his stat line.

Mississippi State won and remained the nation’s unbeaten, No. 1 team, and Prescott remains a Heisman frontrunner as the star quarterback of the nation’s best team. However, his string of lackluster performances is allowing players like Mariota to creep into consideration, and he’ll need to finish the season strong in order to lock down Mississippi State’s first Heisman in history.

He finishes the season with two games against cupcake opponents (UT Martin and Vanderbilt) that should allow him to pad his stats, and two more games with major championship implications (Alabama and Ole Miss) that should give him the Heisman exposure he needs.

But it’s all for naught if he doesn’t start protecting the football. Yards are good and touchdowns are great, but turnovers will always cast a shadow over a promising stat line.

Prescott is the best quarterback in the SEC. It’s time his numbers get back to reflecting that fact.