Ad Disclosure
Four million dollars — Dan Mullen’s annual compensation package — is a lot of money. Still, it’s one of the lowest salaries in the SEC, and Mullen has earned a pay this season.
A season after rising to No. 1 in the AP Poll, Mississippi State was expected to have a rebuilding season in 2015. Mullen, however, has the Bulldogs bowl eligible before the last weekend in October, and in contention in the SEC West. Not bad for a rebuilding year in one of the toughest divisions in college football.
Senior QB Dak Prescott is a big reason why Mullen and the Bulldogs have been so successful the last two years.
Prescott’s 288 consecutive pass attempts without an interception received so much attention, it doesn’t seem like he has been given enough credit for the other records he has broken. He owns 36 school records and had a signature day last Saturday, leading the Bulldogs with 348 passing yards, 117 rushing yards and six total touchdowns against Kentucky.
Prescott is also just the third quarterback in SEC history to throw for 50 touchdowns and rush for 30 scores in a career. Florida’s Tim Tebow and Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel are the other two. That’s not bad company.
It’s no coincidence that Prescott developed into a star under Mullen. The Mississippi State coach is a quarterback whisperer. He coached both Alex Smith at Utah and Tebow at Florida as offensive coordinator under Urban Meyer.
This is Mullen’s seventh season at the helm of the Bulldogs, and Mississippi State has earned a bowl bid in each of the last six seasons. That’s the longest streak in school history.
In the seven prior seasons before the Bulldogs hired Mullen, Mississippi State went bowling just once.
Last year, Mullen led the Bulldogs to 10 victories for only the third time in school history. There is still a lot of work to do, but if Mississippi State wins at least three of its final five games, including the bowl game, then the Bulldogs will set a new record for victories in a two-year span.
In the words of John Malkovich’s character Teddy KGB in “Rounders”: “Pay that man his money.”
Dave covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
