Two of the best SEC quarterbacks will be on display Saturday in Starkville when No. 3 Mississippi State hosts arguably its biggest game in school history when No. 2 Auburn comes to Davis Wade Stadium.
MSU’s Dak Prescott is suddenly right in the middle of the Heisman race after a breakout game against Texas A&M last weekend. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more in a 48-31 victory over the No. 6 Aggies, showing the college football world what teams in the Southeastern Conference have seen for quite some time.
But Auburn has a pretty nifty dual-threat quarterback, too, in Nick Marshall.
What do Johnny Manziel, AJ McCarron and Prescott have in common? Plenty.
They all put up big numbers against Auburn last year, but they also watched Marshall lead a fourth-quarter comeback and record the most important stat — the win.
Mississippi State will be Marshall’s 19th start at quarterback for Auburn. It’ll be his 10th start against a top-25 team, his sixth start against a top-10 team, his fourth against a top-5 opponent. He’s 7-2 against the top 25, 3-2 against the top 10 and 2-1 against the top 5.
Simply put, Marshall is a winner.
But Prescott is developing the same reputation. He’s led the Bulldogs to eight straight victories dating back to last season and Mississippi State has its highest national ranking in program history. All that success has turned Prescott into arguably the hottest name in all of college football.
Prescott’s game and attitude have drawn comparisons to a pretty good quarterback Mullen coached in the past — 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow.
Mullen was the offensive coordinator at Florida under coach Urban Meyer from 2005 to 2008, helping the Gators to two national championships. Tebow was a nearly unstoppable force during that time, mixing a charismatic personality with a bruising running style and timely passing.
NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks says the Prescott/Tebow comparison does have some merit — including a cloudy future as far as pro potential.
“(Prescott is) probably more natural with his mechanics and stuff like that, but I don’t think you would say he’s an elite passer by any stretch,” Brooks said. “I think he’s a good player. I think he does a good job in their system. I don’t know if the way he plays is all the way conducive to the way the position is played at the pro level.”
But Prescott’s passing ability has improved quickly just in the past year. His completion percentage is up to 63.9 percent this season after a 58.4 percent mark last year.
He’s thrown for 1,232 yards, 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions through five games this fall while also running for 455 yards and six touchdowns.
“I’ve never been the most talented guy out there — I don’t even think I was the best athlete on my high school team,” Prescott said. “So I just tried to work harder than everyone else.”
Marshall has also improved as a passer and is coming off what Auburn coaches call his most complete game yet for the Tigers. He completed 11 of his first 13 passes to help Auburn open up a huge 31-7 halftime lead on LSU and finished with 207 yards, two touchdowns and a 172.68 quarterback rating — his best against an SEC opponent during his time on The Plains.
Marshall has thrown for eight touchdowns and just one interception through five games—four times as many scores and one quarter of the picks he had at this point last season.
Both quarterbacks are in the early Heisman Trophy discussions. One will have a chance to make a huge statement Saturday in the biggest game of the day.
