STARKVILLE — There’s nothing surprising about the fast start that Mississippi State’s offense is enjoying through two games.
Quarterback Dak Prescott leads the SEC with eight touchdown passes, tailback Josh Robinson has rushed for 211 yards and the Bulldogs rank near the top of the Southeastern Conference in yards, efficiency and points scored.
The surprising part is the dominance of MSU’s passing game.
When junior wide receiver Joe Morrow hauled in a third-quarter touchdown from Prescott in Saturday’s 47-34 win over UAB, the catch made Morrow the sixth MSU target to catch a TD pass in the first two games, a number that ranks second in the league behind Texas A&M. When asked about his catch and the performance of MSU’s wide receivers through two games, Morrow was blunt.
“We want to be the best group of receivers in the league,” said Morrow, who has four catches for 71 yards and a score through two games. “In this offense, it’s all about being ready when your number is called. If you get open and if you put in your work, your chances will come.”
While Morrow’s words seem optimistic, the Bulldog passing game has backed them up through two weeks. With 647 yards and nine TDs through the air so far, MSU’s passing numbers are the highest total yet through two games under sixth-year head coach Dan Mullen.
Following back-to-back wins over Southern Miss and UAB, the MSU offense has scored 48 points per game and has had little trouble moving the ball.
Employing an up-tempo attack that was crafted in the offseason, Prescott has led an MSU attack that is putting up points in a hurry. The Bulldogs have 12 touchdown drives in the first two games, and nine of those drives have taken less than three minutes. Four of MSU’s drives have taken less than two minutes, including a three-play, 80-yard march that was capped by a 68-yard TD pass from Prescott to Robert Johnson in the first drive against UAB.
“We want to be the best unit on the team,” said Johnson of the wide receivers. “It’s all about making plays.”
That hasn’t been a problem so far. And a Saturday afternoon trip to meet SunBelt member South Alabama in Mobile could present more opportunities for MSU’s passing game to continue putting up big numbers.
“It’s a real challenge for us this week playing South Alabama,” said Mullen. “You look at a team right now, they’re on a four-game winning streak. They had a big road win to start the season against Kent (State) this past week. Defensively with all senior leadership, they have a really solid line backing corps. All their secondary is back from last year. Certainly going to be a very tough challenge for us as we get into this game.”
Achieving balance
With eight TDs through the air, Prescott ranks first nationally and in the SEC. But it’s a receiving group that has flashed remarkable balance through two games that has turned heads.
Sophomore De’Runnya Wilson has been Prescott’s most frequent target with six catches and three touchdowns, but 12 different players have caught passes, and six have touchdowns. And the numbers aren’t only coming from the usual suspects.
Senior Jameon Lewis, who was the SEC’s leading returning receiver entering the season, has just four catches for 31 yards while tight end Malcolm Johnson, who finished with 30 catches a season ago, has just three grabs. In their place are players like Gus Walley, who made his first career catch, a 20-yard touchdown, on Saturday.
The emergence of a number of secondary options has made Prescott’s job easier and MSU’s offense more dangerous, according to Mullen.
“You look at some of the big catches and big plays and touchdowns,” said Mullen. “Four different guys have touchdown catches in the game on Saturday, and that’s huge for us. Six different guys have touchdown catches in the first two games for us. We’re not having one guy step up, we’re having a lot of guys step up and make plays, and we need to continue to do that.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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