STARKVILLE — When asked about how their bye week is being spent, each Mississippi State football player interviewed Wednesday night gave a different version of the same answer.
“It’s all about fundamentals,” said MSU wide receiver Jameon Lewis. “We’re just going back, looking and film and cleaning up some things we have to work on.”
MSU quarterback Dak Prescott gave a similar answer.
“We are just working hard to fix the little things,” said Prescott. “We have some basic stuff we are working on, just making sure our fundamentals are where they need to be.”
With one of the biggest wins in recent program history still fresh, the Bulldogs can afford to go back to basics this week. With its first open date of the season sandwiched between top 10 opponents LSU and Texas A&M, the Bulldogs have been able to unwind after a program-changing 34-29 win over then-No. 8 LSU last Saturday.
As a result, the Bulldogs have arrived at their open date with a flawless record (4-0) and a pair of top 25 rankings, as MSU entered the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 14 and the Amway Coaches’ Poll at No. 16.
For Bulldogs’ head coach Dan Mullen, now 4-0 for the second time in his six seasons in Starkville, the open date presents opportunities to heal and get ready for No. 6 Texas A&M.
“I don’t know if there’s ever a perfect time for an open date,” said Mullen. “A lot of people say ‘Well, you’re coming off a big win so you want to be able to sit back and recover from it.’ But really, a big win makes you just want to go out there and play again as quickly as possible. But our schedule says we are off this week, so that’s what we will do.”
The open date comes for the Bulldogs during a time of unprecedented momentum, the result of the program’s first win over LSU since 1999.
Prescott, who accounted for 373 yards and three touchdowns in Saturday night’s win, has been at the center of a tidal wave of positive press for the Bulldogs, who have been plastered all over ESPN and other college football media outlets following the win.
“It’s noticeable,” said Prescott of the added media attention drawn by the Bulldogs’ 4-0 start. “That’s a product of winning, it’s a product of doing the right things as a team. This is what we play for.”
And the winning has been impressive. Through four games, the Bulldogs have averaged 548 yards of total offense per game behind Prescott, who leads the league with 15 total touchdowns. Defensively, the Bulldogs rank near the top of the Southeastern Conference in several statistical categories. The MSU defense is second in the league in quarterback sacks with 14, lead the league with 35 tackles for loss and have allowed just 2.37 yards per carry, easily the lowest total in the SEC.
According to Mullen, the Bulldogs were set to practice three days this week before being allowed a rare weekend off.
“As long as these guys take care of their assignments, take care of their academic responsibilities, we’ll turn them loose and let them ho home this weekend,” said Mullen. “For our coaches, we’ll get out there and do some recruiting this Friday night. Then we will have the day off on Saturday but on Sunday, we will be right back here looking at film and getting ready for Texas A&M.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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