STARKVILLE — Dan Mullen has confidence in his offense when they find themselves in the red zone.
The Mississippi State coach has seen time and time again his offense score when they enter the opposing team’s 20 yard line. In a 31-13 win over Missouri Thursday night, senior quarterback Dak Prescott found De’Runnya Wilson for a 5-yard touchdown on second-and-goal and then hit Fred Brown for an 8-yard touchdown on second-and-6.
“A lot comes to the experience in the quarterback and receiver position in the perimeter,” Mullen said of the success the Bulldogs have had in the red zone this season. “We have a quarterback who can run the ball in the red zone, so you add an extra player on the field in that way.”
The Bulldogs are one of the best in the country when it comes to scoring touchdowns in the red zone this season. MSU is first in the SEC and fourth in the country with a 75 percent rate of scoring touchdowns in the red zone.
The No. 20 Bulldogs (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) will need to capitalize on most every red zone opportunity when they host No. 3 Alabama (8-1 5-1) 2:30 p.m. (WCBI) Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium.
The Bulldogs have been in the red zone 36 times and have scored 27 touchdowns this season. MSU has made five field goals and have only come up empty four times when entering the opposing team’s 20 yard line. In SEC games, the Bulldogs have scored 12 touchdowns in 18 attempts.
The Crimson Tide defense has only allowed opposing offenses to enter the red zone 19 times, but they have given up 10 touchdowns and six field goals, a conversion rate of 84.21. In SEC games, Alabama has allowed seven touchdowns in 12 attempts.
Prescott says when they get in the red zone, it’s like a rejuvenation for the offense and they know what’s expected of them.
“You just kind of taste it,” Prescott said. “You’ve got to just go back to the gameplan, you can’t really think while your down in the red zone, it happens way too fast. You’ve just got to react to the plays, to the defense they give you, and the stuff you’ve seen all week in film. At that point you’ve just got to execute.”
Both Mullen and Prescott have said the signal caller is much better this season than he was last year. As a junior (his first year as the regular starter), Prescott passed for 3,449 yards and 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 13 games. This season, the Haughton, Louisiana, native has passed for 2,351 yards and 18 touchdowns with only one interception.
The running game has not been the same, but Prescott has rushed for seven touchdowns — all have come in the red zone.
In the passing game, Prescott has some big targets, including Wilson, junior wide receiver Fred Ross, and senior tight end Darrion Hutcherson. Wilson stands 6-foot-5, Ross 6-foot-2, and Hutcherson 6-foot-7. Wilson leads all Bulldog receivers with 626 yards and eight touchdowns. He has just 37 catches. Ross leads the team with 51 catches for 548 yards and two touchdowns. Hutcherson as come on as of late and has 10 catches for 116 yards and a lone touchdown.
The connection between Prescott and Wilson is lethal, but especially in the red zone.
“Ball placement beats any coverage, even if a guy’s covered or it’s not the right read,” Mullen said. “If you put the ball in the right spot, he can still beat the coverage and so I think they understand that with the receivers that we have, where to put the ball on guys.”
Last season, the Bulldogs scored 39 touchdowns on 61 red zone attempts (64 percent). The Bulldogs made 11 field goals in the red zone for a conversion rate of 82 percent on all red zone attempts.
Mullen said practicing red zone opportunities has been a big point of emphasis for his team this season, but they haven’t done anything different from past years.
“I think you can out-think yourself if anything,” Mullen said. “We try to get a plan in place. You go to practice each week and you have a red zone package, but you don’t always get to run those plays. But you get to run those in practice. In your mind as a coach, ‘Boy, we have to come up with something new,’ when actually your opponents have never seen you do it one time. We’ve been able to be a little more consistent.”
n Junior defensive tackle Chris Jones was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week Monday.
The Houston native tied a career high with two tackles for loss in the win over Missouri.
For the season, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Outland Trophy watch list member has totaled 32 tackles (six for loss) and 2.5 sacks this season.
He becomes the fourth Bulldog to win a weekly award from the SEC. Junior linebacker Richie Brown was named Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 28, senior defensive end Ryan Brown was named Defensive Lineman of the Week Oct. 12, and senior quarterback Dak Prescott was named Offensive Player of the Week Oct. 26.
n Junior wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson was added to the Biletnikoff Award watch list Monday.
The award is given to the top receiver in the nation.
The Birmingham, Alabama, native leads the Bulldogs with 626 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Wilson has just 37 catches.
n MSU’s Nov. 21 game at Arkansas will be a night game, the SEC announced Monday.
The two teams will kick at 6 p.m. (ESPN) from Reynolds Razorback Stadium. It will be the seventh night game for the Bulldogs this season.
Also that day, LSU and Ole Miss play at 2:30 p.m. in Oxford on CBS.
The Alabama-Charleston Southern game starts at 3 p.m. from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the SEC Network.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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