STARKVILLE — Dak Prescott was emotional before kickoff.
The Mississippi State quarterback was honored along with 15 other seniors prior to their final game at Davis Wade Stadium. Prescott was the last senior honored and the 62,265 fans cheered non-stop as he hugged coach Dan Mullen, Mullen’s wife, Megan, and the family that was there to support him.
“I’m thankful for this university, the people in that stadium, and my family out there,” Prescott said. “It was just a time to think back on my time. I heard all the ‘thank yous’ in the Dawg Walk.”
After that, things didn’t go as planned for Prescott and the Bulldogs.
No. 23 MSU fell behind 21-0 early and couldn’t make up the difference in a 38-27 loss to No. 19 Ole Miss on Saturday night in the Battle for the Golden Egg.
The victory helped the Rebels (9-3, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) claim the Egg Bowl trophy for the second year in a row.
Prescott will go down as one of greatest players to play for MSU (8-4, 4-4), but his final home game wasn’t indicative of what he has accomplished.
“He’s a great kid, he’s been through a lot, and he’s really a part of our family with what he’s been through,” Mullen said, referring to the loss of Prescott’s mother, Peggy, to cancer during the 2013 season.
Prescott, a two-year starter, has broken 38 school records (eight single-game, 15 single-season, and 15 career). He led a fourth-quarter and overtime comeback against Ole Miss in 2013 to help MSU become bowl eligible. He finished his career 1-3 against Ole Miss.
On Saturday, Prescott tried to lead MSU back from a 28-3 halftime deficit. After the Bulldogs forced a three-and-out on the Rebels’ first possession of the second half, Prescott scored a 1-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 28-10 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
“I didn’t make those same mistakes I made in the first half,” Prescott said. “We got it going, the offensive line protected a little better, and we made some plays. Coach Mullen just told us to go finish.”
After Gary Wunderlich missed a field goal, Prescott led the Bulldogs to the Rebels’ 10-yard line, but MSU had to settle for a 27-yard Westin Graves field goal that cut the deficit to 28-13 with 5 minutes, 42 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Prescott found Malik Dear twice for touchdowns in the fourth quarter (13 and 7 yards), but it wasn’t enough.
“I’m proud of our guys, and I thought we played hard for four quarters,” Mullen said. “That’s always something we stress with our guys.”
Prescott fumbled on the Bulldogs’ opening drive. The turnover led to an Ole Miss touchdown. Tony Bridges then intercepted Prescott and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown to give the Rebels a 21-0 lead with 3:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
MSU had 402 yards of offense (254 passing, 148 rushing).
Prescott was 31 of 42 for 254 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 63 yards and one touchdown, but he was sacked seven times. He was sacked nine times against Alabama in a 31-6 loss on Nov. 14.
Prescott was under pressure the entire game. Mullen said senior left tackle Rufus Warren was battling kidney stones all week and had surgery this week. Mullen thought he was going to be ready to go, but the coaches found out shortly before kickoff he couldn’t play. Warren’s absence forced freshman Elgton Jenkins into duty. Junior right tackle Justin Senior, who wasn’t 100 percent, moved him in and out of the game.
“I trust those five guys in front of me, regardless of who’s playing where or who’s in there,” Prescott said. “There’s always somebody coming in and out on the offensive line.”
In the last three games, Prescott has been sacked 18 times. Last week against Arkansas, he was sacked twice.
Despite the loss, Prescott’s career at MSU isn’t over. MSU is bowl eligible for the sixth-straight season. It will find out its bowl destination this coming Sunday.
Prescott is 1-1 as a starter in bowl games, but he will have a chance to leave with a winning record in postseason games.
“It’s still a successful season,” Prescott said. “It (hurts) losing this game and some of the other games we lost, but we came out and fought all year long.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.