By Creg Stephenson | GulfLive.com
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) — A finally healthy Dak Prescott turned Tuesday’s AutoZone Liberty Bowl into his personal showcase.
The sophomore quarterback accounted for a school bowl record 361 yards and five touchdowns rushing and passing as the Bulldogs pummeled Rice 44-7 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. MSU ends the year at 7-6, its fourth straight winning season.
Conference USA champion Rice (10-4) took advantage of an early MSU turnover to take a 7-0 lead on Charles Ross’ 1-yard touchdown run with 6:41 left in the first quarter. The Bulldogs the scored four consecutive touchdowns to close out the first half, taking a 27-7 lead into the dressing room.
On State’s ensuing possession, Prescott got the Bulldogs going with a 19-yard scramble on third-and-10. He then found Jameon Lewis for 28 yards on third-and-11, setting up a 10-yard swing pass for a touchdown to Ladarius Perkins.
MSU also converted a pair of third downs on its next drive, with Prescott finding Lewis for 35 yards to the 2. That set up Ashton Shumpert’s 1-yard TD run, which gave the Bulldogs the lead for good at 14-7 with 9:49 left in the second quarter.
“It was all about the game plan,” Prescott said. “I scored the touchdowns or I threw them, I guess. On the two rushing touchdowns, I pretty much walked into the end zone, so the offensive line did a great job blocking. On the three passes, Jameon did most of the work getting it down there and all I had to do was make one more throw. … It was really a team record tonight.”
Prescott also ran for 78 yards in the game, showing no signs of the neck stinger that kept him out of two full games and parts of two others. He returned to lead MSU’s comeback win over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl on Thanksgiving night, and was pronounced fully healthy by Mullen in the days leading up to Tuesday’s victory.
Prescott had his most success throwing to Lewis. The junior from Tylertown set a school record with 220 yards on nine receptions, breaking the previous record of 215 by David Smith vs. Texas Tech in 1970.
“The coaches set the game plan up for us to execute,” Prescott said. “And it just worked out exactly like they planned it. (Rice) had two good corners on the outside, but Jameon made some good moves on some safeties and got open. It wasn’t exactly (designed) for Jameon all the time, but it was just the way the defense unfolded. Our plays worked.”
Prescott later threw second-quarter touchdown passes of 13 yards to Malcolm Johnson and 4 yards to Artimas Samuel. The only miscue came when Evan Sobiesk had an extra point blocked, then was flagged for the rare “illegal kick” for trying to boot the ball again.
MSU’s defense also did its part, holding Rice to 145 total yards and sacking Owls quarterbacks Taylor McHargue and Driphus Jackson four times. Rice came in 16thnationally in rushing at 249.2 yards per game, but managed only 61 yards on 32 carries Tuesday.
“We really just showed emphasis on controlling our gaps and not letting them get anything easy,” said MSU defensive end Preston Smith, named the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP. “So everybody just focused on staying in their gap and playing (sound) technique, not trying to do too much — just make plays and play as a team, play for the team.”
Mississippi State kept its foot on the accelerator in the third quarter, adding touchdown runs of 15 and 11 yards by Prescott. Damian Williams replaced Prescott under center in the fourth quarter, and led a drive for Taylor Earhart’s 19-yard field goal to complete the scoring with 4:09 to play.
The Bulldogs ended with 533 total offensive yards, besting the school bowl record of 499 set in the 1974 Sun Bowl against North Carolina.
