Mississippi State's Prescott harsh on his performance

STARKVILLE – As a cascade of cameras and microphones rushed to him inside the media room, Dak Prescott smiled with an "aw, shucks" expression frozen on his face.

Mississippi State's quarterback led his team to a third-straight win over a top-10 opponent, fighting off No. 2 Auburn for a 38-23 victory at Davis Wade Stadium on Saturday.

A win could launch his Bulldogs to No. 1 in the AP poll. A win could cement him as the Heisman Trophy favorite. A win ensured that the national spotlight currently shinning on Starkville will shine even brighter.

But Prescott wasn't about to give himself any compliments.

"It was a subpar game at best," he said. "It was one of my worst games."

Prescott is his toughest critic.

Considering the circumstances, "solid as ever" is probably a more fair way to sum up his outing. That's how wideout De'Runnya Wilson described the play of his quarterback.

"He's our leader, and he led all game, just as he always does," Wilson said. "… He's under a lot of pressure."

But if Prescott's feeling the heat — which stems from being at the forefront of Heisman conversations — he's certainly not showing it.

"All that talk doesn't really mean much to me," he said. "I'm just focused on making this team better."

He did that Saturday, whether he wants to admit it or not.

If you forced Prescott to praise one aspect of his performance, he said it would be his ability to move on after throwing two early interceptions.

"I just took it one play at a time," he said. "I just tried to lead my guys and get us the win."

Again, he did that.

Other than the two turnovers, Prescott finished with 367 all-purpose yards. He rushed for two touchdowns. He threw for another. Prescott is now responsible for 53 career touchdowns, the most of any player in MSU history.

But most importantly for MSU, he made plays when it needed them most.

"Statistics are great," MSU coach Dan Mullen said. "But you have to look at what's behind those stats."

That holds true for Prescott's up-and-down outing.

The Bulldogs raced to an early 21-0 lead but seemingly tried to allow Auburn back into the game thereafter.

The Tigers cut MSU's lead to 21-13 with a few minutes left in the first half. A record-setting crowd was silenced for the first time after Jamoral Graham's fumbled punt led to an Auburn score.

"Momentum was on the line," Mullen said.

It was. And Prescott delivered.

The Bulldogs started from their own 25-yard line. Prescott completed a 15-yard strike to Malcolm Johnson to convert on a key third down.

The next play, Prescott diced Auburn up the middle for a 26-yard gain.

A few plays later, Prescott found space again. He bolted into the end zone from 15 yards out, giving MSU a 28-13 halftime lead and momentum to cling to in the second half.

"That was a big response," Wilson said. "We were never worried."

Neither was Mullen.

You don't need to tell him his quarterback stays collected under pressure, which made Mullen comfortable enough to joke about Prescott's performance postgame.

"Dak's got to wonder if he's going to get a date tonight," Mullen joked. "… He tried to get out of the (Heisman) mix today."

Then Mullen got serious again.

"Look," he said. "Dak knows he made some mistakes. We don't need to sit here and yell at him. He knows what he needs to do. He's more mad at himself than anything. We trust him to make plays."