Mississippi State Shows Championship Heart in Survival Win over Arkansas

When you're the top-ranked team in the nation, every opponent on the schedule will try to find your Kryptonite.

On Saturday night, the 4-5 (0-5 SEC) Arkansas Razorbacks did all they could to uncover Mississippi State's weakness. But in the end, quarterback Dak Prescott added to his Heisman reel in a 17-10 win, and the 8-0 (5-0 SEC) Bulldogs showed they can take a punch the way Sylvester Stallone did in the Rocky saga.

Butch Dill/Getty Images

With the game tied at 10 early in the fourth quarter, following a missed Arkansas field goal, momentum was up for grabs. The Bulldogs were 69 yards away from the end zone and looked like they were about to give the ball back to the Razorbacks, who were slowly but surely eating away at Mississippi State's defensive front.

Prescott, who threw two picks on the night, rolled out to his left with pressure behind him. He saw his man, Fred Ross, wide-open on the left sideline and, with defenders inches from pulling him down, hoisted the ball up.

It was a perfect strike, and Ross took it the rest of the way to give the Bulldogs a 17-10 lead.

On the very next drive, the Razorbacks went 72 yards in a time-consuming, 17-play drive. But Mississippi State stuffed them at the goal line to give Prescott the ball back.

The Bulldogs punted away with 2:29 left, and again Arkansas mounted a last-ditch effort to tie things up. This time, a 10-play, 66-yard drive for the Razorbacks ended with an interception by Will Redmond to effectively end the game.

Each time the Bulldogs were tested Saturday night against Arkansas, the official peskiest team in the SEC, they rose to the occasion. That's what good teams do. That's what true No. 1's do.

As Alex Scarborough of ESPN points out, head coach Dan Mullen knows that.

Prescott had a career day throwing the ball versus a ball-hawking Razorbacks defense. He racked up 331 yards and one touchdown on 18-of-27 passing, adding 61 rushing yards on 13 carries.

But the unquestioned winner of the game ball was Josh Robinson, a running back who's spent most of this season in Prescott's shadow. He rushed it 19 times for 64 yards and a touchdown, adding six receptions for 110 yards.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

As Scarborough also points out though, Robinson can't be the lone go-to guy in big games down the stretch of November for the Bulldogs:

"

Robinson can't be the entire offense. Not if Mississippi State wants to beat Alabama in two weeks and Ole Miss to close out the regular season. You simply can't be that one-dimensional and expect to succeed in the SEC. Rather, Prescott, who has played through pain of late, must regain his Heisman Trophy form. Wilson needs to become a playmaker again, and others must step up to give the offense dimension.

"

Heisman contenders will have off days, and Prescott is no different. While he had a career high in passing yards against the Razorbacks, there was still the matter of those two interceptions. His 61 yards on the ground was his second-lowest total of the season—he ran for 23 in Week 1 against Southern Miss, a 49-0 win.

However, other Heisman hopefuls like Marcus Mariota and Nick Marshall know how to put a game away—that's what makes them elite players. And Prescott did that on Saturday night with his late touchdown pass, helping solidify his Heisman candidacy despite his earlier struggles. 

When Heisman contenders have mediocre outings, it's all about who the next man up is. On Saturday night against Arkansas, it was Robinson and the Bulldogs' grit that showed up with the game on the line, particularly with that goal-line stand.