This upcoming Saturday, the Arkansas Razorbacks will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Fayetteville. The Hogs will be looking to get a little vengeance for the 2014 game in Starkville. The Bulldogs were ranked #1 in the country, had a Heisman hopeful at QB in Dak Prescott, and were at the highest point for MSU football in….honestly, I don’t know how long. The Razorbacks fought the good fight, but came up short in a 17-10 game.
Mississippi State was lucky to avoid the November Hogs last year. The Hogs shutout their next 2 opponents at home on their way to the Texas Bowl. MSU ended up losing 3 of their last 4 games, including their bowl game to Georgia Tech. Both the Bulldogs and the Razorbacks lost some key players from last year’s squad, and it’s reflected in their on field performance.
Dak Prescott started the season with high expectations, and he personally has lived up to them. While he hasn’t had 2014 success in terms of wins and losses, his production has remained steady. He was voted the preseason All-SEC first team QB, and nobody expected him to lose that honor when the end of the season rolled around.
Nov 14, 2015; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Brandon Allen (10) throws against the LSU Tigers during the second half of a game at Tiger Stadium. Arkansas defeated LSU 31-14. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nobody planned on Brandon Allen emerging as the most dangerous QB in the conference, though, either. The Arkansas QB closed out the 2014 campaign by being named the Texas Bowl MVP. Other than that, awards have been hard to come by for the Hogs offensive captain. Early in the season, the loss of some key offensive playmakers looked to hinder the QB’s ability to create big plays. But as the season’s gone on, Allen has become one of the most consistent QB’s in the nation, and the highest rated QB in the SEC.
Prescott is an amazing athlete, with a cannon for an arm and a career’s worth of big time plays that make his resume for 1st Team All-SEC very strong. But Brandon Allen has better numbers in pretty much every category.
- Dak Prescott: 222 for 343, 2,651 yards, 18 TDs, 2 INTs, 145.79 QBR. 64% completion rating and 7.7 yards per throw.
- Brandon Allen: 183 for 284, 2,617 yards, 22 TDs, 6 INTs, 163.18 QBR, 64% completion rating and 9.2 yards per attempt.
Precott has more yards (barely) and less interceptions. Allen has basically the same number of yards, more touchdowns, a higher QBR, and more yards per attempt despite having thrown less passes. And to top it all off, Allen is the QB of a team that just ran for 300 yards last week against LSU. Arkansas is defined by their ability to run the ball. And yet somehow, they’ve developed the most consistent passing game in the SEC. (Weird how one dimensional Bret Bielema is, right guys?)
Where Prescott has the advantage is in rushing yards. He’s been just as dynamic as we expected coming into the season. He’s rushed for 432 yards and 7 scores so far this season.
No matter how you slice it, these two guys are playing lights out football in the SEC. The only QB that can compare is Ole Miss’ Chad Kelley, who has thrown for 12 interceptions on the year. He’s not going to beat Dak and Brandon for the top honors in the conference this season, especially since he’s a junior.
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You could make the claim that Dak doing what he’s doing (and what he’s done) at Mississippi State might give him the edge over Allen. It’s not a bad argument, honestly. MSU isn’t a traditionally powerful program, and Dak took them to #1 last year, and has them in the position to win 10 games (if they win out) for the 2nd year in a row. That’s never happened in Starkville. He’s going to go down as maybe the best player in MSU school history.
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But don’t overlook what Brandon Allen has gone through at Arkansas. He’s had 3 head coaches and 4 offensive coordinators in his 5 years as a Hog. His truck has been vandalized and destroyed, he caught constant flack from the media and fans, and has fought back from several rough injuries these last few years. Much like Andy Dufresne, Allen has crawled through a river of crap and came out clean on the other side. He’s earned the recognition just as much, if not more, than any other QB in the conference.
Luckily for both QB’s, they’ll get the chance to show who’s the top dog this Saturday. Several teams across the SEC are playing weak opponents, and the Arkansas vs MSU game is the 6 PM game on ESPN because of it. The winner of this game has a chance to take their team to a better bowl game, and to show why they’re the best QB in this conference.
I’m pulling pretty hard for Brandon.