Dak admitted they were tight and thinking about the ranking against UK

[starkvegasdawg]

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/92330/mississippi-state-needs-to-rediscover-its-edge-against-arkansas

Excerpt from the article:

"Hearing all the media stuff got us uptight," said Prescott, "but we've shaken it off and we're back to being ourselves. It's hard sometimes, but we have to remember who we are and what got us to this point.

"We just have to stay focused and know we're the same team no one was talking about. We're the same guys that were slightly unrecruited when we came here. We have to be true to ourselves and remember that."

[Political Hack]

That's not what I want to hear. Why even think about that line of thought? Just play ball. Screw the mind games.

[Rick Danko]

That's not what I want to hear. Why even think about that line of thought? Just play ball. Screw the mind games.

Meh, I'm not concerned by this that much. Hell, I cant imagine being a college QB in the Heisman race, just ranked number 1 in the country, everyone wanting to interview you, photograph you, etc. Easy for us to sit here and say "Cmon man, just play ball" but I can see how it would get tough. Hopefully though, like he said, Saturday was a wake up call for them all. We will see soon enough.

[RossDawg82]

Easier said than done when you are a 19 or 20 year old kid.

[deltadawg99]

I'm glad they got that out of their system. I think not blowing out UK was really good for our team and mind set.

[codeDawg]

That's not what I want to hear. Why even think about that line of thought? Just play ball. Screw the mind games.

It's hard to not think about it when you are getting interviewed on ESPN every day with an analyst asking you about it.

[Political Hack]

Meh, I'm not concerned by this that much. Hell, I cant imagine being a college QB in the Heisman race, just ranked number 1 in the country, everyone wanting to interview you, photograph you, etc. Easy for us to sit here and say "Cmon man, just play ball" but I can see how it would get tough. Hopefully though, like he said, Saturday was a wake up call for them all. We will see soon enough.

not saying it's easy, but being tight during a game or game prep can't happen. Gotta just let loose and play ball at some point, if we're going to win the whole damn thing.

[ScoobaDawg]

Just thankful the guys got to experience this during a game vs Uk which we could overcome. We have that bye week and get talked up and then have a matchup at Bama and play like that and well the outcome might be different.

It's not okay, but it is. It's history..and they enjoyed it a little too much. Now time to ship some butt the next two weekends and let that #1 just be there like its expected and not new and shiny.

[maroonmania]

The biggest issue I saw against KY was Dak trying too hard to hit the big pass play. Last week its like he refused to go to his checkdown receivers and take the short gain and that ended up with him holding the ball too long and taking some unnecessary sacks (and hits). He needs to be much more willing to take what the defense is giving this week rather than being so intent on hitting a deep ball every time.

[Jack Lambert]

this is how Ole Miss handles the pressure


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK9eg6otW_0

[bulldawg28]

Pressure is a good thing for the guys. It's great they had those moments and were able to win the game. Now they understand expectations on another level. The truth of the matter is the offense still played lights out despite the pressure. Pressure should make you focus. It's the 1b defense I'm concerned about.

[dawgs]

not saying it's easy, but being tight during a game or game prep can't happen. Gotta just let loose and play ball at some point, if we're going to win the whole damn thing.

First game after being #1 is historically a trap for programs unaccustomed to being there, lol us. If you can get past that first game though, you relax and start playing like it. I think you'll see us come out and play one of our best games Saturday (home crowd will be rowdy for first home game as #1, team
got the first game jitters over with, coaches chewed their ass all week after a lackluster performance, essentially a bye week next week).

[bulldawg28]

The biggest issue I saw against KY was Dak trying too hard to hit the big pass play. Last week its like he refused to go to his checkdown receivers and take the short gain and that ended up with him holding the ball too long and taking some unnecessary sacks (and hits). He needs to be much more willing to take what the defense is giving this week rather than being so intent on hitting a deep ball every time.

He only attempted 3 deep balls and they were all single coverage. That's a great read.

[TrapGame]

He only attempted 3 deep balls and they were all single coverage. That's a great read.

And Bear flat out dropped one of those that would have made it 28-7 middle 2nd quarter. It would have pretty much taken UK's crowd out and deflated the team.

[Goat Holder]

not saying it's easy, but being tight during a game or game prep can't happen.

The boy is 21 years old. He's mature for his age, but he still doesn't know shit about shit. The hype we are getting would get to ANYONE and it's a real concern going forward. This sort of ascension doesn't happen very often, and the last time it was Cam Newton. Even he had to have a scandal surrounding them to keep them focused.

[maroonmania]

He only attempted 3 deep balls and they were all single coverage. That's a great read.

I'm not talking about bombs, I'm talking about he wanted to throw everything DOWN the field 15+ yards. A number of plays he had Robinson in the flat or other short receivers wide open and he never looked. That's all I'm saying.

[bulldawg28]

I'm not talking about bombs, I'm talking about he wanted to throw everything DOWN the field 15+ yards. A number of plays he had Robinson in the flat or other short receivers wide open and he never looked. That's all I'm saying.

Gotcha.

[TrapGame]

I'm not talking about bombs, I'm talking about he wanted to throw everything DOWN the field 15+ yards. A number of plays he had Robinson in the flat or other short receivers wide open and he never looked. That's all I'm saying.

He took a sack around the 50 when JRob was wide open and probably would have taken it deep in the red zone. I think we see Dak making the proper check down Saturday night.

[Political Hack]

The boy is 21 years old. He's mature for his age, but he still doesn't know shit about shit. The hype we are getting would get to ANYONE and it's a real concern going forward. This sort of ascension doesn't happen very often, and the last time it was Cam Newton. Even he had to have a scandal surrounding them to keep them focused.

scandal doesn't equal focus, that's just more pressure. They responded well by pulling together and going all in. Hope we do too. Have to have the "us against the world" mentality.

Everyone is going to pick Bama to win in T-town. If we get through this weekend unscathed, we can regain that focus for that game. I just can't begin to fathom the thought of laying an egg this weekend, but that comment makes me realize it's possible.

At this point, you can't just be another 20-21 year old kid. That's not an option in this situation, and I think Dak is up to the challenge.

[mstatefan91]

Dear lord some of you put too much stock into a statement made about a game already played and won. I've heard nothing but positive about practice this week. They got a wake up call that didn't cost them a game. Be happy we made it through and quit acting like you'd do any better in their shoes (this is to no one in general)

They won the proverbial let down game that had the added pressure of being #1. It's a good thing

[Pollodawg]

Dak is a special kind of leader that I'm not worried about the team losing focus for too long. We got it done when we needed it last Sat. and I think we will continue to do that.