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While Dak Prescott fell just short of getting invited to New York this season for the 2014 Heisman Trophy presentation, he did finish with enough points to land him in the top 10 of this year's vote.
Prescott acquired 42 points in the final vote, earning himself an 8th place finish overall. In doing so, he became just the second Mississippi State player ever to receive votes for the Heisman Trophy. He joined former running back Tom "Shorty" McWilliams for the honor, who finished 10th in the voting in 1944. Dak also received two first place votes.
Only three finalists were invited to New York this season. Marcus Mariota, Amari Cooper, and Melvin Gordon made the trip. Mariota, quarterback of the Oregon Ducks, won the Heisman with 2,534 total points, including 788 first place votes. Mariota won by the second largest margin of victory in the history of the trophy.
Prescott, the Heisman front-runner for a large portion of the season, finished the season with 3,935 yards of offense and 37 total touchdowns. For comparison sake, Tim Tebow finished with 4,181 yards of total offense the year he won the Heisman. Dak will likely pass Tebow in total yards by the end of the bowl game.
Speaking of the bowl game, Dak has led the Bulldogs to their first Orange Bowl appearance since 1941. Mississippi State won 10 regular-season games for the first time ever, and an 11th win against Georgia Tech would certainly give both Dak and the team a lot of momentum heading into 2015.
The team's struggles down the stretch this season against Alabama and Ole Miss cost Dak a trip to New York, but it doesn't damper what was overall an amazing season for the Junior quarterback. He broke 10 individual single-season school records in 2014. Assuming he skips the draft and returns for next season, Dak will shatter several career school records and once again be a front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy.