Mississippi native Jarrod Dyson plants the state football flag in Royals’ clubhouse

At least in one corner of the Royals’ clubhouse, the state of Mississippi college football flag is being waved.

Outfielder Jarrod Dyson, who grew up in McComb, Miss., saw early Sunday afternoon that Mississippi State had become the nation’s top-ranked team and Mississippi was third in both major polls.

“You have to give it up for both Mississippi State and Ole Miss,” Dyson said. “I saw the polls and said, ‘What?’ But it’s great.”

Dyson, preparing for the third game of the American League Championship Series against the Orioles on Monday, said he got some text message ribbing from friends. Something to the effect that if Mississippi State was No. 1, college football was down this year. He knows better.

“Mississippi State’s got that quarterback, he’s tearing it up,” said Dyson, who played baseball and football as a running back at McComb High and flirted with the idea of putting on pads at Southwest Mississippi Junior College.

“That quarterback” is Dak Prescott, and Dyson’s right. Prescott is tearing it up, having led the Bulldogs to a 38-23 victory over Auburn on Saturday. Mississippi State was ranked third and the Tigers second entering the game.

The Bulldogs vaulted over Florida State to become No. 1 for the first time in school history. They’re the first team in the 78-year history of the AP poll to jump from unranked to No. 1 in five weeks. It’s happened on the strength of three straight victories against top 10 opponents. Before Auburn, Mississippi State had won at LSU and had beaten Texas A&M in Starkville.

Mississippi remained No. 3 after walloping Texas A&M 35-20 at College Station, Texas, a week after knocking off Alabama.

Entering the weekend, alarms were sounded for both teams: Prepare for a letdown; fear the hangover.

Ole Miss and State paid no attention to any of it and triumphed by equal margins in improving to 6-0.

Mississippi never had less than a two-touchdown lead after the first quarter, and Mississippi State jumped to a 21-0 lead before the game was nine minutes old. These teams were ready.

They’ve put themselves in the conversation for the game’s riches as the season’s second half arrives. Prescott and Bo Wallace of Mississippi should be at or near the top of every Heisman watch list, and the teams have become favorites to reach the College Football playoff, ahead of the likes of Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon and other preseason choices.

Plenty of season remains. The Bulldogs have to play at Alabama and Mississippi in November. The Rebels play host to Auburn.

But the past few weekends have proved the Mississippi schools should be up to the task.

The Bulldogs’ three-week run of top-ten conquests hadn’t happened in college football since 1983.

Ole Miss has won its first six games for the first time since 1962.

The weekend’s results showed earlier successes didn’t satisfy. It made both hungry for more. And each week the Egg Bowl, the annual rivalry, is looming as the biggest game of the season.

RISING

Oregon

The home loss to Arizona the previous week was stunning, but the Ducks dug in with an easier-than-it-looked 42-30 thumping of UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Big for Oregon was the return from injury of left tackle Jake Fisher. Quarterback Marcus Mariota had been sacked 12 times in the previous two games. Saturday, Mariota accounted for four touchdowns and was not sacked. Here’s a crazy stat: Pac-12 home teams are 4-14 in league games this season.

Minnesota

A division crown for the Gophers? Why not? Minnesota improved to 2-0 in league play with a home victory over improved Northwestern and is tied with Iowa for first in the Big Ten West. The season ends with a growl: Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin. But Minnesota, winning with solid defense, might have built enough momentum to make it interesting.

Notre Dame

The Irish may have been peeking ahead to this week, when Florida State visits. Notre Dame and North Carolina played a doozy, with the Irish holding on 50-43 in the highest scoring game in Notre Dame Stadium history (84 years). It set up a monster showdown with the Seminoles, and when the topic isn’t Jameis Winston and his off-field troubles, we’ll be talking about the 1993 classic between the programs, won by the Irish.

FALLING

Missouri

The Tigers laid an egg in a 34-0 home loss to Georgia. With control of the East Division at stake in Columbia — and the Bulldogs’ top running back, Todd Gurley, suspended indefinitely — the stars seemed to be aligned for Mizzou. But an awful offensive performance did in the Tigers. In two Southeastern Conference games, MU quarterback Maty Mauk is completing less than 40 percent of his passes with four picks (all Saturday) and no touchdowns.

TCU’s defense

The Horned Frogs entered the Baylor game having surrendered 54 points in their first four games. Baylor topped that in an afternoon in a 61-58 victory. The toughest part for Coach Gary Patterson was the final 10:39. The Bears scored 24 unanswered points to erase a three-touchdown deficit. The game was the highest scoring between AP top 10 teams since the poll was introduced in 1936. That’s no consolation to TCU, which surrendered 782 total yards.

Kent State

At the halfway point, two teams remain winless, and the Golden Flashes are one of them. But there’s hope. In two weeks, Kent State meets a Miami, Ohio, team that recently broke a 21-game losing streak. They’re not that far off, having lost two games this season by a field goal. The other winless team: SMU.

COMMITTEE OF ONE

▪ Rose Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Baylor

▪ Sugar Bowl: Florida State vs. Mississippi

▪ Knocking on the door: Notre Dame, Auburn, Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, Michigan State

This story was originally published October 12, 2014 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Mississippi native Jarrod Dyson plants the state football flag in Royals’ clubhouse."