 Mississippi State running back Anthony Dixon is congratulated by teammate Patrick Hanrahan (35) after scoring a touchdown during the second half of their NCAA football game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009. Dixon rushed for 252 yards and two touchdowns in the 31-24 win. By AARON SEIDLITZ
For the Bulldog Beat
Anthony Dixon described quite a scene in the Mississippi State locker room following the running back’s historic night in the team’s win over Kentucky on Saturday.
Immediately following the tightly-contested 31-24 victory, Dixon said he was lifted up on to his teammates shoulders – starting with fullback and friend Patrick Hanrahan.
The team then celebrated together the win and Dixon’s school-record 252 yards rushing against the Wildcats.
“It was just all joy, you know?” Dixon said on Monday. “We had a big win, my family and friends showed me a lot of love, my teammates, they showed me a lot of love.
“They held me up in the locker room, you know, I was just happy.”
The night was one that Dixon will have a hard time forgetting, and the 40-or-so text messages he said he got following the contest helped to keep the result ingrained in his mind.
What it did for the back was to get him and the Bulldogs’ running game back on track, especially after the Florida defense came in and derailed it the previous week at Scott Field.
It also got the Bulldogs – who came in losers in four of the last five games – back on track before the final three games of the season.
In those final three games, State needs two to reach a bowl game, and that is what Dixon is ready to focus in on. He’ll remember the historic night in Lexington, but he’s ready to think about other things now as well.
“I’m not going to take too long with that, because there’s still a lot of unfinished business for me to do. I got three more games, and, you know, two more wins to get – would like to get all three of them,” Dixon said.
Individually, though, the running back’s performance has put him back in the national picture for his position.
Currently, one of the top players being mentioned for the nation’s most prestigious individual award in college football – the Heisman Trophy – is Alabama running back Mark Ingram.
The Crimson Tide sophomore, however, has just three more yards – 1,004 yards to 1,001 – than Dixon at the moment, and each have played the same amount of games after State’s back was suspended opening week against Jackson State.
Dixon also has one more rushing touchdown than Ingram, but where Ingram is a step ahead is in receiving touchdown. He has three, whereas Dixon hasn’t accomplished that yet.
But in Dixon’s mind, the goal has always been there to be mentioned toward the top in regards to running backs on the national level – that’s why he admits to sneaking a peek at the national stats to see where he fits in.
“Yeah, I think I took a look at about two or three weeks ago, because I want to be up there with the best of them,” Dixon said.
“I feel like I am one of the best, you know, and I just wanted to see where I was standing there and how much ground I needed to make up.
“I just want to be able to say that I’m one of the best running backs in the country, and I definitely want my play to do the talking.”
As it turns out, some people have taken notice of the MSU running back and his play of late. That is especially the case after the 252 yards Dixon put up against Kentucky.
One of those people is Jeff Lockhart, who is the manager of the Doak Walker Award at SMU.
This particular award goes to the best running back in the country, and Dixon is one of the people Lockhart is starting to pay closer attention when he pours over statistics at the beginning of each week.
Dixon wasn’t registered for the award in the preseason while the team dealt with his punishment stemming from a summer arrest.
But now, it appears as though he is registered, and Lockhart said he is somebody worth monitoring the rest of the season.
“Absolutely, once we got the form signed and squared away for his nomination, he’s been added to our list and should be up on our Web site,” Lockhart said.
There was the course of the season in which Dixon strung together five straight 100-yard rushing games. That included 106 yards against LSU and Georgia Tech and 134 against Houston.
“Houston’s not a defensive power house by any means, but he had a big game against a good program there, and then he had a huge game against Kentucky,” Lockhart said.
He concluded that Dixon’s most important moments may be ahead of him, though.
In fact, that moment could well arrive after this bye week, when Alabama, it’s No. 2 ranked run defense and Ingram come to Starkville.
The thought already has Dixon ready, despite the game being 11 days away.
“Oh man, it’s big,” Dixon said. “That’s what we play for: the excitement, the opportunity that’s coming up. We couldn’t ask for nothing better.
“That defense they got, I can’t wait to play against them.”
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