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Quarterback Dak Prescott and Mississippi State fans celebrate their 38-23 win over Auburn on Oct. 11, 2014, in Starkville, Miss. (AP photo)

The most impressive performance Saturday in Starkville didn't belong to Dak Prescott, Josh Robinson or De'Runnya Wilson, although that trio of playmakers made play after play after play.

No, the real MVP of Mississippi State 38, Auburn 23 was John Q. Public. Joe State Fan. The entire Bulldog Nation, or at least the portion of it that turned Davis Wade Stadium into a miniature Death Valley.

It was the most awe-inspiring effort by an SEC fan base in memory. It may have been the greatest exhibition of crowd control, or self-control, in history.

There were two highlights to the group effort that went beyond the 62,945 customers who made up the largest and loudest crowd Scott Field has seen and heard in its 100 years.

First, the cowbells. It wasn't so much that the State fans rang them, early and often, late and into the night, with a fervor to rival Will Ferrell in that "More Cowbell" Saturday Night Live skit. They did. Three days later, my ears are still ringing like the church bells of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

The real buzz is that State fans heeded AD Scott Stricklin's pregame warning and knew when to say when. For the most part, when Auburn center Reese Dismukes stood over the ball, their bells stood at attention and went silent. Their voices didn't. With a relatively small number of exceptions, they actually paid attention to the repeated scoreboard message, "No bell. Just yell."

That's no small accomplishment with that many people wielding that many artificial noisemakers, and the State fans should be applauded for it.

They earned more kudos at game's end. Despite winning the biggest regular-season game in school history, despite taking down the defending SEC champions, despite making a statement that they deserved to be the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time, they acted like they'd been there before.

Unlike their equally giddy and rightfully so neighbors at that school up north after Ole Miss beat Alabama the week before, they didn't storm the field and take down the goalposts. They kept their heads and kept their seats.

That's a tribute to the State fans and to the school's security, and it was a lesson to the rest of the SEC and to college football fans from coast to coast.

So while the Mississippi State players get a little extra time to bask in their 6-0 start, their three straight wins over top-10 teams and their No. 1 ranking during this bye week, the Mississippi State fans can share in the excitement themselves.

They didn't just watch some amazing things happen Saturday in their own Dawg Pound. They helped make them happen. They didn't just ring responsibly. They celebrated responsibly, too.

They didn't just help make a difference. They helped make a statement. A Mississippi State-ment.

The Bulldogs are setting the pace on and off the field these days. Let's hope that what happened in Stark Vegas doesn't stay in Stark Vegas. College football would be better for it if other fan bases followed their lead.