Mississippi State's defense clamped down on Southern Mississippi in the second half, quarterback Dak Prescott got the offense in gear and the Bulldogs went on to post a comfortable 34-16 victory over the Golden Eagles in a college football opener Saturday night in Hattiesburg, Miss.

The Bulldogs held the Eagles to two field goals in the first two quarters and Prescott, who had zero yards rushing and only 78 yards passing in the first half, threw for one touchdown and ran for one in the second half to break the game open.

Up only 14-10 at the break, thanks in part to Brandon Holloway's 100-yard kickoff return, the Bulldogs put themselves in an early hole by mishandling a kickoff, starting at their own 5-yard line.

But a 15-yard personal foul penalty against the Eagles got the Bulldogs out of danger and Prescott then broke free for a 49-yard run that put his team at Southern Miss 16-yard line. He completed the drive with a 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gus Walley.

That made it 24-13 and the margin remained in double digits the rest of the way. Prescott capped the scoring with a 7-yard run in the fourth quarter.

For the game, Prescott finished 21-of-37 passing for 238 yards after starting 8-of-14 for 78 yards in the first half.

Southern Mississippi never could muster a consistent enough attack on offense to mount a serious threat. Quarterback Nick Mullens was 30-of-44 passing for 311 yards but threw two interceptions.