Mississippi State’s visit to Southern Miss on Saturday night had all the makings of a trap game. It had an odd kickoff time, an over-matched foe playing on its home field with nothing to lose and a capacity crowd looking for a program-defining victory.

Oh, and that game against LSU looming on the schedule for next week.

For the first two quarters, it went very much that way. Mississippi State turned the ball over a couple of times. Southern Miss dominated the time of possession, thanks in part to a recovered onside-kick.

Yet, after a goal line stand late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs still led at the half before roaring to life to claim a 34-16 victory in Hattiesburg.

5 TAKEAWAYS

  1. A clean night: It wasn’t a work of art, but the Bulldogs secured a win and stayed pretty healthy. New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz didn’t need anything special to keep the Golden Eagles in line, which means that all the new wrinkles were saved for next week’s game with LSU.
  2. Special teams were solid: Aside from that onside kick, MSU’s special teams had a big night. Brandon Holloway had a 100-yard kickoff return, the Bulldogs blocked a punt and Westin Graves converted both of his field goal attempts.
  3. Dak Prescott keeps rewriting the record book: On a night where he broke the school’s career passing touchdown record (43 and counting), Prescott found 10 different receivers on his way to 316 total yards and three total scores.
  4. Passing an early test: Southern Miss had a school-record crowd in its corner, and the Golden Eagles spent the first half marching up and down the field. Mississippi State bent, but didn’t break, in the opening two quarters. And the second half belonged to the Bulldogs.
  5. Keeping the ball more: It ultimately wasn’t a factor, but Southern Miss had the ball for almost 38 minutes on Saturday night. The Bulldogs will need to mount longer drives on offense going forward.

REPORT CARD

Offense: B — The Bulldogs put up 442 yards of total offense, but still left some points on the field. Ashton Shumpert fumbled on his way into the end zone on the game’s opening drive, which probably made the whole night a little harder than it needed to be.

Defense: B+ — The Bulldogs defense stayed away from the big play, tackled well and got better the deeper Southern Miss got into its territory. I get the feeling that may have been the idea.

Special Teams: A — A muffed punt return and the aforementioned onside-kick keep this from being an A+ grade. But with the solid placekicking, kickoff return for a score and a blocked punt, there was a lot to like.

Coaching: B — I’m inclined to think that coach Dan Mullen’s idea was to come in, do enough to win the game and get out healthy — and maybe do all of that without giving away anything new in advance of next week’s home game with LSU. Assuming that’s true, it was mission accomplished.

Overall: B — The first half was a C, and the second half was an A. Split the difference, and you have a solid night’s work for the Bulldogs.

GAME PLAN

Like I said, survive, advance and don’t show too much. Not to overstate things, but this game was the biggest in recent Southern Miss history. It was a tough spot for MSU — late kickoff time, big, hostile crowd and an in-state rival with a point to prove — and the Bulldogs never looked in any real danger of losing the game.

GAME BALLS

QB Dak Prescott: You can’t win the Heisman Trophy in Week 1, but you can certainly lose it. The senior didn’t turn the ball over, spread it around and accounted for three total touchdowns. The campaign rolls on.
RB Brandon Holloway: On top of the 100-yard blur of a kickoff return, he also added 51 yards rushing on only seven carries.
LB Richie Brown: The junior linebacker had 11 total tackles and an interception to power the Bulldogs defense.

INJURY UPDATE

CB Taveze Calhoun missed the game with a knee injury, but is expected back for next week’s game with LSU.