The season opener against Mississippi State on Saturday most likely will be a rough one for the Golden Eagles. Although there are some factors that bode well for Southern Miss, there are a lot that do not.

Starting with Bulldog quarterback Dak Prescott, MSU is outfitted with some of the nation’s most talented athletes. Prescott himself is a one man wrecking crew, ready to shred any defense that opposes him.

Last season, he scored 41 total touchdowns, including four against USM, and over 4,000 total yards. While he has lost some key pieces around him, he is still an alpha male in college football and will continue to dominate defenses this season.

The Bulldog defense did lose a lot of talent from their defense a season ago, namely Preston Smith and Benardrick McKinney, but do not let their big name losses fool you. This is still an SEC defense, capable of shutting the Golden Eagle offense down.

After losing 15 total starters, eight on defense and seven on offense, it is easy to see why some point at this game as being a perfect storm for USM. The Golden Eagles are returning nearly their entire offense and replaced their key defensive players with former blue chip prospects.

But the reality is that MSU is superior in terms of talent at every position on the field and will eventually run away with the game. USM has a chance to hang around going into halftime, but look for the Bulldogs to pull away.

Bulldogs 41, Golden Eagles 17