STARKVILLE — Unlike last year, there was no struggle for Dan Mullen’s Mississippi State team in the season opener.

The Bulldogs were dominant on both sides of the ball, rolling hapless Memphis 49-7 Saturday night before 56,032 fans at Davis-Wade Stadium.

New Bulldog co-defensive coordinator Manny Diaz’s unit allowed just two long field goal attempts through the game’s first 40 minutes as the State built a 42-0 advantage. The Tigers (0-1) did not score until the final 1:39 on an 18-yard pass.

Both of State’s quarterbacks looked sharp, especially Tyler Russell, the former Meridian High quarterback who led the Wildcats to the Class 5A title in 2008 and ended South Panola’s 75-game winning streak.

Russell threw four touchdowns on strikes of 20, 27, 57 and 25 yards. He was 13-of-16 for 256 yards in his most extensive action in a Bulldog uniform.

“It’s been a year since I’ve played in a football game,” Russell said. “It was good to get my feet wet. I was nervous at the start, but once I completed that first pass, I was good.”

Mullen said he was happy with his offense that put 49 points on the board and his defense which pitched a shutout for much of the night.

“I’m really happy with how the game went,” Mullen said. “I know Larry (Porter) is just starting a new program, but we were able to take advantage of some things and we made plays down the field.”

State’s starter at quarterback, Chris Relf, played well also. He led the Bulldogs on two scoring drives in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 21-0 lead. He threw for 116 yards and one score.

Relf, after throwing an interception on his first pass, bounced back with a 55-yard TD pass to Leon Berry at the 10:04 mark.

“Chris threw one of the worst interceptions you could have, but he came back and showed his maturity,” Mullen said. “I was glad to see us have balance. We are working to become a 50/50 run/pass team. When teams load up in the box, we can now take advantage and go down the field.”

Russell threw a 20-yard touchdown strike to Brandon Heavens in the first quarter to cap a 91-yard drive on his first series and give State a 14-0 lead.

In the third quarter, he went back to a wide-open Heavens for a 27-yard TD strike that made it 28-0 after Sean Brauchle’s kick. He got his third touchdown pass on a 47-yard TD toss to Chad Bumphis that gave the Bulldogs a 42-0 cushion with seven minutes left in the third quarter.

Russell capped his night with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Bumphis with 11:23 left to make it 49-0.

On the third series and starting from the MSU nine, Russell looked sharp in hitting four passes, including a 20-yard touchdown strike to Brandon Heavens. The Tigers were held to a long field goal after Relf’s interception, which went wide. In the second quarter, an all-out blitz led to an interception by Maurice Langston.

On the next Memphis series, the Tigers reached the State 40, but a sack by Chris Wright stopped the drive.

The Bulldogs went up 21-0 when Vick Ballard broke free on a 51-yard TD run with 3:10 before halftime.