CEDAR CITY, Utah -- — Bronson Barron threw three touchdown passes and Joshua Dye rushed for 180 yards and two scores to lead Southern Utah to a 46-24 victory over Idaho State in a season opener on Saturday night.

Barron completed 19 of 25 passes for 240 yards for the Thunderbirds.

Barron tossed a 22-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Nunez and a 13-yarder to Mark Bails Jr. to put Southern Utah up 15-0 after one quarter. Dye scored on a 32-yard run 1:41 into the second quarter for a 22-0 advantage.

Jordan Cooke connected with Damien Morgan for a 19-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession for Idaho State and safety Mason Young picked up a fumble and ran 15 yards for a score to get the Bengals within eight.

Jayden Rogers' 20-yard field goal put the Thunderbirds up 25-14 at halftime.

Barron had a 4-yard scoring toss to Niko Alailefaleula and Will Burns ran 72 yards for a touchdown to push Southern Utah's advantage to 39-14 midway through the third. Dye capped the scoring on a 19-yard run with 4:04 left. Burns finished with 107 yards on five carries.

Cooke completed 23 of 45 passes for 334 yards for the Bengals, who managed only 23 yards on 16 rushes. Michael Shulikov had seven receptions for 115 yards while Morgan caught five for 98.

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