STARKVILLE, Miss. - Derrick Henry rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 2 Alabama to a 31-6 win over No. 17 Mississippi State on Saturday.

Henry scored on runs of 74 and 65 yards in front of 62,435 onlookers, the second-largest crowd in Davis Wade Stadium history. The Crimson Tide (9-1, 6-1 SEC) have won seven straight games.

"That's the kind of back that he is. As long as he is, he does a good job of picking his way through holes," Tide coach Nick Saban said. "Once he gets rolling, he's fast. He's faster than people think, and he's faster than he looks. He outruns the angles, and that's when you know somebody is really fast."

Dak Prescott was 23-of-44 for 300 yards for the Bulldogs (7-3, 3-3). He tossed one interception - a pick by Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey.

Crimson Tide kicker Adam Griffith opened the second-half scoring with a 42-yard field goal to make it 24-3. Mississippi State kicker Westin Graves drilled a 39-yard field goal to cut it to 24-6 in the third.

Midway through the fourth, Henry broke free down the sideline for a 65-yard touchdown to make it 31-6. The junior has rushed for 200 or more yards in three of Alabama's last four games.

Alabama sacked Prescott nine times. The previous high for sacks under Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was six.

"I don't know if they were doing anything special but just beating guys up there," Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen said. "I don't think we did a great job of protecting the quarterback. One of the things you want to do is protect the quarterback to be able to throw the football. We still threw for over 300 yards."

It was a shaky first half for both offenses, but the Crimson Tide made a few explosive plays while the Bulldogs stalled in the red zone. The Tide took a 21-3 into halftime.

"As far as moving the ball and getting to the red zone, we did pretty good," Mississippi State receiver Fred Ross said. "It was once we got there we stalled, and against a great team like Alabama that can not happen."

Mississippi State gashed Alabama's defense on its second possession of the contest, making it all the way to the 1-yard line. But faced with 4th-and-1 from the 1, Mississippi State Mullen elected to go for it, and the Tide stuffed the Bulldogs as Prescott tried to sneak up the middle. Mullen would later elect to attempt a 50-yard field goal that fell way short.

After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama struck first on a 69-yard punt-return score from cornerback Cyrus Jones. The punt-return TD was the first of Jones' career and Alabama's first since Christion Jones versus Tennessee Chattanooga in November 2013 (75 yards).

"I just tried to get out there and make a spark for the team," Jones said. "I wanted to make a play because that is what they have me back there for. I wanted to do my job."

Later in the second quarter, quarterback Jake Coker found wide receiver Calvin Ridley who turned a short pass into a 60-yard touchdown behind blocks from Kenyan Drake and ArDarius Stewart. Ridley had two grabs for 65 yards and the score in the opening half.

Graves added a 31-yard field goal to make it 14-3 with 6:10 left in the second quarter.

On Alabama's next drive, Henry found a hole and ran untouched for a 74-yard score to put Alabama up 21-3. Henry finished the half with 88 yards and the score on seven carries.

Alabama sacked Prescott six times in the first half.

"We thought the one thing that might be in our favor in this game was our defensive line against their offensive line," Saban said. "We did most of it with four guys rushing. Every time we rushed more than four and played man-to-man, (Prescott) got rid of the ball and he made a couple of big plays. They all did a good job of pushing the pocket. I think that was a real key to the game."

NOTES: Alabama TB Kenyan Drake suffered a broken arm in the first half, and did not return. He was replaced by freshman Damien Harris. ... Alabama freshman DB Minkah Fitzpatrick left the game in the first half with a lower leg injury and did not return. He was replaced by Tony Brown. ... Alabama DL Jonathan Allen is the first Tide player to have three sacks in a game since Courtney Upshaw did it against Auburn in 2010. ... Mississippi State WR De'Runnya Wilson was injured midway through the fourth quarter and had to be carted off the field.