TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Forget the so-called LSU hangover.

Never mind this being something of a trap game with the Iron Bowl on the horizon.

Anyone thinking Alabama would be sluggish after that slugfest in Baton Rouge last week was mistaken. The focus was on Mississippi State, not Auburn or anyone else, as the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide came out ready for a lunchtime kickoff against the Bulldogs on Saturday, scoring early and often to win 51-3.

Jalen Hurts ran for 100 yards and a score to go along with his 347 yards and four touchdowns passing. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

QB Jalen Hurts found Calvin Ridley for a short touchdown pass on Alabama’s second possession of the game, snapping a streak dating back to 2001 in which the Tide failed to find the end zone in the first quarter the week after playing LSU.

It was important to get Hurts going after the way he struggled against LSU. The freshman quarterback threw only 19 passes and no touchdowns against the Tigers. But against Mississippi State, he had 28 attempts by the end of the first half and finished with a career-high 347 yards and four passing touchdowns. He also ran for 100 yards and a touchdown.

While the offense looked like night and day compared to a week ago, the defense offered more of the same. In other words, Reuben Foster & Co. continued to be a brick wall. Twice Mississippi State got the ball on Alabama’s side of the field in the first half, and neither time did the Bulldogs manage to put points on the board.

Bulldogs QB Nick Fitzgerald ran for cover and found none, getting sacked twice and hurried 11 times. And when he did have time to get rid of the ball, he completed just 10 of 33 passes, including five attempts that were broken up by Alabama defenders.

With Mississippi State out of the way and a cupcake against FCS Chattanooga next weekend, it’s full steam ahead to the Iron Bowl to face a resurgent Auburn team. If Auburn beats Georgia this afternoon, the matchup will serve as a de facto play-in game for the SEC championship game in Atlanta.

After losing two of three games to start the season, Gus Malzahn’s Tigers have gone undefeated and reached No. 9 in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Alabama, which hosts this year’s Iron Bowl, hasn’t lost at home to Auburn since 2010, when Cam Newton led a second-half comeback that saved the Tigers’ championship season.

Like their in-state rivals, Auburn hosts what should be an overmatched FCS team, Alabama A&M, next Saturday.