LORMAN &045; Here it is a third straight Monday, and there’s no other way to look back on a third Alcorn loss the previous Saturday and not know what went wrong.

&uot;It’s the same thing,&uot; said ASU head coach Johnny Thomas in reference to the turnovers, mistakes and other breaks that went bad Saturday in the Braves’ 60-7 loss at Stephen F. Austin, a loss that was the third straight for the Braves after they opened with a convincing win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff back on Aug. 30.

But since then it’s been the same thing, and the Braves have yet to get it right heading into Saturday’s game at Division II Fort Valley State before jumping back into SWAC play 4 at Texas Southern.

&uot;We can’t get away from those things. The bottom line is we’ve got to get better. Until we get better, I’ll be talking about these same things. That team was good, but we allowed them to be very, very good. We made turnovers and just didn’t play very well.&uot;

The Braves had problems in just about every facet of the game &045; offense, defense and special teams &045; and had to get a score late in the game against the Lumberjacks’ reserves to avoid the program’s worst loss since a 69-6 loss to Jackson State back in 1958.

The Lumberjacks had nearly 500 yards total offense, and the Braves would have been held to just over 100 yards had they not connected on a 59-yard touchdown pass to get on the board with nearly two minutes left in the game.

&uot;They’re just a good football team,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;It just didn’t happen that way for us. They just out-played us, out-talented us and out-coached us, bottom line. They’re a heck of a team.&uot;

And the ride back to campus was ample opportunity to put the loss out of their minds, especially since it was a non-conference game against a heavily favored opponent. And who wants to remember how bad things got at SFA’s Homer Bryce Stadium &045; another poor snap to punter Shane Phillips resulted in an illegal kick call to set up a SFA touchdown for a 20-0 lead.

Phillips later had an 8-yard punt to set up the another score for the 27-0 lead, return specialist Lonnie Teagle then fumbled the kickoff to set up a SFA field goal for a 30-0 lead at halftime.

The Lumberjacks then pounded out a long drive to open the second half for a touchdown before the defense did the pounding when Alcorn got the ball. The Braves were backed up in their own territory, and Phillips had a punt blocked out of the end zone for a safety.

&uot;We allowed them to capitalize on every facet of the game &045; offense, defense and special teams,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;It snowballed big time. But I’m thinking this team will bounce back. We have had guys here for three or four years, and now they’re juniors and seniors. I’m waiting for the maturation process to take effect for this football team.

&uot;The good thing is we know what we have to do to win against quality football teams. If we’re going to vie for the Eastern Division (title) of the SWAC, now is the time. We need to get some confidence and momentum for the final stretch of the season so we can make a serious effort and compete for the SWAC championship.&uot;

The game, however, allowed backup quarterback Milton Green, a red-shirt freshman, to get action on the field. The left-handed quarterback connected with freshman Charlie Spiller on the 58-yard touchdown pass for the Braves’ only score of the game.

Green entered the game at the end of the third quarter after starter Donald Carrie threw an interception that set up a Lumberjack score for a 53-0 lead. Green finished the game with five completions on seven attempts for 80 yards, while Carrie completed 6 of 17 passes for 26 yards.

&uot;He did an outstanding job,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;I was happy to see him play the way he did. It’s not the same type of performance when you’re playing against a team that has gone up by 45 points and all of a sudden they’ve got their second-string guys in. But for him to come in and play the way that he did, it was comforting to see.&uot;

The 6-3, 210-pound Green is next on the depth chart behind Carrie, creating a situation where Carrie’s durability may be tested over the course of the Braves’ 11-game season. Green is a red-shirt freshman, and behind him is true freshmen Oliver Bozeman (6-3, 170) and Travis Dent (6-0, 195).

In the case of Carrie in a slump or injury, the others may get hurried along into a tough situation.

&uot;We’d be in trouble,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;We wouldn’t be if our defense would rise to the occasion and our special teams would rise to the occasion. We wouldn’t have the experience and knowledge of the offensive system to really compete competitively as a quality football program.&uot;

NOTES &045; The Braves weren’t the only SWAC school not faring well against teams from the Southland Conference. Nicholls State put up nearly 500 yards rushing on Texas Southern in a 64-5 win. Earlier this month McNeese topped Grambling, 31-20, at Eddie Robinson Stadium….Linebacker Omega Logan strained an MCL Saturday. Thomas said although he appears much better he’ll undergo tests today.