LORMAN &045; Even with all its quirks, there is good to be found in scheduling in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The Alcorn Braves play the first of two non-conference games today at Stephen F. Austin, and two games that don’t count in the league standings may be what suits them best right now. After two hard-to-swallow losses and a 1-1 mark in the SWAC, the Braves get a chance to iron out the kinks today and next week at Fort Valley State.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. today in Nacogdoches, Texas.

&uot;We’ve still got to bounce back and get back to the basics,&uot; defensive lineman Eric Roach said. &uot;We’ve got to bounce back, and we’ll bounce back from that loss. This is a good chance to get back to playing good ball. We (had) to get back to the basics in practice and forget (the losses).&uot;

It’s that reason only that the Braves (1-2) are fired up for games that really don’t count for anything but pride. There’s no race for the SWAC on the line, no team to beat to move up in the Sheridan Poll and little chance of showing up on the radar that is the Division I-AA poll.

&uot;We’re back focused,&uot; receiver Corvin Johnson said. &uot;We’ve been feeding off our coaches. The coaches are reaching out to the players and getting us on the same page. But I think we’re rebouding. I see a whole 360 from the first day of camp until today. Practice is going real smooth. Everybody knows what to expect and knows their role.&uot;

What’s even better is the Braves have had a week off to polish things &045; the turnover problems, the coverage problems and the other details &045; before getting back to an actual game situation.

Today’s opponent will be a good test. The Lumberjacks of the Southland Conference make for a formidable opponent, and that’s not counting the fact that in recent years SLC teams have gone though SWAC teams like hot water through a colander.

&uot;If we can eliminated those (mistakes) out of our game, we can get through the season as winners and perhaps champions,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;We’ve had people on the ropes until we made those mistakes. We were leading and gave them opportunities that they didn’t have to work for, and we lose the game.&uot;

The Braves’ defense will go into the contest still a bit depleted with injuries. Linebacker Dwan Wilson is still out after he injured a knee in the Arkansas-Pine Bluff game, and defensive back Jeremy Stockdale is out for the season after injuring a knee against Alabama State.

&uot;It really didn’t shake anybody up,&uot; Roach said. &uot;We’ve been through it last year. Whoever is behind them has to step up, and the other 10 people have to step up.&uot;

But as the Braves are fighting turnover problems, so are the Lumberjacks (1-2). In almost copycat fashion to Alcorn, the Lumberjacks had a 17-10 lead over Northern Iowa last week before two quick UNI touchdowns in the third quarter put the game away in a 38-24 defeat despite getting 337 yards passing from quarterback Zeke Dixon.

And perhaps just like the Braves, Stephen F. Austin is determined to work through it.

&uot;They are very sound defensively and offensively,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;They’re very, very technique-sound and do exactly what they’ve been taught to do. They’re a good football team just like we’re a good football team.

&uot;Turnovers can beat a good football team and make a poor football team seem as if it’s a better football team. That’s what’s happening to us. The team that turn the ball over the least in this game will win the football game.&uot;