LORMAN &045; Probably the biggest surprise Saturday at Jack Spinks Stadium was what didn’t happen.

Only 51 points scored between Alcorn and Southeastern Louisiana was somewhat of a shock since many folks were gearing up for one of those SWAC-type 52-49 contests. But instead both squads’ defenses played well, leaving the Braves to get a touchdown late to take a 27-24 win over a good SLU squad in its first year of football.

The reason? You can talk Southeastern’s defensive front or Alcorn’s secondary, but the answer may be simpler than that.

&uot;This was our first time playing at 2 o’clock,&uot; Alcorn quarterback Donald Carrie said. &uot;We’re used to getting a little time to relax early in the day and then preparing for the game. This time we had to wake up and then we had to play. I think that’s what made us to be sluggish in the first half.&uot;

When the Lions got 17 points in the first quarter without having to start a drive beyond its own 40, you’d have to agree Carrie’s assessment. But the Braves’ defense allowed just seven points after that and did a good job of making big plays when it had to in order to stop Southeastern’s passing game.

&uot;The guys played very well in the second half,&uot; said Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas, who credited defensive coordinator LaTraia Jones and his staff for the game plan. &uot;They tackled very well and executed well. Early in the game we put a lot of head on them because it was what we felt like we had to do. The second half we mixed it up to keep them off balance, and it worked very well for us.&uot;

The Braves had the heat going early but opted many times in the second half to stick with their four down lineman to put pressure on quarterback Martin Hankins. The defense came up with three big stops despite yielding 308 yards passing to the Lions.

In the first quarter the Lions drove from their own 24 to the Alcorn 24 before cornerback Taurian Parks came up with an interception. At the start of the second half the Lions got down to the Alcorn 17 before Hankins was sacked by Michael Howleit on fourth down.

Then with the game on the line for the Lions late Tyrone Parsons picked off a Hankins pass.

&uot;Any time you have a turnover one minute into the game or one minute left in the game, it can always change things,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;We turned the football over early to allow Southeastern to put points and some momentum. Then we didn’t turn the ball over any more, and we got the big interception by Parsons, which was huge turning point in the game &045; in addition to the interception by Parks.&uot;

The defense had its only breakdown at the start of the fourth quarter when the Lions got a touchdown to take a 24-14 lead. The key play came first when Hankins hit Hutch Gonzales on a 20-yard pass, but the Braves were flagged 15 yards in addition for roughing the passer for a net play of 35 yards.

The Braves got two big stops once SLU got to the 13 when Dwan Wilson threw Ray Perkins for a 2-yard loss and a Hankins-to-Perkins pass went for a 1-yard loss. But Hankins &045; who threw a season-high 55 passes in the contest &045; hit Jeffrey Howard on an 8-yard touchdown pass.

BANGED UP QB &045; Hankins took some shots at times from Alcorn’s front, but none was bigger on the hit Howleit put on him to kill that drive in the second half. Hankins’ legs got rolled up in the hit, and he had to be carried off the field.

He sat out a possession for backup Seth Babin, but he returned a bit gimpy but finished the game. The freshman from Hattiesburg &045; who says he’s no relation to the Hankins family in Natchez &045; kept moving toward I-AA freshman passing records under head coach Hal Mumme’s system.

&uot;I tell you what, it’s been fun,&uot; Hankins said. &uot;Coach Mumme is a great quarterbacks coach and knows his stuff. I couldn’t have picked a better offense to play in. It’s great. I got here in July, and I just met these guys four months ago. We’re learning stuff every game, and it can’t do anything but help us.&uot;

WHO CARES? &045; Nearly 92,000 fans gathered in Baton Rouge for one of the largest funerals known to man Saturday night.

With LSU’s 49-10 dismantling of little brother Louisiana Tech, and a little help from teams ranked ahead of it laying eggs, the Tigers moved from No. 7 to No. 4 in both the Associated Press and coaches polls Sunday.

But don’t let head coach Nick Saban hear about it.

&uot;I have no concern about it. Zero,&uot; Saban said after his team scored all of its points in the first half, the most in a single half since 1958. &uot;We’ve got three more games to play, and (the rankings) don’t matter unless we can win those games we play. We can’t control&uot; where they are ranked.

The No. 4 ranking is the highest for the Tigers this late in the season since 1962 when LSU was ranked at the same spot in the AP poll during the week of Nov. 3. Overall, the No. 4 ranking is the highest for the Tigers since 1987 when LSU appeared at No. 4 in the third and fourth weeks of the season.

HANGING THEIR HATS ON &045; Despite more than 7,000 blue-clad followers wearing mud bashfully on their faces, Louisiana Tech reached some milestones against the Tigers Saturday.

Its 10 points were the most ever scored in the 17-game series with LSU, which the Tigers now hold a 16-1 advantage in, that dates back to 1901.

The lone Bulldog win came at home in 1904 when Tech squeaked by 6-0, a week after LSU handled the Ruston gang 17-0 in Baton Rouge.

Running back Ryan Moats, whose 60-yard run set up a 29-yard boot from placekicker’s Josh Scobee’s foot, became the first opposing running back to eclipse the 100-yard plateau against the Tigers this year with 124 yards on 16 rushes.

&uot;We had a tremendous amount of respect for (the Bulldogs) and their offensive guys,&uot; Saban said. &uot;A couple of times they showed what they had with great speed and skill.&uot;

Touted Bulldog quarterback Luke McCown moved into fourth place on the NCAA’s all-time total offense list (12,170) when he hooked up with Eric Newman for a 49-yard score with 4:11 in the third quarter.

&uot;We didn’t give up, we played the whole 60 minutes,&uot; Tech head coach Jack Bicknell said. &uot;I think that is something to build on. We made a couple of mistakes early &045; turnovers &045; which you can obviously not do.&uot;

SOUNDING THE ALARM &045; Since LSU dropped its only game of the season, a 19-7 defeat at the hands of Florida on Oct. 11, the Tigers have outscored their last three opponents &045; South Carolina, Auburn and Tech &045; by a combined 113-24.

The loss to the Gators, an increasingly evolving team which knocked off Georgia Saturday for their third consecutive victim including LSU, calmed the national title storm that had surrounding Baton Rouge after the Tigers knocked off Georgia earlier in the season.

No one likes to lose, especially this group, who follow their general’s lead by setting such high standards for themselves.

&uot;It doesn’t matter who you play or what for,&uot; quarterback Matt Mauck said. &uot;As long as you give your best effort out there, you’re going to give yourself a chance to win. The Florida game shows you what can happen when you don’t.&uot;

Mauck finished 18 of 20 for 311 yards &045; a career high &045; Saturday for the best single game completion percentage (.900) in school history. His first 14 bulls’ eyes also tied the record for consecutive completions in a game.

Mauck tossed three scores, the first of which went to a wide open Michael Clayton, who with the catch extended his consecutive games with a catch streak to 35 &045; every game of his career.

&uot;You got to go with what works, and be humble about it,&uot; Clayton said. &uot;When everybody touches the ball like that the defense has to respect you. We’ve got the skill players to score every time we get it.&uot;

Democrat sportswriter

Chuck Corder

contributed to this report.