HUNTSVILLE, Ala. &045; The stage is set for a huge contest Saturday at Jack Spinks Stadium, and the Alcorn State Braves need a win over Alabama A&M and finish out with a win over Jackson State to clinch the East Division title.

But for A&M, it’s much simpler than that.

Win, and you’re going to the SWAC Championship.

It’s a near-winner-take-all matchup Saturday, and it’s the Bulldogs who are looking for their third straight trip to the title game in Birmingham next month. It’ll have to come against a hot Alcorn team in a game that’s shaping up to be an interesting battle.

&uot;I think everybody knows if we win we’re in,&uot; A&M head coach Anthony Jones said. &uot;If we lose, we’re probably not going to be in and maybe Alabama State will get in. It’s going to be a very tough football game. They have a lot of talent and a good coaching staff. It’s going to be a tough ball game for us.&uot;

Safe to say it’s going to be the same for the Braves as both teams come into the contest playing well. The Bulldogs, who were drubbed by Southern earlier in the season, come into the contest after kicking a struggling Jackson State team, 49-14.

The Bulldogs, whose defense was paramount in its run to the SWAC Championship last year, have got the offense clicking well and are ranked 24th in the ESPN/USA Today I-AA poll and 27th in the The Sports Network poll. They’re second in the SWAC in points allowed but third in points scored.

&uot;I think we’re averaging 30 points a game, and that’s not bad when you start the season off with three points,&uot; Jones said. &uot;We’re starting to make some plays, making fewer mistakes and getting some consistent play out of the quarterback and skill position people. Our defense is still the strength of our team.&uot;

The biggest playmaker in Satuday’s thumping of Jackson State was Durrel Weekley, the wide receiver from Water Valley who caught four passes for 130 yards. The Bulldogs coupled that with another solid outing running the football and were able to jump out to a 36-0 halftime lead on the Tigers.

All that, however, is not to take away the Bulldogs’ biggest strength. Its defense is still is solid as it was last year, and the unit has allowed just 31 points in three games since falling apart in that 55-25 loss at Southern.

Even with that game the Bulldogs are second in the conference in points allowed at 17.4 per game. They have the best rushing defense in the conference by allowing just 92.3 yards per game.

&uot;We’re going to have some seniors in our group,&uot; Jones said. &uot;We have 20 on the team, but lost a lot from last year. People didn’t think much of us this year. A lot of polls picked us last. I don’t pay much attention to that. It’s just locker room stuff. Everybody will be trying to beat you whether you’re picked first or last.&uot;

The defense will face an Alcorn offense that’s been hot and cold in the last three weeks despite the Braves coming in on a three-game winning streak. The offense sizzled in wins over Southern and Southeastern Louisiana with quarterback Donald Carrie throwing for 300 yards in both games, but turnovers hit the Braves hard in a 23-7 win over Mississippi Valley last week with five fumbles and two interceptions.

But it’s the films from the first two games that coaches at A&M have studied. It’s been where the Braves and Carrie have been at their best running and passing.

&uot;Alcorn has done a tremendous job,&uot; Jones said. &uot;They started real hot and came back and lost some ball games. Their coaching staff did a great job of turning things around. They’re still competing for a championship and are not out of it. &uot;

Carrie struggled throwing the football a bit last week with the two interceptions to raise his total to a SWAC-worst 15 picks on the season. But the Braves still moved the football last week when they had to, and running back Sidney Dumas’ return to action has given the offense that added dimension.