LORMAN &045; Now a day later, it’s time for something positive.

There were positives to be found after Alcorn State’s embarrassing 41-8 loss at home to Alabama State. The honest truth is both teams realize more than half the season remains despite the talk of how big the game was in reference to the race for the SWAC East Division title.

So it’s time to relax, take a breather and remember no one’s season is over. That game was just Week 4.

The Braves have an open date this week.

&uot;One thing about this football team and one thing about me as a coach &045; we know how to come back from adversity,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;We’ve done that before. We’ve done that the last three or four years. You have to realize that not all the time are things going to go your way. You still have to hang in there.&uot;

The win put the Hornets in first place alone atop the standings and put the Braves in second with their first conference loss of the season. But even the Hornets aren’t starting to think SWAC Championship yet with the number of games remaining on the schedule.

Alabama State still has eight games remaining, five of which will count as conference games.

&uot;It’s just one game at a time,&uot; Bama State head coach Charlie Coe said. &uot;We’ve still got Southern next week, and Jackson State always plays us tough. (Alabama) A&M lost in Pine Bluff, so we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’ve got to keep our guys hungry and keep getting better.&uot;

There’s no denying the Braves remain hungry, but they’ve got to work to get better in areas the Hornets exposed Friday night. Give credit to Coe and his staff of coming up with a working game plan that kept Alcorn from making any big connections on the passing game.

In an odd turn of events, Alcorn started the game with standout quarterback Donald Carrie on the bench in favor of red-shirt freshman Oliver Bozeman. Carrie sat the first three possessions in favor of Bozeman, and by the time the four-year started entered the game the Hornets had a 14-0 lead at the start of the second quarter.

Alcorn has experimented on the opening drive in game this season &045; Bozeman opened at QB against North Carolina A&T with Carrie in the backfield and later split wide &045; but this different.

&uot;That was just a decision we made,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;Just to give Carrie an opportunity to look things over and see what they were doing. Let him see what Alabama State was doing defensively. Then we brought him in. He did pretty good, but Alabama State dominated us in every phase of the game tonight.&uot;

The Braves had trouble containing Alabama State’s blitzes, and the line never gave Carrie enough time to find favorite targets Charlie Spiller or Nate Hughes with the deep ball. Too often the senior was chased or getting rid of the ball to avoid a sack.

Carrie was sacked four times and threw two interceptions.

On Carrie’s first drive the Braves got to a first down at the Alabama State 33 before Billy Gresham and Chris Dupuy each threw the quarterback for a combined loss of 14 yards. The drive ended in a punt.

&uot;That’s what Alabama State is &045; we’re a pressure defense,&uot; Coe said. &uot;We have to do what we can. We’ll bring the pressure and bring the blitz. We’ll do what we have to do to win the game. There are too many good quarterbacks in this conference. Carrie will pick you apart.&uot;

The line struggled holding the blitz and suffered a key loss midway through the second quarter when starting guard Todd Johnson went down with an injury. The offense never could find a rhythm running the ball, either.

&uot;It kind of caught us off guard a little when (Bozeman) first came out,&uot; Bama State lienbacker Ronald &uot;Rock&uot; Dillon said. &uot;They moved the ball with those running plays, but after we settled down, they were in trouble. You’re not going to run on us long, and that guy couldn’t throw. They were in trouble.&uot;