LORMAN &045; If the Alcorn State Braves were to be handed at least one loss this season with no questions asked, Saturday would have been the time to take it.

Because sometimes a little dose of reality can do wonders.

That’s how the Braves taking Saturday’s disappointing loss to Howard on Saturday as a huge clash with Alabama State awaits this week. The 17-10 defeat at FedEx Field was hard to swallow, particularly since the defense played well enough to win and the offense was inconsistent enough to lose it.

&uot;We didn’t play very well against Howard,&uot; Thomas said Monday. &uot;We could kind of foresee this coming from this football team. We had a big ball game against Grambling and didn’t play well in the first 3 1/2 quarters against North Carolina A&T.; We as a coaching staff tried to emphasize tried to emphasize to our ball players you have to play four quarters of football.

&uot;You can’t turn it on whenever you want to turn it on. I really hate to say this, but sometimes you need to lose a football game to bring reality back to your football team.&uot;

That’s especially important for an offense that had flat-out struggled the last two games after just blowing up in the season opener against Grambling. Quarterback Donald Carrie was sharp on his targets against the Tigers and played himself into an Offensive Player of the Year candidate.

But he did just the opposite in the next two games. He completed 12 of 24 passes against A&T for just 184 yards and just 14 of 37 passes for 187 yards against Howard.

The biggest negative came on a fumbled snap in the third quarter Saturday with the Braves holding a 10-6 lead. The ball fell on the turf before Carrie could grip it, and Bison defensive lineman Michael Brown returned it 80 yards for a touchdown in what ultimately decided the contest.

&uot;I haven’t looked at the film, but it seemed like he was trying to recover it and couldn’t,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;That was the turning point in the game. I think we had pretty good momentum.

&uot;If we had scored, I think that would have put Howard away. But they scored on that and gave them the momentum. We had opportunities to win the ball game, but we could not capitalize on them.&uot;

Give the Bison credit for its effort on defense and pass coverage. The Braves’ defense, meanwhile, continued to play well for a third consecutive week &045; a unit that did not have high expectations coming into the season with the limited number of starters from a season ago.

Now contrary to that belief, it’s the offense that’s trying to find a groove. The defense held the Bison without a single pass completion Saturday while allowing 190 yards total offense.

The defense had some surprise contributions from middle linebacker Antonio Cooper, a 6-0, 232-pound true freshman out of Birmingham, Ala., who had nine tackles and 1 1/2 tackles for loss playing alongside seniors Dwan Wilson and Leo Nobles.

&uot;Our defense played very well, although we have to work out some things,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;We had three interceptions and one fumble recovery.&uot;

Now the Braves have to get back focused and playing like they did in Week 1 against Grambling.

The Braves had turnover problems last year at Alabama State and lost that game, one that in end kept them from going to the SWAC Championship and put the Hornets there against Southern.

&uot;I’m very concerned about how we are approaching the game overall as a football team,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;For the last two weeks we haven’t come out and played four quarters of football. For some reason we mess around and mess around and haven’t seemed to execute when we need to execute. When we put together four solid quarters of football, I think we’ll fare well.&uot;

Elsewhere in the conference, Monday was the start of preparations for the annual Jackson State-Mississippi Valley showdown. The rivalry may lost some luster with both programs on a downside, but it’s still has huge implications for those involved.

The Tigers, although winless, have fared better in their three games so far this season in losses to Hampton, Northwestern State and Tennessee State.

&uot;We’ve played three ranked opponents right off the bat, and I think that’s made us better,&uot; JSU head coach James Bell said. &uot;Valley is going to be much-improved. They’re moving the ball and have a good quarterback. The defense is doing an outstanding job, too. They’ve played every opponent well.&uot;

The biggest positive for the Tigers came in the form of Cletis Gordon, the return man named Special Teams Player of the Week who ran back two kicks for scores on Saturday. He ran back a punt 73 yards and a kickoff 89 yards.

&uot;He’s an NFL prospect. He’ll be playing on Sundays,&uot; Bell said. &uot;He plays with a passion, and he gets better every week.&uot;