LORMAN &045; Jeremy McCoy can smile about his debut to the 2005 season.

He’s in limited company. There’s not too many smiles to be found on the Alcorn State football team after their opening loss, but they’re banking on things changing real quick.

Like today. The Braves host NAIA member Langston at 6 p.m. today in a game where things must get right before next week’s assignment at defending SWAC East champ Alabama State.

&uot;We’re going to be able to run the ball against any team, I feel, with our offensive line playing like they did,&uot; said McCoy, who posted career highs against Southeastern Louisiana with 15 carries for 110 yards. &uot;When we get the passing game going, it’ll open up the running game some more. (Alabama State) is a great team, and they put it to us last year. We look forward to playing them.&uot;

When the passing game gets going, the Braves should click on all cylinders. The running game was productive last week with McCoy and Vernardus Cooper, but the biggest question mark was what everyone worried about all training camp &045; the quarterback.

Now things are complicated following Nate Hughes’ season-ending injury when he went down in the first quarter last week with a dislocated shoulder.

So coaches will stick with Oliver Bozeman &045; for now.

&uot;It depends on how well he does,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;We’ll stick with him. If he does well, we’ll stay with him. If not, we’ll look at something else.&uot;

Bozeman struggled in his first collegiate start last week with two interceptions and only 59 yards passing &045; lots of screen passes and no connections on the deep ball to Charlie Spiller.

That didn’t give the coaches the headaches as his inability to hold on to the snaps Saturday. On five occasions he lost the ball from center Jermaine Pruitt before having to fall on it.

&uot;The big thing is we’ve got to secure the ball, and we’re working on that,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;We shouldn’t have that problem (anymore). We’ve put that game behind us. Everybody is working hard and looking forward to the game against Langston.&uot;

If Bozeman and the passing game clicks &045; and the running game follow suit &045; don’t be surprised if you see some fireworks. Not the actual kind scheduled for the school’s Fireworks Night promotion, but it may be in the form of 50 or 60 points against the NAIA school.

&uot;I think they’re not going to hold anything back,&uot; Langston head coach Greg Johnson said. &uot;If I was playing a NAIA opponent, I’d try to put up a good showing. I think they’re kind of experiencing a changing of the guard.

&uot;Hopefully we’ll catch them after Donald Carrie. It’s like life after Robert Kent (for Jackson State). They’re struggling, and teams go through that. We’ll try to take advantage of that and go after their quarterbacks. We’ll try to keep them frustrated.&uot;

Yet it’s the running game that could be the catalyst today for the Braves. Long a team that relied on the passing game, the Braves used their offensive line that goes 300-plus from one end to the other.

And McCoy is only glad to oblige.

&uot;That’s the most carries I ever had,&uot; he said. &uot;We tried to get the passing game going, but the running game was on. Both me and Cooper could get yards, but I give (the line) all the credit.

&uot;I worked hard this summer. I knew coming in I would be getting more carries this season and playing more. I just wanted to help the team.&uot;

Johnson and the Lions, meanwhile, know a good bit about what the Braves will do today. Johnson is in his second year as head coach after spending two years at Jackson State as defensive coordinator and three seasons as head coach at Prairie View A&M.;

He knows Thomas, offensive coordinator John McKenzie and defensive coordinator LaTraia Jones just from seasons past.

&uot;I’ve known them for years,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;It’s like a homecoming for me going back to the SWAC. It gives me a little insight because I had gone against Coach Thomas when he was at Pine Bluff and Valley. When I was at Jackson State, he was at Alcorn. Coach McKenzie, going up against him the last couple of years, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what to expect from them and the players they’re playing with.&uot;

While he may be aware of the Braves’ tendencies on offense, keep in mind it’s a double-edged sword in this situation. Thomas, McKenzie and Jones &045; they know what Johnson likes to do, too.

Whether that comes into play today remains to be seen, however. It’s the first game against a SWAC team for Johnson and his Lions, a money-game opponent for the Braves.

But at least they have some momentum &045; last week’s 45-3 bombing of a struggling Lincoln University team gave the team a boost of confidence.

&uot;Lincoln had already played two games before they played us, and we were chomping at the bit excited to play our first game,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;We had guys 30 who are returning, and they were slobbering at the mouth. We wanted to play an opponent &045; we didn’t care who it was. We jumped on them early, and they were already down. We kept them down, basically.&uot;