HAMMOND, La. &045; Who’s going to be Alcorn’s starting quarterback?

That may be the least of the Braves’ worries right now.

Other questions need to be answered &045; how will they stop the run, and how can they survive a turnover epidemic that could have been much worse? The Braves had little go right Saturday night in a 48-21 loss at Southeastern Louisiana, and you can bet everyone will go back to work today to correct it.

That’s because Saturday’s loss was painful.

&uot;We didn’t do anything,&uot; an angry Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;We couldn’t tackle, we couldn’t cover and we couldn’t contain. We didn’t do anything after the second drive, and we didn’t do anything offensively. We didn’t do anything tonight but lose the football game.&uot;

Little did go right for the Braves, who even had trouble with the center-quarterback exchange on four occasions. Quarterbacks Oliver Bozeman and Tony Hobson combined to throw four interceptions &045; Hobson was picked off on his very first play as a college quarterback &045; while the offense lost a fumble and the special teams had breakdowns.

What was a 14-7 Southeastern lead at halftime got out of hand real quick thanks to the Lions’ 27 points in the third quarter.

&uot;We kind of struggled on the first drive (of the game), but the second drive we went down and scored,&uot; Alcorn wide receiver Charlie Spiller said. &uot;This week we’ll work on our passing game and our running game. It was the first game. (Bozeman) was kind of rusty. Next week you’ll see a different team.&uot;

Turnovers were the big killers for the Braves in the third quarter as the Lions blew it open quick. Hobson’s first snap under center featured a pass up the middle, but Southastern linebacker David Daniels came up with the pass that gave SLU the ball at the Alcorn 19. That led to a 31-yard field goal from Jim Hall for a 27-7 lead. The Braves, who had just one first down on their own power in the second and third quarters, had an 8-yard run from Bozeman negated on their next drive with a holding penalty.

That forced them into a punt situation, and the Lions got through to force Shane Phillips to punt on the run for minus-3 yards.

SLU took over at the 15, and two plays later Jerald Watson ran in from 1 yard out for a 34-7 lead with 4:04 left in the third.

&uot;We were playing a lot of people and bringing a lot of pressure,&uot; said SLU head coach Dennis Roland, making his debut as SLU head coach. &uot;I give a lot of credit to the defense. (We had) great field position. I was really proud of my team for missing a whole week of practice. To miss seven days of practice, that’s tremendous.&uot;

By that point the Braves brought Hobson back in the game, and he hit Hubert Franklin on a 9-yard pass for their lone first down.

Jeremy McCoy then took a handoff up the middle for 10 yards, but he fumbled with SLU’s Rudy Johnson recovering it and bringing it back to the Alcorn 4.

A penalty brought it to the 2, and the Lions’ Sam Savoy ran it in for a score for a 41-7 lead with 2:23 left.

Asked if the offense couldn’t find a rhythm with the two quarterbacks, Thomas said, &uot;That’s about it. (Hobson’s) back is well. He just hasn’t had too many reps. It’s too early to say (who will start next week).&uot;

The Braves inserted Hobson back at QB for the next drive, and on the third play linebacker Damien Huren picked off his pass and returned it to the ASU 8.

The Lions tried to settle on a 27-yard field goal, but Alcorn’s Lester Mosley blocked the kick and Quentin Sullivan returned it 85 yards for a touchdown.

Bozeman and the Braves struggled late in the first half after the Lions tied the score at 7-7. The Braves had two of their four possessions end in interception, and one of their two first downs came courtesy of a penalty.

The other first down &045; a 13-yard dump pass from Bozeman to McCoy &045; was preceded by a Bozeman pass that SLU’s Rudy Johnson picked off after being tipped at the line of scrimmage.

That put the Lions at the Alcorn 43, and they got to the Alcorn 10 before Martin Jackson hit Willie and forced a fumble that Antonio Cooper recovered. That gave the Braves the ball with 56 seconds left in the half.

&uot;Everybody was kind of rusty,&uot; Spiller said.

&uot;It was their first college game. I think by next week we’ll get it together.&uot;