LORMAN &8212; Oh, what a difference three weeks can make.

The Alcorn State Braves (3-3, 2-2 SWAC) head into their home finale Saturday with Southern (3-4, 2-3) on a roll, having won three straight and finally getting their offense going in last week&8217;s 45-23 win over Texas Southern.

The Braves defeated the Jaguars 38-16 last season in Baton Rouge.

Southern, on the other hand, comes to Lorman having lost four of its last five games, all of which have come by a touchdown or less.

The Braves will be short-handed, however, as several starters &8212; most notably starting quarterback Tony Hobson Jr. &8212; will be out for the game.

&8220;Tony has a severe hamstring pull,&8221; said head coach Johnny Thomas. Hobson had his best game of the season last week, completing 8-of-14 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns before leaving midway through the third quarter with the injury.

&8220;We&8217;re going to start Chris Walker this week,&8221; Thomas said. &8220;This is his time, and he&8217;s going to have to show something. Tony might be out as long as three weeks.

&8220;I have confidence in Chris, and we&8217;ve shown that in previous games. I still like to have two quality quarterbacks coming into a game such as Southern.&8221;

Ocie Brown and Emmanuel Arceneux will also be out with injuries Saturday.

With those injuries, Thomas said there would be plenty to worry about when the Jaguars come calling.

&8220;They look good,&8221; he said. &8220;They should have a better record than they have. They&8217;re very aggressive on defense. They led all the games they lost in the fourth quarter.

&8220;They can run the football very well, and that has me concerned. On defense, they really fly to the ball and play aggressively. They can also block punts and they&8217;re good in the return game.&8221;

Thomas said a rivalry such as this is always competitive.

&8220;You throw out the record books and throw the stats out the window when we get together,&8221; he said. &8220;Whoever keeps playing within their system on offense, defense and special teams and executes and makes the fewest mistakes will win the game. We&8217;re not looking for them to fizzle out in the fourth quarter like they have against other teams.&8221;

The Braves will host Southern on Senior Day Saturday at 2 p.m.