LORMAN &8212; With a game this late in the season and the caliber of opponent coming into Jack Spinks Stadium today, it almost feels like a bowl game.

And don&8217;t blame Alcorn if coaches are treating it like one. It could be considered a precursor to a game at this time next year with the majority of the team returning for next year.

If the Braves can knock off a strong Grambling team today, the possibilities may be endless. That would be some serious momentum heading into 2006.

&8220;It&8217;s a big opportunity for us,&8221; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &8220;We&8217;re excited about playing Grambling. We should have played the first game of the year, but Hurricane Katrina didn&8217;t let that happen. We&8217;re just excited about it and trying to duplicate the record of 7-4 that we had last year.&8221;

The game may be more problematic for the Tigers, who would have an open date this week prior to next week&8217;s SWAC Championship Game against Alabama A&M.; The Tigers downed Southern University 50-35 last week in the Bayou Classic and have to turn around and play today.

How much emphasis they&8217;ll put on winning this meaningless game is anyone&8217;s guess. But for the Braves, there&8217;s all the meaning in the world.

&8220;Early in the season we started off kind of slow,&8221; said linebacker Lester Mosely, a second-team All-SWAC selection. &8220;We weren&8217;t ready for it, but now we&8217;re in a groove. That would give us great momentum to beat Grambling, the best team in the SWAC. We&8217;d feel like we&8217;re the best team in the SWAC.&8221;

To do that, however, the Braves will have to bottle up SWAC Offensive MVP Bruce Eugene at quarterback. Few teams if any have done it this season, and the sixth-year senior may have a little extra incentive today since it was Alcorn that ended his season last fall in the Braves&8217; win at Grambling.

Eugene is already at 3,693 yards passing this season with 46 touchdowns and four interceptions. A big day today would put him off the charts at 4,000 yards passing in a season.

&8220;Bruce Eugene is just like a graduate assistant out there playing football,&8221; Thomas said. &8220;Just having that year to grow, develop and learn &8212; really, he&8217;s just like a grad assistant out there playing football. They&8217;ve got great receivers, a great quarterback and a good running game if they need to use it.&8221;

The matchup against the Braves&8217; defense will be the key, and it&8217;s held its own in recent meetings with Eugene and the Tigers. Prior to exiting with an injury in last year&8217;s game, the Braves put an emphasis on coverage and forced Eugene to beat them with the run.

The same thing happened in the first half of the 2003 meeting, although breakdowns in other areas in the second half led to the Tigers&8217; win.

&8220;You&8217;re always going to bring pressure,&8221; Mosley said. &8220;We&8217;ll try to make him run. If he runs, we&8217;ve got to come up and make a play.&8221;

The Braves have been sack-happy their last three games, but putting an emphasis on that against Eugene may not be a good idea. That may fall on the shoulders of the line, with defensive end Martin Jackson needing two sacks to set a school record for most sacks in a season.

&8220;We&8217;ll look at doing different things, but you can&8217;t do the same thing nearly every play against him,&8221; Thomas said. &8220;He does a good job of reading that. They like throwing the football more than running the football. He can make all the throws, and he&8217;s just creative and instinctive.&8221;

That&8217;s why a win today would be huge for an Alcorn team that will have a short Senior Day ceremony prior to kickoff. It&8217;ll be the last game for only five starters on both sides of the ball along punter Shane Phillips and fullback J.D. Robinson.

Everyone else returns with high expectations for 2006.

&8220;Next year we have a whole lot of guys coming back,&8221; Jackson said. &8220;We&8217;ll go into this game trying to win it for our seniors. We&8217;ll give them all we&8217;ve got against Grambling, and next year we have a good feeling we&8217;ll be No. 1 in the conference and win the SWAC. We&8217;ve got a lot of good people returning.&8221;