BATON ROUGE &8212; Any running back worth his salt knows he can&8217;t do it alone.

So Alcorn&8217;s Jeremy McCoy wants to clear the air about how he&8217;s been able to run for 527 yards in just five games this season.

&8220;Can I name them for you?&8221; the junior back asked. &8220;Jon Lowe, Chris Seymour, Jermaine Pruitt, Justin Telemaque, Bronson Carvalho and Todd Johnson. And my fullback Ken Williams. It all starts up front. This has probably been the best offensive line since I&8217;ve been here. They just want to block.&8221;

McCoy had to hand out kudos after putting up 118 yards on 25 carries Saturday night in a 38-16 clobbering of Southern. It was his second straight 100-yard game since returning from injury, and it should put him back at the top of the Southwestern Athletic Conference in rushing with 105.4 yards per game.

But on Saturday, you&8217;d have a hard time figuring out which attack beget the other &8212; the Braves&8217; passing game could have easily set up the run against Southern, or vice-versa.

This much is known &8212; the Braves&8217; offensive line is perhaps the key reason everything else is falling into place.

&8220;You don&8217;t hear about the offensive line when they block,&8221; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &8220;The offensive line did a great job of blocking. The running backs, quarterback and wide receivers get all the credit, but the offensive line and the fullback deserve credit. If it wasn&8217;t we&8217;d be talking about the offensive line not blocking.&8221;McCoy and the Braves&8217; backfield took advantage of everything the offensive line did against a Southern defense that struggled defending both the run and the pass. McCoy isn&8217;t feeling any lingering effects of a pulled hamstring that sat him down for two games, and now he&8217;s stepping up following the injury to Vernardus Cooper.

It may be a stretch with four games left, but McCoy still has a chance at 1,000 yards after Saturday&8217;s game put him at 527 for the season.

&8220;Each week we&8217;ve been getting better,&8221; McCoy said. &8220;Our quarterback (Tony Hobson) today, he was just awesome. Cooper was a big loss. He does some things other backs don&8217;t do. But (Michael) Shepherd has been a big has been a big factor in helping us. We&8217;re just trying to make sure we hold on to the ball.&8221;

Turnovers &8212; or the lack thereof &8212; certainly helped the Braves&8217; cause Saturday night. For the first time all season, they didn&8217;t turn the ball over. Only once did they fumble the ball, but Hobson was able to fall on it.

The Jaguars, on the other hand, turned it over three times. All three led to Alcorn scores.

&8220;An effective running game is the best friend of a passing game and best friend of a quarterback,&8221; Thomas said. &8220;When you run the ball effectively like that, it demoralizes a defense and eats time off the clock. It allows you to throw the ball deep because they&8217;ve go to put more people in the box.&8221;

If the run did set up the pass Saturday night, it set up a passing attack that&8217;s improved each of the last three weeks. Both times Hobson hit receiver Charlie Spiller deep on touchdown passes, the plays came after success in the ground game that forced Southern to play on its heels a little bit.

Hobson threw for 311 yards in his first game to crack the 300-yard mark. Spiller&8217;s 68-yard TD reception was the longest scoring play for the Braves this season.

&8220;We never had a doubt we could throw the deep ball,&8221; Thomas said. &8220;We don&8217;t have a problem throwing it deep. Tony is improving. He still has a long way to go, though. I think right now things are slowing down for him, but it&8217;s still the growing pains.

&8220;That was just one man out there with (Spiller). And he beat him. The first one he just leaped over the guy, and he has outstanding leaping ability. The second one, he just out-ran him.&8221;

The win Saturday put everyone in good spirits for not only beating perennially one of the better teams in the conference but going into this week&8217;s open date with a three-game winning streak.

The only somber

note from Saturday may have been the status of outside linebacker Lee Robinson, who left with what was believed to be a MCL strain.

&8220;I just hope Lee is all right,&8221; Thomas said. &8220;We&8217;ve had so many injuries, and I just hope that thing isn&8217;t torn. (The win streak) is the best feeling you can have. It&8217;s better than a three-game losing streak. It&8217;s the best feeling you can have as a team and as a coach going into an open week.&8221;