LORMAN &045; The underlying mission all week for Alcorn’s was getting that bad taste out of their mouths from last week.

With the way things unfolded at the end, Chris Seymour will attest it’s easier said than done. And that’s been the battle for many players this week heading into today’s non-conference game at Southeastern Louisiana.

&uot;I’m still thinking about it,&uot; the junior center said. &uot;We knew all we needed was one more chance. It’s tough to put it behind us because everybody is talking about it.

We should have gotten the ball one more time. There was no doubt in anybody’s mind that we could have scored.&uot;

Yet the Braves have to find a way to recover from quite possibly their most frustrating defeat in the past three seasons. It put a serious damper on their chances at playing in the SWAC Championship with three conference games remaining after this week.

Alabama State will face Alabama A&M today, and the Braves need a win from A&M to stay in the race. If Alabama State wins, the Hornets have to lose to both Grambling and Mississippi Valley to fall out of the race and the Braves must win out.

&uot;We’re bouncing back,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;Everybody has put that loss behind us, and we’re getting ready for Southeastern. Everybody is focused and doing the same kind of things for Southeastern as we did for Southern. I feel good about the guys putting everything behind them.&uot;

Today’s game features two potent passing attacks, but an underlying story line could be Southeastern’s defense, a unit that’s improved since the last season in the program’s debut.

The Lions, with former Vanderbilt head coach Woody Widenhofer as defensive coordinator, can bring a number of blitz packages in their 3-4 front setup. That can be a test for Alcorn’s young offensive front, who had problems earlier in the year picking it up.

Yet the Braves’ front has improved in recent weeks. Freshman Rashaud Cole (6-3, 350) has started the last two games at right guard in place of Todd Johnson, while others have recovered from injuries. Jonathan Lowe is back at tackle, and Seymour is getting over a knee injury.

&uot;The freshmen, they’re really not freshmen anymore,&uot; Seymour said. &uot;The game is really slowing down for them. They’ll be all right. (Line coach Michael) Ellis showed us a few things for communication, and that helped us. We just point out our assignments every play. With great communication, there won’t be any problem.

&uot;They’re going to try (to blitz), but we hope we can pick it up. They’ve got to respect (our passing game).&uot;

The line will try to stop a linebacking corps that’s created havoc for a number of opponents this season. Marvin Jones and Damien Huren are the team’s top two tacklers, and Huren is leading the nation in sacks with 10. The team has 28 sacks so far to their opponents’ 14.

Last season the Lions got to quarterback Donald Carrie three times, but Southeastern gave up four sacks.

&uot;We’ll probably see the same things,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;They’ll still blitz us, put pressure on us and try to get us to turn the football over. You can’t turn the football over and expect to win. That’s always what we’re trying to do &045; not turn the football over and get as many possessions as we can.&uot;

The other side of today’s matchup will be Southeastern’s passing game against an Alcorn secondary that may be the team’s biggest secret. The Braves are fifth in the nation in pass defense, a mark that’s hidden somewhat due to their inability at times to stop the run.

The Braves hope to do a better job of stopping the run today. Middle linebacker Leo Nobles missed the Southern game after spraining an ankle the day before, but the senior from California practiced on Wednesday for the first time and will likely play today.

The Lions will come with almost all passing today behind quarterback Martin Hankins, a Hattiesburg native who is the top-rated passer in all of I-AA.

&uot;We’re trying to get (Nobles) back,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;It’s day to day right now. Our secondary is playing well, and I hope they can continue to play well. We hoped they could play well against Alabama State, but nobody played well. But everybody showed up against Southern. We’re hoping we can do the same against Southeastern.&uot;

The Lions run it enough to keep defenses honest but stick with the passing game with Hankins going to either of five receivers who have at least 20 catches this season. Felton Huggins is the team’s top receiver with 58 catches, 931 yards and eight touchdowns.