LORMAN — Down 21-9 going into the fourth quarter, Alcorn State didn’t give up against Grambling State last weekend in the Port City Classic.

And that’s how the Braves were able to score 13 unanswered points and pull off a 22-21 upset, Alcorn head coach Jay Hopson said.

“The kids just kept fighting, and they kept persevering and plugging,” Hopson said. “That’s a credit to them. They didn’t get down, they kept their composure and started executing really well.”

The Braves will travel to James Madison on Saturday for a 6 p.m. matchup, and despite the big win last weekend, Hopson said that’s now all in the past.

“It’s always good to get a win, no matter whether it’s the first, second, third or fourth week, but we’re not building our program on the Grambling game,” Hopson said.

“We still have a long way to go, and one game is one game.”

Hopson said James Madison has several All-American candidates and is a very talent-rich team.

“When December rolls around for the (Football Championship Subdivision) playoffs, James Madison is always right there,” Hopson said. “It’s a team rich in tradition, and it’s a game that we have to be ready for that’s going to be very challenging.”

This week, Hopson said his message to his players is not to get caught up in beating Grambling.

“They just have to realize where we are,” Hopson said. “We constantly talk about how we have to deserve to win, and we have a test this week. It’s probably been 20 years since we played a team this good.”

And Hopson said there’s no shortage of things to improve upon from last week’s game either.

“Overall, we want to improve upon assignment errors and technique,” Hopson said. “I want to see this team take a progression through the year and get better.

“I thought they played hard Saturday, and we want that to continue and for them to clean up the assignment errors.”