Alcorn State Braves Look To Keep Rolling Saturday Against Alabama State on Homecoming

LORMAN, Mississippi -- A series of winning-streaks are on the line Saturday for the Alcorn State University football program when it hosts Alabama State at 2 p.m. at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium on Homecoming.

Alcorn (4-1, 2-0 SWAC) is riding a four-game winning-streak and is looking to win five in a row for the first time since 2003. The Braves are seeking a 3-0 start in conference for the second straight year. Additionally, Alcorn is on a six-game home winning-streak which carried over from last season.

The Braves will be taking on a rested ASU (1-3, 0-1 SWAC) squad that is coming off a bye week. It marks the second time in three weeks that Alcorn is facing a team off a bye after it traveled to Mississippi Valley State for its home-opener; the Braves won the game 56-20.

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The Braves are coming off a 20-3 win over Southern to spoil its Homecoming last weekend. The Alcorn defense limited the Jaguars to just 139 yards of offense, including 76 passing and 63 rushing yards.

Alcorn's defense ranks top-five in the FCS in yards, allowing just 242.4 per game. The Braves are also No. 6 in passing defense (142.8 ypg) and red zone defense (.583), 11th in scoring defense (15.8 ppg), 12th in rushing defense (99.6 ypg) and 19th in opponent third down conversions (.296).

Offensively, Alcorn leads the SWAC in scoring (36.2 ppg) and rushing (261.4 ypg). The Braves have scored on 95.2 percent of their red zone trips which is sixth in the nation. Junior Noah Johnson leads the SWAC and ranks top-10 in the country in completion percentage (.686).

Johnson has thrown for 798 yards and five touchdowns this season, and has rushed for 354 yards and five touchdowns. He ranks second in the SWAC in total offense with 230.4 yards per game.

Senior PJ Simmons, the SWAC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, is third in the conference in rushing with 82.4 yards per outing. He's totaled 412 yards and three touchdowns this year.

The bye week came at a good time for Alabama State after the Hornets were banged up after their 34-0 defeat to Grambling State. ASU opened the season with a 26-20 victory over Tuskegee but is looking to snap a three-game skid.

The defense has been the strength of the Hornets this year as they rank second in the league, only behind Alcorn, giving up 370.2 yards per game. Kurron Ramsey averages 7.0 tackles per game, while Joshua Hill averages 6.3.

Offensively, Darryl Pearson has taken nearly every snap at quarterback and has thrown for 572 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions. Ezra Gray has carried the bulk of the ground game and has tallied 212 rushing yards and a touchdown in four games.

Saturday's game can be seen with a subscription on Braves All-Access. It can also be heard live for free on wprl.org or 91.7 FM with Charles Edmond on the call.

NOTES
- Alcorn is attempting to win seven consecutive home games for the first time since the stadium opened; the program won its first 13 home contests from 1992-94. Alcorn is 77-52 all-time at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium which is in its 27th season as the home of the Braves.

- The Braves have won 12 of the last 13 games against SWAC East Division opponents.

- Alcorn is 23-18 all-time against Alabama State. The Braves are looking to beat the Hornets for the fifth year in a row including a 24-10 road victory last season.

- The Braves remained at No. 4 in this week's HBCU Poll and were receiving votes in the Preseason FCS Poll.

- Alcorn has won five SWAC Player of the Week awards in five weeks. Junior Corey McCullough is the reigning SWAC Special Teams Player of the Week, while junior De'Shawn Waller is the reigning SWAC Newcomer of the Week. Junior Javen Morrison was named both the SWAC Defensive Player of the Week and HBCU National Player of the Week after grabbing two interceptions against TSU. Junior Raidarious Anderson has won SWAC Offensive Player of the Week, and senior Johnathon Hauer earned SWAC Newcomer of the Week after the win against LC. Alcorn won 10 SWAC weekly honors last season.

- Alcorn is 10-0 when leading at halftime over the last two seasons.

- Against MVSU, the Braves held a 665-200 edge in total yards and 462-22 in rushing. Simmons rushed for a career-high 210 yards and a touchdown. The Braves won their sixth straight game over the Delta Devils and lead the all-time series 45-15-1. Alcorn has outscored MVSU 318-78 over the last six games.

- The Braves notched a 27-15 victory over Texas Southern in a non-conference game. Alcorn raced out to a 27-0 halftime lead which was too much for the Tigers to overcome. The Braves posted their seventh straight win over TSU in the series.

- In Alcorn's home-opener, the team broke a Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium scoring record by defeating Louisiana College 78-0. It was the second-most lopsided score in school history, only behind a 101-0 victory over Paul Quinn in 1967. Alcorn won its home opener for the sixth year in a row.

- Morrison has been a lockdown cornerback for the Braves and has led the team in interceptions in each of the last two seasons. He's up to eight in his career.

- McCullough is a perfect five-for-five in field goals this year. Last season, he broke the school's single-season field goal record with 17 made.

ALCORN STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS