Football | 9/30/2016 8:42:00 AM

Braves Continue Three-Game Road Swing at No. 20 Arkansas

Alcorn Game Notes | Watch Live

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Playing its lone non-conference opponent of the season, the Alcorn State University football program will travel for its second of a three-game road stretch Saturday against 20th-ranked Arkansas at War Memorial Stadium at 11 a.m.
 
Alcorn (1-2, 1-2 SWAC) has won five of its last six road games dating back to last season. The Braves went 5-0 away from home last year in conference action. However, Alcorn is looking to shake off a 43-18 outcome last Saturday at Grambling State to begin the three-game road swing.
 
The Braves will go up against a ranked opponent for the second straight season after traveling to No. 16 Georgia Tech in last year's season opener. The last time Alcorn played a team from the SEC was Sept. 7, 2013 when it fell to Mississippi State 51-7.
 
Senior linebacker Darien Anderson is coming off a monster performance against the Tigers which included 12 tackles and a career-high four sacks. He ranks second in the SWAC with 10.0 tackles per game, and first with seven sacks total. Anderson leads all of FCS with 2.3 sacks per outing.
 
At quarterback, redshirt-freshman Noah Johnson and junior Lenorris Footman split time against Grambling. Footman is still battling an ankle injury and is a game-time decision for Saturday. Johnson has already seen a lot of action in 2016 and has thrown four touchdown passes and rushed for four more.
 
Alcorn leads the SWAC in rushing offense, averaging 187.3 yards per game. It has rushed for at least 175 yards in every game this year. The well-rounded ground game is led by junior Arron Baker who averages 88.0 rushing yards per outing.
 
Arkansas (3-1, 0-1 SEC) is looking to bounce back from a 45-24 loss at Texas A&M to open conference play. The Razorbacks hold wins this season over Louisiana Tech 21-20, No. 15 TCU 41-38 (2OT) and Texas State (42-3).
 
Junior quarterback Austin Allen leads the SEC in completion percentage with a 66.7 mark. He's 81-for-121 for 1,026 yards on the season with nine touchdowns. Allen has been named SEC Player of the Week and Manning Award Quarterback of the Week this year. He is one of 10 FBS players with two or more touchdown passes in each of the first four weeks of the season.
 
The contest will be nationally televised on the SEC Network. The contest can also be heard via radio on 91.7 WPRL FM with Charles Edmond on the call.
 
NOTES
- Saturday marks the first-ever meeting between the Braves and the Razorbacks.
 
- The Braves are just 0.5 games out of first place in the SWAC East Division. They trail Jackson State which hosts Mississippi Valley State at 6 p.m. Saturday. Alcorn holds a 21-18 victory over division foe Alabama State in the conference opener.
 
- The Braves have allowed just one sack this season, the fewest in the league. The next closest team is Prairie View A&M which has been sacked four times. Alcorn is one of six teams in FCS to have been sacked one time or less. On the flip side, the Alcorn defense has registered 14 sacks through three games which is second in the conference.
 
- Alcorn sits at No. 10 in the BOXTOROW HBCU Top-10 Rankings. The Braves, who have been ranked in the poll each week this year, have been as high as No. 2 this season.
 
- The Braves received votes in the Stats FCS Top-25 Poll in three out of the four weeks this season.
 
- Senior wide receiver Jaborian McKenzie ranks second in the league with 7.0 receptions per game. The big-play threat averages 10.8 yards per catch.
 
- Senior Haiden McCraney boomed a 70-yard punt last week at Grambling State, the longest in the SWAC this season. It was the second-longest of his career after he blasted a 77-yarder last year against Concordia.
 
- Junior running back / wide receiver Marquis Warford ran a kickoff back for a touchdown last week. He racked up a career-high 188 kick return yards for the game, the most by a student-athlete in the SWAC this year.
 
- Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 15, Johnson, who was making his first career start, went 30-for-41 in the air with 355 yards and three touchdown passes. He also rushed for 72 yards and three more scores. Johnson's six total touchdowns are tied for the most in a single game by a student-athlete in the SWAC this season. He's the only player in the SWAC to rush for three touchdowns in a game this year.
 
- Alcorn opened SWAC play with a 21-18 victory over Alabama State. The Hornets attempted a last-second field goal to try and send the game to overtime, but it was blocked by senior Eric Foster. Johnson entered the game at halftime with the team trailing 10-7 after Footman left with an ankle injury, and led the offense to a pair of touchdown drives including his own 17-yard touchdown scramble up the middle.
 
- The Braves rushed for 213 yards in the contest. It came after they led the SWAC with 3,812 total rushing yards last season.
 
- In Alcorn's scheduled season opener, it held a 13-7 lead with 7:14 remaining in the second quarter against Bethune-Cookman when lightning struck, causing a two hour and 57 minute delay before the game was ruled a no contest. Footman was 8-for-9 throwing with two touchdown passes to McKenzie and junior De'Lance Turner before play was halted.
 
- The Braves are the two-time defending SWAC champion and were picked again to win the SWAC East Division in the 2016 Preseason Poll.
 
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