Alcorn State went 9-3 in 2013, including beating Jackson State and Southern, schools that would eventually play in the SWAC championship game.
The football program was relevant again. Alcorn State was good again. It was not crazy to expect them to actually win their first out-right conference title since the mid-90s.
The team, led by Hopson’s commitment to the plan, reeled off another 9-win season. They were dominate and dazzling at times. At one point during the regular season, Alcorn State was averaging well over 50 points per game and allowing just leftovers.
Alcorn State convincingly won the SWAC East. Come Saturday, they play for the conference championship.
A championship that would mean so much for the tiny town of Lorman, Miss., whose claim to fame is fried chicken served up at The Old Country Store Restaurant a few miles blocks from campus.
The Braves had for so long been in the shadows of Jackson State, Grambling and defending champion Southern. That is changing. They’re forging a new identity.
A win for Alcorn State would not only be a win for everything clad in purple, but for a school that decided to take a cultural risk by hiring Hopson.
It would signal that schools should not proceed with caution when deciding to position their football programs closer to championships regardless of obstacles such as race, location or subpar football histories.
Alcorn State is four quarters away from validating that.
Article Appeared @http://hbcusports.com/2014/12/03/alcorn-state-winning-the-swac-championship-would-be-good-for-black-college-football/