These are heady times at Alcorn State.

Buoyed by a staunch defense and potent running game, the Braves are in first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Eastern Division, ranked No. 24 in the country in the latest Football Championship Subdivision poll, and off to their best start since 2002.

It’s an amazing run made even more so by the fact that the Braves can’t seem to hold on to the football.

Alcorn has committed seven turnovers in its last two games and is ninth in the 10-team SWAC in turnover margin at minus-6.

The Braves (5-1, 3-0 SWAC) have so far sidestepped the normally disastrous consequences that come with mishandling the football, but it’s a trend they know will have to end soon.

“That’s always a positive,” Alcorn coach Jay Hopson said of his team’s success in spite of the mistakes, “but we better be smart enough to realize we can’t continue to do that. We have to execute at a higher level.”

Alcorn’s offense does that plenty. It leads the conference in total offense at 529.8 yards per game and is averaging 44.7 points per game. In fact, it seems all the Braves do is score points or turn the ball over.

They’ve punted just 13 times this season — the lowest total in the conference and fourth lowest in the country. Nationally in the FCS, only Yale (8), Harvard (9) and Richmond (11) have punted less. Yale and Harvard have played just three games apiece.

Conversely, the 16 turnovers the Braves have committed are tied with five other teams for second-most in the country.

“You never like that, but a lot of coaches will harp on that. I’m going to take a different philosophy. I’m not going to overstress it,” Hopson said. “It’s all about the little things, like ball security, and we constantly preach that. We can’t dwell on it, though.”

Hopson’s hands-off approach seems to be working. Alcorn is 5-1 for the first time in 12 years, in control of its path to the SWAC championship game, and among the league and national leaders in a number of offensive categories.

Its next test comes Saturday when it goes to Grambling (3-3, 3-0), which has won three in a row to surge to the top of the Western Division standings.

Just as worrisome for Alcorn is what might be a collision course of skills. Grambling has forced a league-high 17 turnovers.

“They’re a well-coached football team. They’re 3-0, so that tells you all you need to know about them,” Hopson said. “They’re aggressive on defense. They fly around.”

While Grambling’s ability to generate turnovers could be an asset Saturday, its offense has also committed 16 — just as many as Alcorn.

That, Hopson said, means the Braves just need to keep getting better on their end.

“We have to worry about what we do,” he said.