For all its success the past two seasons, there’s been one team Alcorn State has not been able to get past.

It also happens to be the last obstacle between the Braves and another Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

Grambling (9-2, 9-0 SWAC) is the only team in the conference that Alcorn (8-3, 7-2) has not beaten during its two-year reign as East Division champion. The two meetings between the teams have been decided by a total of nine points. This year’s game went to overtime and last year it came down to the final play.

They’ll meet again in the SWAC championship game Saturday afternoon in Houston. Alcorn coach Jay Hopson said despite the recent history and the longstanding regional rivalry between the teams, it’s important to leave that behind and focus on the here and now and what’s at stake in the latest round of their rivalry.

“There’s always some extra excitement when you play a game of this magnitude. We had two hard-fought losses to them, and that’s always tough. End of the day, though, it’s a new week,” Hopson said. “It’s a little different than the Jackson State rivalry, but it’s two local schools with a tradition. All that’s thrown out the window now, because this is a championship game. It’s totally different.”

Alcorn is the defending SWAC champion, but Grambling leads the all-time series 42-19-1. Grambling has won the last two meetings after Alcorn beat them in each of Hopson’s first two seasons as coach.

Grambling won 28-21 in 2014 after building a 21-0 lead in the second quarter. When they played in Lorman in October, Alcorn squandered a 14-point lead in the second half and lost 35-34 in overtime. To the extent that history matters, Hopson said it teaches the Braves that one half of good football isn’t enough to beat a team the caliber of Grambling.

“The first year we played really bad in the first half, and this year we let it get away in the second half. Against good teams, you’ve got to play for 60 minutes,” Hopson said. “We just have to execute at a high level.”

Alcorn did that for most of this season, but will go into the championship game on the heels of its worst offensive performance in two years. It scrambled to beat Jackson State 14-10, but only scored one offensive touchdown and failed to reach the 20-point mark in a SWAC game for the first time since November 2013.

Alcorn had been averaging 39 points per game.

“Each week is a different ballgame. There’s almost no team in America that’s going to play great for 12 or 13 straight weeks,” Hopson said. “There’s things we didn’t do. Turnovers, missed field goals. Those are things that we can’t have.”

Grambling lost its first two games, to FBS opponent California and Bethune Cookman, then went undefeated in the SWAC to win its eighth West Division championship since the divisional format began in 1999.

Grambling is seeking its 24th SWAC championship, and first since 2011.

The championship game matchup is one of strength vs. strength.

Alcorn has the fourth-best rushing offense in the Football Championship Subdivision, while Grambling has the SWAC’s best run defense. Grambling’s quick strike offense is second in the conference in passing yards per game, while Alcorn has the top-ranked pass defense in the country.

“They’re just an athletic football team. They’re good offensively, good defensively. We certainly have the utmost respect for them,” Hopson said.

Another wrinkle in this go-round between the Tigers and Braves is the status of Alcorn quarterback John Gibbs, Jr. Last year’s SWAC championship game MVP has not played since the first quarter against Southern on Oct. 31 because of a high ankle sprain.

Lenorris Footman has filled in well in his absence — the sophomore has 860 rushing yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns — but has struggled lately in the passing game. He’s completed just 9 of 36 passes the last two games against Alabama A&M and Jackson State.

Hopson said Gibbs is day-to-day, the same as he’s been the last three weeks.

“I’ve been asked that eight million times,” Hopson said with a laugh when asked about Gibbs’ status. “Any time you’re dealing with high ankle sprains, that’s the reality of it. He’s definitely good enough to go if we get into an emergency situation. He’ll be dressed on Saturday.”