HOUSTON -- Grambling State running back Martez Carter had to remind himself of advice he frequently hears from Tigers coach Broderick Fobbs.Coach always preaches that anytime you make a mistake, it happens for a reason, and you have to have a short-term memory, Carter said.Carter rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown and used a dominant second half to help Grambling State overcome a 17-point halftime deficit and Alcorn State 27-20 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday at NRG Stadium.Late in the fourth quarter, Carter was nearly in the end zone when an Alcorn State defender knocked the ball loose on the 2-yard line. Luckily for Carter and the Tigers, receiver Dominique Leake was in the perfect place to catch the fumble in midair and step into the end zone to tie the game at 20.Like coach says, every mistake happens for a reason.After a blocked extra-point attempt by Alcorn State, Carter used his short-term memory to put the fumble behind him and scamper into the end zone on a 31-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes remaining to give Grambling State (10-1) its first lead of the game.Grambling State cornerback Jameel Jackson intercepted a pass at midfield with three minutes left to secure the win.The game was a rematch of the 2015 SWAC title game, which Alcorn State won 49-21. The Tigers won their first SWAC championship since 2011 and 24th conference title in school history, the most in the conference.They put us in a bind and dominated us in the first half, but our kids continued to fight, Fobbs said. We scrambled and made some plays and got some key stops, defensively, and were able to come away with the victory.After dominating the SWAC in an undefeated run in the regular season, the Tigers found themselves in unfamiliar territory at halftime as they trailed 17-0.Once we came in the halftime locker room and saw how everybody had the same mindset, I wasnt worried at all, Grambling State quarterback Devante Kincade said. I was ready to get back on the field.Kincade threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns on 15 of 22 passing despite eight sacks.Alcorn State (5-6) got 126 yards rushing and a touchdown from DeLance Turner, who had 16 carries.We gave up big plays and those kinds of things hurt, Alcorn State head coach Fred McNair said. Its just the way it happened and thats the way that second half played out, unfortunately.McNair, who was promoted from quarterbacks coach in February after previous head coach Jay Hopson left for Southern Mississippi, guided his team past a rocky 1/3 start to return to the conference championship game. McNair is the brother of the late NFL quarterback and Alcorn State legend Steve McNair.Grambling State will face North Carolina A&T in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17 in Atlanta, the same opponent that beat Alcorn State in the same game 41-34 a year ago.THE TAKEAWAYGRAMBLING STATE: The Tigers dominated the SWAC in the regular season, winning by an average margin of 31.7 points but had to overcome a sluggish first-half start to finish the regular season undefeated in conference play.ALCORN STATE: The Braves dominated the first half and led by three scores at the break before losing momentum early in the third quarter and the lead in the fourth quarter.EMERGENCY KICKERAfter Grambling State kicker/punter Jonathan Wallace was injured on a punting play, he was unable to resume his duties as kicker. Fobbs turned to CB Abubakkar Conteh, who had never previously kicked for the Tigers and the team only recently found out played soccer in high school in Canada. With the exception of the blocked extra-point attempt on a bad snap, Conteh delivered, converting two extra points and handling kickoff duties.RUSHING TO CONCLUSIONSAlcorn State won in its two previous trips to the SWAC title game by dominating the ground game. The Braves more than doubled their opponents rushing yard totals in the previous two victories and were on their way to a similar feat on Saturday, leading the rushing total by a wide margin of 173-96 at the half. In the second half, however, Grambling State outgained Alcorn State 79-16, a key turnaround that ultimately flipped the game.PENALTIES GALOREMcNair acknowledged that committing 15 penalties for 134 yards was a major factor in Alcorn States loss of the early lead. Nine of those penalties for 82 yards were committed in the first half. Comparatively, Grambling State committed 10 penalties for 95 yards.UP NEXTGRAMBLING STATE: The Tigers will represent the SWAC in the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl on Dec. 17 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, taking on North Carolina A&T out of the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference.ALCORN STATE: The Braves are expected to return most of their starters on offense in 2017, including QB Lenorris Footman and Turner, and graduate just three starters on defense. Discount Air Max SaleWholesale Air Max . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. http://www.cheapairmaxchinadiscount.com/ . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Clearance Air Max Online .Y. -- The Buffalo Sabres have placed centre Cody Hodgson on injured reserve and recalled two players from their AHL affiliate in Rochester. Cheap Vapormax China Discount . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. ATLANTA -- Four years after losing to San Francisco in the NFC championship game at the Georgia Dome, the Atlanta Falcons finally are moving closer to a return to the playoffs.The 49ers are far from the playoffs as they try to end a franchise-record 12-game losing streak in Sundays game against the Falcons.The Falcons (8-5) are tied for the NFC South lead and hold the tiebreaker advantage over Tampa Bay. They are trying for their first winning record since finishing 13-3 with the loss to the 49ers in the NFC championship game to end their 2012 season.Quarterback Matt Ryan says hes not following other scores, including the Buccaneers, during games.I dont worry about it too much, Ryan said Wednesday. At the end of the day, we have to play our best. ... What everybody else does, if we handle our business it doesnt matter.Despite playing without injured wide receivers Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu, the Falcons rolled to a 42-14 win at the Los Angeles Rams last week.Atlanta may be without Jones , who has a sprained toe, for the second straight week. Sanu is expected to return from a groin injury.The Falcons average a league-leading 32.9 points per game as Ryan already has his sixth straight season with 4,000 yards passing. Its a tough test for the reeling 49ers (1-12), who are allowing the most points (30.2) per game in the league.Theyre as good of an offense as there is right now in the NFL, said Niners defensive coordinator Jim ONeil, who added Ryan is as good of a quarterback as you have right now in the NFL.The Falcons offense has strong balance. Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman each have seven rushing touchdowns. Ryan has thrown scoring passes to 11 targets, including to Justin Hardy and Taylor Gabriel last week.Theyre probably the most complete offense that weve faced all year, ONeil said. So itll be a challenge. Were going to have to play really good football.It was a confidence-building week for the Falcons.I think its always hard anytime you have your top two wide receivers down, Ryan said. Its tough to replace that. Our guys stepped up great.Here are some things to watch as the Falcons face the 49ers:NO FUMBLES: Freeman and Coleman have no fumbles in their combined 269 carries and 62 receptions. Freeman leads the team with 791 yards rushing. Coleman has 328 yards rushing.I have a ton of respect for them and the fact they havent fumbled the ball this year, thats incredible, left tackle Jake Matthews said. That goes to show you how hard theyve been working at it.dddddddddddd In my mindset, that means you just keep giving them opportunities to make plays. Theyre really special players.FAST STARTS, SLOW FINISHES: Starting fast hasnt been a problem for the Niners, who have scored first in 10 of their 13 games. The problem has been San Francisco lost nine of those, tying the NFL record for most losses when scoring first, according to Pro Football Reference.The Niners blew their third 14-point lead of the season last week to the Jets. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been a big part of the problem. Kaepernick leads all qualifying QBs in passer rating (119.5), completion percentage (71.7) and yards per attempt (9.4) in the first half, while ranking last at 42.9 percent completions and 4.6 yards per attempt, and second worst with a 61.3 rating the rest of the game.If there was one thing we could do that we could change it, we would, Kaepernick said. There are a lot of things that play into that. But, once again, we have to be able to be better in the second half.BEASLEYS BREAKOUT: Atlanta second-year linebacker/defensive end Vic Beasley continued his breakout season with three sacks last week. He has 13 + sacks to share the NFL lead with Denvers Von Miller. Beasley leads the league with six forced fumbles, including one against the Rams he returned 21 yards for a touchdown.BUCKNERS BOOST: One of the rare bright spots for San Francisco has been the play of first-round defensive lineman DeForest Buckner. Buckner had two sacks against the Jets. Buckner has played the third-most defensive snaps of any defensive lineman in the league this season and has missed just six defensive plays the past five games, according to Pro Football Focus.Theres just no way you can take that guy out and theres no way he wants to be out, ONeil said.RUN AND HYDE: Carlos Hyde is coming off the best day of his career, having rushed 193 yards on just 17 carries last week against the Jets. Hyde had four runs of at least 20 yards, including 47- and 43-yarders, and also caught a 7-yard touchdown pass. Hyde needs just 121 yards over the final three games for his first career 1,000-yard season.---AP Sports Writer Josh Dubow in San Francisco contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '