HUNTSVILLE, Al. - Brian Christian never saw this coming. Neither did any of Alabama A&M's other seniors.

A year after reaching the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game, the Bulldogs, who returned 16 starters from last year's 7-5 squad and were picked to win East Division in the preseason poll, are one of the worst teams in the league.

"I didn't see this at all," said Christian, a starter at defensive end. "I thought we'd go back to the championship game. We got close last year. I felt like we should have won it last year and we were going to win it this year."

Not only are the Bulldogs not going to win it, they fell out of contention a long time ago. Saturday's loss to Alabama State assured A&M of a losing season.

Defensive end Marcus Powe can't believe it.

"I never thought it would be this way," Powe said. "We had a lot of seniors coming back and a number of other players. Having a season like this never crossed my mind.

"It hit me after Saturday's game. It was a disheartening loss. I was thinking about our record and going out this way as a senior. We came in on a positive note and won a championship. To end on this note is difficult."

While Christian didn't believe A&M would struggle like it has, he had a bad vibe after a season-opening loss at Tennessee State.

"We usually beat Tennessee State and when we lost to them, I figured it was going to be a bad season," he said. "We lost to them two years ago and finished 5-7."

Perhaps, the Bulldogs didn't realize how many big-time players they lost last year.

A&M lost Ulysses Banks, the school's all-time leading rusher. Thomas Harris and Jeremy Licea, the all-time leading receiver and scorer, are also gone, along with defensive end Jeremy Maddox, two starters along the offensive line and a a couple of starters in the secondary.

"I don't think anybody in the history of A&M lost as many good players as we lost last year," A&M coach Anthony Jones said. "When those guys left, most of our offense was gone, too. Then, you throw in injuries and youth and you're trying to get the young guys to step up to that level ... you're going to take your lumps."

A&M rallied after the loss to Tennessee State and came home and whipped Central State 45-0. The Bulldogs went to Texas Southern and put up a heck of a fight for three quarters before self-destructing in the fourth quarter and lost 32-9. A week later, A&M thumped Southern 34-14 and was 2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play with Grambling coming to town.

"We played Southern as well as anybody," Jones said. "We had our way with them. We were beginning to hit our stride."

Things began to unravel after a hard-fought 25-22 loss to Grambling. A&M hasn't won since.

Quarterback Deaunte Mason sustained a groin injury against the Tigers and missed the next two games. The Bulldogs put up a good fight against Jackson State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff with redshirt freshman Justin Jonesat quarterback, but couldn't get over the hump.

Mason returned Saturday against Alabama State and re-aggravated the injury on the second play of the game and wasn't very effection. After the Bulldogs fell behind 17-0, the outcome was never in doubt.

"Once we started getting on track, we went through a rash of injuries, particularly the one to Deaunte," Jones said. "Grambling came in here and we played them better than anybody has played them. After that game, the injury bug hit us hard and we haven't been the same team."

Despite having been assured of a losing season, Jones and his players have vowed not to quit.
A&M (2-6, 1-5) hosts Alcorn State (4-4, 3-3) Saturday at Louis Crews Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

"We've got to play for pride," Powe said. "We're in a rut right now. We're in a real tough situation, but we've got to try to fight our way out of it."

Wide receiver Rashad Johnsonagrees.

"We're going to go out and try to win these last three games," he said. "Since I've been here, we've always had a winning streak. This year, we haven't had one. We've got to stay together, don't give up and show people we are a good team."