ON THE SHELF—Lions QB Brian Babin (10), here waiting for Andre Cryer (83) to break open while eluding Alcorn State DE Randy Carter (49) last Saturday, will miss this Saturday’s game at Mississippi State after suffering a concussion later on in the Lions’ season-opening victory.

It's not exactly the Taj Mahal, but for refugees from the storm like Southeastern's football Lions, it's a pretty good deal this week up in Oxford, Miss.

“It's much better living arrangements than I anticipated,” Lions head coach Mike Lucas said by phone Thursday as his Lions continue to share facilities with the Ole Miss football team in preparation for Saturday's game at Mississippi State down the road in Starkville.

Chased from town to endure a four-hour drive that contra-flowed into a 10-hour ordeal, the Lions are ensconsed at Camp Lake Stevens, a Methodist church camp that offers air-conditioned cinderblock cabins, eight bodies to a room, with private baths and showers and decent groceries.

Ten miles away in Oxford, Ole Miss rolled out the welcome mat. With rain raking the area the last three days, the Lions have been practicing in the Rebels’ 100-yard turf, air-conditioned indoor facility in the morning and using the Rebels’ weight room in the afternoon — their schedule opposite that of the Ole Miss team's.

They also get to use the laundry facilities. Basically, they're practicing like an SEC team this week.

But then, what kind of welcome would you expect from Ole Miss for Mississippi State's next opponent?

“Mr. (Pete) Boone, the athletic director, laughed about that,” Lucas said. “He said he gave his staff strict orders not to say anything to anybody about they're doing this because we're playing Mississippi State. (He said) we're doing this because they're evacuated and they need a helping hand; we're not doing it just because we're playing Mississippi State.”

Note that key word — “just” because.

In any event, it's about the best setup Southeastern could hope for to reduce the impact of Gustav. So don't expect to see the Lions(1-0) back in town before they play the Bulldogs (0-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. (KSLU, 90.9 FM).

“We're planning on staying here right through to the ballgame on Saturday,” Lucas said. “After Katrina we were down there with no air conditioning and no ice and it makes it difficult to get much done. At least here we're being taken well care of. We'll probably stay here at least through Sunday.”

But there are some key notables missing — like the Lions’ expected featured pitch-and-catch battery of quarterback Brian Babin and Merrick Lanaux.

Babin suffered a severe concussion late in the first half of Saturday's 34-28 victory over Alcorn State and was left behind in Hammond this week.

“He was unconscious for a while there on the field, and so they're going to keep a close watch on him,” Lucas said. “He did not make the trip with us.”

But Lucas, who had earlier said Babin's absence could be a matter of weeks, tempered that prognosis on Thursday.

“I talked to Brian (Thursday); he had had headaches the first couple days of the week, but the last two days he's felt fine,” Lucas reported. “So we'll reevaluate him when we get back to town to see if he'll be ready for next week or not.”

In his absence, the Lions head into the Mississippi State game with just two quarterbacks available in backup Mike Neville and transfer Tyler Beatty. Lucas said true freshman B.J. Young, who he had planned to redshirt before Babin's injury, evacuated with his family from Hahnville and could not make the trip.

“Hopefully we can make it through with Mike Neville and Tyler Beatty,” Lucas said. “We plan on starting Mike, and Tyler can go if we need him. We would like to get Tyler in the game. At what point, we're not sure. There's not a specific time, like we're going to say, ‘He's going to play the second quarter’ or whatever. But Tyler will play.”

Neville had a solid effort in relief against Alcorn. With the Braves scared to death of Jay Lucas and stuffing the box, both quarterbacks had big days, with Neville going 13-for-17 for 108 yards, one TD and one interception. Babin was 12-for-20 for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

Whoever is behind center, however, will not have big No. 87 to target. Coach Lucas offered a dark prognosis of senior wideout Merrick Lanaux's status.

“Merrick's out,” Lucas said. “He did not make the trip and may not make another one. (He has) a severely damaged hamstring.”