SAN ANGELO, Texas - Ryan Smith's 36-yard field goal with 6.9 seconds remaining lifted Angelo State to a 20-17 win over No. 17 Midwestern State Saturday night at San Angelo Stadium.

ASU quarterback Josh Neiswander completed four-straight passes for 46 yards to move the Rams into position for the game-winner including a 27-yard strike to Dakarai Pecikonis.

The field goal negated a solid performance by MSU quarterback Zack Eskridge who passed for career-best 345 yards on 20-of-32 passing, but was sacked six times.

"He took a beating and we didn't get our running play going," MSU coach Bill Maskill said. "We didn't protect the quarterback the way we wanted to."

The junior signal caller completed each of his four passes including a 42-yard strike to David Little and a 27-yard hookup to Kevin Swanson before finding Sheldon Galloway for a 15-yard score to pull within 17-15 with 3:40 remaining in the game.

Eskridge then hit Andy Tanner for the two-point conversion to knot the game.

The teams exchanged two possessions before Neiswander guided the Rams down the field for the game winner.

Neiswander completed 19-of-31 passes for 211 yards, but it was the Angelo State running game that gave the Rams the early advantage.

Michael Simpers, who rushed for 99 yards on 13 carries, scored rushes of 16 and 45 yards to stake the Rams to a 17-6 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

The Mustangs, who scored a pair of field goals in the first half, settled on a 32-yard Jose Martinez field goal after Eskridge connected with Marcus Mathis on a 52-yard screen pass to give MSU the ball at the ASU 15-yard line.

Tanner went over the century mark for the second-straight week, catching six passes for 109 yards, but the Mustangs were limited to 47 rushing yards despite a 74-yard effort on 19 carries for Marcus Mathis.

Mathis, who also caught four passes for 59 yards, accounted for 133 yards of total offense.

Midwestern State plays host to West Texas A&M in regionally televised contest Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m.

The game will be carried by KFDX-TV in Wichita Falls and KAMR-TV in Amarillo.

Notables

* Zack Eskridge became the fifth quarterback in MSU history to pass for 3,000 yards.
Eskridge connected on 20-of-32 passes for a career high 345 yards and a touchdown. The total was the ninth most in a single game in program history and were the most since Cedric Jackson passed for 414 yards against Southwestern Oklahoma on Nov. 10, 2001.
* Eskridge extended his streak of games with at least one touchdown pass to nine-straight games when he found Sheldon Galloway on a 15-yard strike with 9:40 remaining. It's the first time during the streak in which he did not have at least two TD tosses.
* Eskridge has now passed for at least 200 yards in nine of 13 games during his two seasons as MSU signal caller. He is just one behind 2007 Harlon Hill candidate Daniel Polk, who amassed 10 career games with at least 200 passing yards.
* Senior wideout Andy Tanner became the ninth receiver in school history to surpass 1,000 career receiving yards. The Rockwall product stands ninth in program history with 1,008 yards and is eighth on the all-time receptions list with 73.
Tanner became the first MSU wideout since 2001 to record consecutive 100-yard receiving games as he finished with nine catches for 109 yards after making five receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns last weekend against Incarnate Word. Kendrick Gibson made 11 receptions for 189 yards and four TDs against Southeastern Oklahoma on Oct. 20, 2001 in Durant before torching Northeastern State for 174 yards on 10 catches and a touchdown on Oct. 27, 2001 in Tahlequah.
* Senior kicker Lee Scott connected on a 45-yard field goal with 1:58 left in the opening quarter on Saturday night. The field goal is the sixth longest in program history. Scott has hit all three of his field goal attempts in his two-year stay at MSU - all of them have been from greater than 40 yards away. The Elgin native connected on a career-long 47 yarder against Northeastern State earlier this season which stands as the longest field goal by an MSU kicker at Memorial Stadium.