WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Zack Eskridge passed for a season high 271 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 12 Midwestern State to a 46-9 win over Southwestern Oklahoma in a Lone Star Conference crossover contest Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Mustangs (3-0) broke open a tight contest with 28 points in the third quarter to turn an 11-2 halftime advantage into a commanding 37-point bulge.

Senior running back Marcus Mathis kickstarted the Mustangs with a 36-yard rush down the right sidelines to begin the second half and finished with a game-high 129 yards on 21 carries before Eskridge caught fire.

The Harlon HIll candidate completed 8-of-9 passes for 162 yards including TD strikes to Mathis (23 yards), David Little (13 yards) and Patrick Maull (28 yards) in the third-quarter barrage.

Southwestern Oklahoma benefited from a mishandled a 65-yard punt from Colton Rainey in the first quarter and attempted a forward lateral from the end zone resulting in a safety and a 2-0 lead for the Bulldogs.

Midwestern State retaliated with a safety of their own on a Chase Hooper sack of SWOSU quarterback Mike Van Deripe in the second quarter before the Mustangs took the lead for good on three Jose Martinez field goals from 25, 30 and 26 yards to take an 11-2 advantage before the Mustangs took control in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs finally hit the scoreboard on offense when Isaac Tucker broke a jailbreak screen pass for an 82-yard TD from Dustin Stenta with 12:05 to play. The play netted over half of the Bulldogs' 161 total yards of offense.

MSU redshirt-freshman running back Keidrick Jackson closed out the scoring with a 2-yard run with 8:07 to play.

Midwestern State takes on Central Oklahoma next Saturday at Wantland Stadium in Edmond. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Southwestern Oklahoma (0-3) takes on East Central next Saturday at Norris Field in Ada.