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STEPHENVILLE – Garrett Lindholm nailed a school-record 55-yard field goal as time expired to lift the No. 15 Tarleton Texans to a 31-28 come-from-behind victory over No. 20 Midwestern State on Saturday in Stephenville.

Lindholm kicked a 36-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28. On the ensuing kickoff, Midwestern State's Brandon Williams fumbled the return at the MSU 36-yard line. Matt Knicky caused the fumble and Nate Stringfellow recovered the ball to put the Texans in the position to win with the field goal. 

Tarleton (6-1) had faced two fourth and longs in the final scoring drive, but Scott Grantham hit Arthur Buckingham on both to keep the drive alive.  

Lindholm broke the field goal record of 54 yards held by Vince Oldag from a game on Oct. 29, 1983 against Eastern New Mexico.

Midwestern State (5-2) scored the first 13 points of the contest. Andy Tanner caught a two-yard pass from Zack Eskridge to close a seven-play, 69-yard drive. Jose Martinez's point after attempt hit the right upright, and the visitors took a 6-0 lead.

Sheldon Galloway was on the receiving end of a 16-yard touchdown pass from the Mustangs' quarterback with 3:45 left in the first quarter. Martinez hit the PAT this time as MSU took a 13-0 lead.

Lindholm put Tarleton on the board with a 44-yard field goal with 9:29 remaining in the first half to cap a 12-play, 61-yard drive. Tarleton trailed 13-3.

On their next possession, the Mustangs drove 57 yards down the field on five plays to score when Eskridge found Galloway for a 27-yard strike. Eskridge then hit Tanner for the two-point conversion and MSU took a 21-3 lead with 6:40 left on the clock..

Tarleton got the ball with 60 seconds left in the second quarter after forcing a punt, and the Texans executed the two-minute offense accordingly. After covering 84 yards on seven plays, Shaun Ragon caught a 16-yard pass from Grantham with 22 ticks left in the period. Lindholm's extra point made it 21-10 at the half.

The Texans scored the only points of the third quarter to pull within four when Roderick Smith ran the ball in from 13 yards out. Lindholm's kick made it 21-17 with 11:24 on the clock.

The Mustangs then scored on a 21-yard pass from Eskridge to Tanner to make it 28-17 with 10:54 remaining in the game after the PAT to close a nine-play, 84-yard drive.

Grantham punched the ball into the endzone on a one-yard keeper with 10:54 remaining in the contest after a 91-yard drive that pulled the home team within three after the quarterback converted the two-point conversion on another keeper, 28-25. The drive took 10 plays over 91 yards in just under four minutes.

With the Mustangs driving, Eskridge was intercepted in the endzone by Tarleton's Brandon Johnson, and the Texan returned the ball to the Tarleton three. The offense then took the ball over with 3:13 remaining in the contest and trailing by three points. Facing a fourth and six from his own seven, Grantham hit Buckingham for a 42-yard gain that put Tarleton at its own 49-yard line. Tarleton then faced a fourth and five from the MSU 46 when Buckingham caught a 27-yard pass from Grantham to keep the drive alive. After a rush for no gain and two incomplete passes, Lindholm nailed the 36-yard field goal to tie the game with 12 seconds left. 

On the following kickoff is when Knicky forced the fumble from Williams. Grantham missed on a quick out to Devin Guinn, and with three seconds left, Lindholm nailed the game-winning, record-setting kick.

The Texans gained 509 yards of total offense on Saturday, including 353 yards passing and 156 yards rushing. 

Grantham was 27-of-47 for 353 yards and one touchdown while Buckingham led the receiving corps with five catches for 104 yards. Guinn also had five catches (62 yards) as did Jahmeel Hobson (61 yards).

The 353 yards for Grantham was his best output since October 27, 2007 when he recorded 384 yards against Abilene Christian.

Smith led the Texans on the ground with 11 carries for 91 yards and a score while Evan Robertson had 16 carries for 56 yards. 

The Texan defense was led by Knicky and Marcus Phillips with 11 tackles each.  Both had five solo and six assisted stops.  Knicky had the forced fumble and one tackle for a loss of minus-one yard while Phillips had one and a half tackles for a loss of minus-five yards. 

The Mustangs tallied 391 yards of total offense, including 245 yards passing and 146 yards rushing.

Eskridge, the most accurate passer in Division II coming into Saturday's game, was 21-of-28 for 245 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. 

BeeJay Mathis led MSU with 14 carries for 79 yards while Tanner had eight catches for 77 yards with two touchdowns to lead the receivers.

Texans' head coach Sam McElroy is 5-0 against the Mustangs, and Tarleton has claimed seven straight wins over MSU.

Tarleton will return to action next Saturday, Oct. 17 at Eastern New Mexico. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CST in Blackwater Draw, N.M.