No. 1 Tarleton State Survives Eastern Kentucky 28-24 on Kaden Anderson's Late Touchdown Pass

The No. 1 team in the FCS spent most of Halloween night in Stephenville looking very beatable. Eastern Kentucky, a team that had been blown out in all three of its road games, led for a long stretch of the second half and went back in front with 3:18 to play. Then Kaden Anderson needed only three snaps and 84 seconds to take the lead right back.

Tarleton State beat Eastern Kentucky 28-24 on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Anderson threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to B.J. Fleming with 1:54 left, and Fredd Adams broke up a fourth-down pass on Eastern Kentucky's final possession to seal it.

Tarleton State improved to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in the United Athletic Conference. According to Tarleton's game preview, it is only the second time in the program's Division I era that the Texans have started 9-0. Eastern Kentucky fell to 3-6 and 2-2.

A shaky start for the Colonels, then a fast answer

The Texans scored on their first real possession. Anderson found Marquis Willis for a 27-yard touchdown at 10:31 of the first quarter, capping a four-play, 46-yard drive.

Eastern Kentucky's night got harder before it got better. Starting quarterback Blake Kendall Jr. came up short on a fourth-and-1 run near midfield, and late in the quarter Kendall was hurt on a 6-yard run. Myles Burkett took over.

The Colonels' defense kept them close. On fourth-and-5 at the Eastern Kentucky 41, Jack McGrath broke up an Anderson pass to end a Tarleton drive. Then, with 6:49 left in the second quarter, Brady Hensley took a handoff and went 63 yards for a touchdown to tie it 7-7.

Tarleton answered right away. Fleming caught a 26-yard pass and Tanner Schmidt caught one for 19, and Tylan Hines appeared to score from 25 yards out. A review ruled Hines out at the 1, and James Paige punched it in on the next play at 5:22 to make it 14-7.

The 96-yard drive that changed the night

Tarleton had a chance to build the lead before halftime, but Kaden Smith intercepted Anderson at the Eastern Kentucky 6 with 1:52 left in the half. What came next was the best drive of the night for the Colonels.

Facing third-and-5 from their own 9, Burkett hit Jayden West for 61 yards. Caeleb Schlachter added a 20-yard catch, and a pass interference penalty on Tarleton's Fredd Adams set up first-and-goal at the 5. Burkett found Jakobie Hughes for a 5-yard touchdown in the final minute of the half. The drive covered 96 yards in six plays, and the game was tied 14-14 at the break.

Eastern Kentucky takes control, then stalls at the goal line

The second half started with another Colonel takeaway. Willis caught a 38-yard pass on Tarleton's first snap, but a few plays later Jeffrey Kinley intercepted Anderson at the Eastern Kentucky 23. West then made a 44-yard catch, and Devin Orr kicked a 41-yard field goal at 10:39 of the third quarter to give Eastern Kentucky a 17-14 lead.

Tarleton's next drive ended on downs at the Eastern Kentucky 31 when Cristian Conyer broke up a fourth-and-9 throw to Willis.

The Colonels then ground out a 13-play drive that took 7:25 off the clock. Burkett ran 15 yards on third-and-3 to reach the Tarleton 5, and Eastern Kentucky had four tries to go up two scores. Hensley got 3 yards, Burkett got nothing, and Hensley got 1 more. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, Burkett tried a sneak and was met by Xavier Potts and Seven Cloud. The play was reviewed and the call stood. Tarleton took over at its own 1 with 8 seconds left in the third quarter.

The turning point: 99 yards in four plays

That goal-line stand turned into seven points almost instantly. Schmidt caught an 8-yard pass, Anderson ran for 1, and on third-and-1 from the Tarleton 10, Anderson hit Willis deep for 59 yards. On the next play, Miequle Brock ran 34 yards for a touchdown at 13:59 of the fourth quarter. The Texans had gone 99 yards in four plays and led 21-17.

The fourth quarter then turned into a game of giveaways. Eastern Kentucky drove right back, getting a 15-yard run from Brayden Latham and a 34-yard catch by Schlachter, plus a face mask penalty that erased a Tarleton sack and gave the Colonels a first down at the 12. On third-and-10 from the 12, Burkett ran to the 6, where Kaleb Brown knocked the ball loose and Potts recovered it at 10:15.

Tarleton gave it right back. Willis caught a 52-yard pass and Brock ran for 16, but on the next carry Brock broke free for 26 yards and lost the ball at the 10 when Kinley punched it out. It bounced through the end zone for a touchback at 8:46.

This time the Colonels finished. Ryder Hooks caught a 48-yard pass on third-and-3 to reach the Tarleton 25, and Hensley carried three times to get inside the 10. Adams appeared to intercept Burkett in the end zone, but Adams was flagged for pass interference, and two plays later Hensley scored from 2 yards out at 3:18. Orr's kick made it 24-21 Eastern Kentucky.

Three plays, 75 yards

Tarleton needed only 84 seconds to answer. Anderson ran 12 yards to start the drive, a pass interference call on D.J. Galva added 15 more, and Hines ran 23 yards to the Eastern Kentucky 25. After a Tarleton timeout at 2:00, Anderson threw deep to Fleming in the left side of the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.

Eastern Kentucky got the ball back at its own 25 with 1:54 left. Burkett threw incomplete, hit Braylon Newcomb for 5 yards, and then missed West on third down. On fourth-and-5 from the 30, Burkett looked for Hensley, and Adams broke up the pass with 1:38 to go. Tarleton ran out the clock from there.

Stars of the night

Anderson finished 18-of-32 for 351 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Willis was the biggest weapon, catching four passes for 173 yards and a touchdown. Schmidt caught eight passes for 107 yards and Fleming had three for 55 and the winner. Hines ran for nearly 100 yards and Brock had 79 yards and a score on just five carries.

Tarleton's defense was led by Chris Robinson, who made 16 tackles. Avian Rice added nine, Stephen Woods Jr. had eight, and Cloud had two tackles for loss. Potts was in the middle of both big stops, making the fourth-down tackle at the goal line and recovering Burkett's fumble.

For Eastern Kentucky, Hensley ran 22 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns. Burkett completed 11 of 17 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown. West caught two passes for 105 yards. On defense, Derek Taylor made 12 tackles, Smith had eight tackles and an interception, and Kinley had an interception and a forced fumble.

By the numbers

Tarleton outgained Eastern Kentucky by more than 75 yards and ran for over 200, but the Colonels held the ball for more than 35 minutes and won the turnover battle 3-1. The Texans also came up empty on both of their fourth-down tries. What saved Tarleton was speed: both of its fourth-quarter touchdown drives took four plays or fewer.

What it means

Tarleton stays perfect, but this was not the kind of night the No. 1 team in both FCS polls usually has at home. According to the Texans' game preview, Tarleton came in averaging nearly 50 points per game at Memorial Stadium and had won 12 of its last 13 home games. It had to rally late to survive a team that came in 0-3 on the road, with every one of those losses by at least 24 points. The Texans also beat West Georgia 49-6 a week ago, so this one was a very different test.

The win stretches Tarleton's regular-season winning streak to 11 games, and it sets up a big one. The Texans host Abilene Christian on Nov. 7 at 6 p.m., and Abilene Christian came into the weekend at 4-0 in league play.

For Eastern Kentucky, a week after a 16-13 win over West Florida, this is a loss that will sting. The Colonels had the lead with two minutes left against the top team in the country, and they came up empty on two trips inside the Tarleton 10. The series between these two teams now stands 3-2 in Eastern Kentucky's favor, with Tarleton winning the last two.

The official box score (opens in a new tab) shows a close game in every sense. Tarleton found a way, and on Halloween night, that was enough to keep the perfect season alive.

Sources: ESPN box score and play-by-play, Tarleton State Athletics game preview. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Tarleton State Athletics.