Arkansas State 26, Memphis 23

WERE YOU THERE?

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories! I was there »

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	27	19
Total Yards	435	342
Passing	219	215
Rushing	216	127
Penalties	5-51	9-80
3rd Down Conversions	7-15	3-11
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-1
Turnovers	3	0
Possession	34:40	25:20

Individual Leaders

Arkansas State Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Leonard 12/23 219 2 2	Memphis Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Hankins 12/27 178 1 0 Scott 1/1 37 1 0
Arkansas State Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Wilkerson 23 116 0 27 Arnold 13 53 0 10 Leonard 13 35 0 20	Memphis Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Doss 18 69 0 9 Barnes 6 27 0 11 Williams 3 19 0 15
Arkansas State Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Jones 3 73 0 33 Johnson 3 28 0 13 Higgins 2 79 2 53 Wilkerson 2 23 0 19	Memphis Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Scott 3 28 0 12 Pratcher 3 17 0 7 Thomas III 2 61 0 35 Williams 2 14 0 7

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				ARST	MEM
	FG	10:33	MATT REAGAN 28 YD FG Drive info: 12 plays, 53 yards.	0	3
	TD	5:38	BRANDON THOMPKINS 16 YD RUN (JOSH ARAUCO KICK) Drive info: 9 plays, 60 yards.	7	3
	FG	3:03	MATT REAGAN 27 YD FG Drive info: 7 plays, 57 yards.	7	6
SECOND QUARTER				ARST	MEM
	TD	13:21	PATRICK HIGGINS 26 YD PASS FROM COREY LEONARD (JOSH ARAUCO KICK) Drive info: 9 plays, 76 yards.	14	6
	FG	0:21	JOSH ARAUCO 33 YD FG Drive info: 13 plays, 60 yards.	17	6
THIRD QUARTER				ARST	MEM
	TD	9:24	DUKE CALHOUN 49 YD PASS FROM MARTIN HANKINS (MATT REAGAN KICK) Drive info: 5 plays, 73 yards.	17	13
	FG	2:59	MATT REAGAN 28 YD FG Drive info: 4 plays, 3 yards.	17	16
	FG	0:50	JOSH ARAUCO 27 YD FG Drive info: 8 plays, 57 yards.	20	16
FOURTH QUARTER				ARST	MEM
	TD	6:40	JOSEPH DOSS 37 YD PASS FROM RYAN SCOTT (MATT REAGAN KICK) Drive info: 6 plays, 80 yards.	20	23
	TD	0:00	PATRICK HIGGINS 53 YD PASS FROM COREY LEONARD Drive info: 4 plays, 73 yards.	26	23

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)-- Facing third-and-10 at his own 47 with only seconds left in the game, Arkansas State quarterback Corey Leonard threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Higgins, giving the Indians a 26-23 win over Memphis on Saturday.

"It's just called Hail Mary left, and what's going through my mind is (for receivers) to compete for the football," said Arkansas State coach Steve Roberts. "It's one of those things that you practice a lot. It doesn't work very often, but when it does, it's big for your team."

Leonard took the snap with six seconds left, rolled left and heaved the ball into a crowd in the end zone as time expired. Higgins came out with the ball, sending the Indian squad onto the field in celebration.

Officials reviewed the play and confirmed the touchdown reception, snapping Arkansas State's 10-game losing streak in the series. The Indians had not defeated Memphis since 1989.

"It's just indescribable," Leonard said. "It's probably one of the greatest feelings you can have in football."

It was Higgins' second touchdown reception, his only two catches of the game. He said a lot of players were bunched in the end zone, but the pass landed in his hands.

"I went up to the highest point and got it," the junior wide receiver said. "It wasn't deflected at all. I was the first one to grab it, and I just came down and held the ball tight so they wouldn't strip it."

It was a fitting end for the Indians (4-2), who dominated most of the game, but found themselves trailing on a bit of Memphis razzle-dazzle earlier in the fourth.

A 37-yard pass from Memphis wide receiver Ryan Scott to running back Joseph Doss with less than 7 minutes left gave the Tigers (1-5) a 23-20 lead.

On the play, quarterback Martin Hankins threw left to Scott on a lateral. Doss snuck out of the backfield down the right side, and Scott hit him at about the 15. One move inside shook the last defender, and the Tigers took the lead for the first time since the opening possession.

Arkansas State's ensuing drive was stopped when Tiger linebacker Heath Grant intercepted Leonard's pass at the Memphis 15.

The Indians moved the ball to midfield with time running out, leading to the Leonard-Higgins winning combination.

"To throw a pick late in the fourth quarter like that, you felt like you just let your whole team down, 105 guys, your community and your college," Leonard said. "You just want one more shot.

"I knew it had a chance. I knew it had the distance and I knew I got a good throw on it. When they gave that touchdown signal, there's not a better feeling in the world."

Memphis struggled on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Martin Hankins overthrew receivers, completing 12-of-27 passes. Meanwhile, the Tigers rushing game managed a mere 127 yards.

Curtis Wilkerson ended up with 116 yards rushing for Arkansas State on 23 carries, both career highs.

In the first half, Arkansas State had 262 yards of offense, including 168 yards on the ground, converted its first five third-down situations and scored on three of its four possessions in the half. The only time they didn't score was when Memphis recovered an Indian fumble near midfield in the second quarter.

Memphis at the break trailed 17-6.

"I felt like we played poorly in the first half on both sides of the ball," said Memphis coach Tommy West.

The team scored on its first possession as Matt Reagan kicked a 28-yard field goal capping a 12-play, 53-yard drive. Reagan would add a 27-yard kick later in the first quarter and another 28-yarder in the second half.

But there was little else to brag about for the Tiger offense, which had 49 yards on the ground and 91 through the air in the half.

The first Indians score came from Brandon Thompkins' 16-yard end around run. Later, Arkansas State scored on a 26-yard pass from Leonard to Higgins, one of the third-down conversions in the first half.

The Indians would convert only two other third-down plays, one of them being the winning touchdown.

"We made some plays in the second half to give us a chance to win the game," West said. "But we did not make the biggest play of the game, and they did."