For the fourth time in six weeks, the Angelo State football team came up against a nationally ranked foe and nearly nabbed an upset of such a team Thursday night, falling to No. 20 Tarleton State, 31-24, in dramatic fashion at Memorial Stadium in Stephenville.

Trailing 17-3 at the break, the Rams (3-7, 3-5 LSC, 1-4 LSC South) cut the Tarleton State deficit to seven points on two occasions in the fourth quarter, including with just two minutes remaining as true freshman Michael Cochran connected with senior wide out Drew Peterson for a 24-yard score.

The Rams then used a successful on-side kick by Ryan Smith, recovered by freshman D.J. Clough, to set up a potential game-tying drive. ASU marched down the field in the final two minutes but comeback hopes were dashed by an interception by Texan Keon Perry, his second of the game, in the back of the end zone.

The game was officially in front of 6,314 fans but many more had a chance to see the Lone Star Conference showdown with the game televised nationally on the CBS College Sports Network. It was the first-ever nationally televised football game for either school.

The Rams first trimmed the Tarleton State lead down to just seven points, 24-17, with 10:58 left in the contest using a 37-yard interception return by senior cornerback Quinton Butler. Butler's score was the first ASU interception return for a touchdown this season and second defense touchdown of the Rams in 2008.

Tarleton State responded with a three-yard touchdown run by Travis Evans with 4:25 left in the game to give the Texans back a two-touchdown advantage, 31-17, however freshman Nick Williams put ASU back in scoring position on the ensuing kickoff with a 76-yard return to set up the Rams at the TSU 20-yardline, setting up Cochran's touchdown to Peterson.

Senior tailback Daniel Thomas became the fourth 3,000-yard rusher in ASU history as he had his fourth 100-yard rushing performance of the season with 108 yards on 23 carries. Thomas, ranked fourth on the Rams' career rushing list, has 3,033 yards entering the final game of his career next weekend. With 964 yards this season, Thomas needs just 36 yards next week for his first 1,000-yard season in his career.

Cochran ended the night with 131 yards on 17-of-34 passing with his first two career touchdown passes. He hit 10 different receivers with senior Sam Tindol leading the pack with three catches for 28 yards. Peterson added two catches for 28 yards.

Junior cornerback Rickey McKinley and senior safety Tarric Jones each had a team-high eight tackles in the loss. Sophomore Ben Thomas had six stops, a sack and an interception and Butler ended the game with two picks. The Rams had three interceptions in a game for the fourth time this season, including the last two contests.

The Texans (8-2, 6-2 LSC, 3-2 LSC South) jumped out early scoring two touchdowns in a five-minute span in the first quarter. TSU posted its first touchdown of the night on an 11-yard run by Roderick Smith with 9:08 left in the first frame and added a second score with 4:36 left in the period on a one-yard dive by Evans.

Angelo State then snapped a 175-minute scoreless streak with a 34-yard field goal by Smith to cut the Texan lead to 11 points, 14-3, with 14:05 left before halftime, but Tarleton State answered with a 27-yard field by Garrett Lindholm as time expired in the half.

The Texans carried the late-half momentum into the second as Smith capped TSU's first drive of the third quarter with a 27-yard touchdown run for his second score of the game. But Smith would not re-enter game from that point, slowing down the Texan rushing attack.

ASU started its comeback attempt with 8:08 in the third quarter as Cochran connected with junior running back Kobey Lewis for his first career touchdown pass.

The Texans ended the night with 400 yards of offense compared to just 257 by Angelo State. TSU sophomore quarterback Scott Grantham had 212 yards on 15-of-26 passing with three interceptions and was held without a touchdown pass for the first time in his career.

Smith rushed for a game-high 111 yards on just nine carries with two scores while Evans added 92 yards on 17 carries with two scores of his own. TSU's Eric Foreman had a game-high seven receptions for 121 yards.

The Rams will return home next week to close out the season as they host Texas A&M-Kingsville for Senior Day. Game time is 6 p.m. at San Angelo Stadium.