JONESBORO, Ark.?For the second straight week Eric Neihouse played the role of hero on a night where an overtime field goal won the game for Arkansas State over Florida Atlantic, 3-0, and kept the Indians' hopes alive for the Sun Belt Conference crown. The win moves ASU to 4-3 overall on the season, but 3-1 in SBC action.

“The story line is Neihouse does it again,” said ASU head coach Steve Roberts after the game. “It was a pressure packed kick as he stepped up in overtime to provide the winning margin. I can promise you by being in the locker room that our kids don't care if it was 39-36 or 3-0. They are very excited about this win.”

A defensive battle on national television ended when Niehouse's right foot connected on a 21-yard field goal attempt. He can thank the Indian defense for putting him in that position.

Late in the fourth quarter ASU quarterback Nick Noce was intercepted at the FAU 25 by Lawrence Gordon and returned the ball to the ASU 36. With just 58 seconds left to play, the FAU offense took over and made it to the 27 before lining up for a 44-yard field goal attempt by Daniel Kennard. The kick was missed badly to the left, giving ASU a chance in overtime.

“Nick had an off night and he would tell you that, but I will say that I still believe Nick is the best quarterback in the Sun Belt Conference,” said Roberts. “Every quarterback in the country at every level has on off night, but Nick still made some plays for us.”

The Owls (1-7, 1-3) won the coin toss and decided to go on offense first. After two rushes that lost yardage and a sack of quarterback Danny Embick, the Owls were facing a third-and-13 from the 28. Embick took the snap, looked left and zipped the ball into ASU's cover-two defense, where cornerback James Johnson stepped in front of the pass for his second interception of the night.

Five plays later, the ball resting on the FAU 4, Neihouse again performed his heroics for the second straight week. The ball slipped just inside the right upright, giving ASU a win in one of the most improbable games in NCAA history.

The game was supposed to feature the high-scoring ASU offense welcoming back running back Antonio Warren after missing the previous two games with an injured ankle. Warren started the game slowly but heated up in the second half, ending the night with 22 carries for 106 yards, giving him five straight games over 100 yards rushing.

“This victory means so much because it has a chance to complete us as a football team,” said Roberts. “What I mean by that is this game can show us that when we are at a disadvantage on one side of the ball we have the ability for the other side of the ball to step up and make the plays we had to make.”

The win keeps ASU in second overall in the SBC standings behind Louisiana-Monroe and puts the Indians over .500 for the first time this season. After a call to statisticians at the NCAA, there is no record of a division 1-A game ever going to overtime as a scoreless contest.