Northern Iowa jumps out early, holds off Indiana State 17-9

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Will McElvain threw a touchdown pass and Trevor Allen ran for another score in the first half, and Northern Iowa held off Indiana State for a 17-9 victory on Saturday night. The FCS seventh-ranked Panthers (7-3, 5-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference) remain a game back of conference leader and top-ranked North Dakota State. Indiana State (3-7, 1-5) has lost four straight games. McElvain threw a 25-yard TD pass to Suni Lane , Matthew Cook kicked a 22-yard field goal and Allen ran into the end zone from the 13 as the Panthers led 17-6 at halftime. Jerry Nunez kicked a pair of field goals for the Sycamores in the first half and added a 28-yarder to cap the scoring with 8:21 remaining in the third quarter. Indiana State had its final possession with 5 minutes to play and drove to the Northern Iowa 38 with less than two minutes left.