McElvain's 3 TD passes lift N. Iowa past Illinois St 27-10

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NORMAL, Ill. (AP) — Will McElvain threw three touchdown passes, the Northern Iowa defense came up with three interceptions and the Panthers defeated Illinois State 27-10 on Saturday in a Missouri Valley Conference matchup of Top 10 teams.

McElvain's 16-yard strike to Suni Lane in the final minute of the first half put the Panthers (6-3, 4-1) on top 14-7. The duo hooked up for a 27-yard score with 11 minutes to play for a 21-10 lead. Matthew Cook finished the next two drives, setup by Xavior Williams' fumble recovery and a Christian Jegen interception, both deep in ISU territory, with field goals.

McElvain was 14 of 28 for 189 yards with an interception.

Illinois State (6-3, 3-2) had only 63 yards of offense in the second half, only scoring on a field goal that was set up by a fumble recovery at the Northern Iowa 30. The Redbirds finished with 210 yards.