No. 2 Northern Iowa scored twice in the first four minutes of the second half to pull away from Missouri State in Springfield Saturday in a 42-7 Panthers win. UNI (3-1) improved to 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and ended a six-game home win streak for the Bears (0-5, 0-2).
Freshman David Johnson carried 18 times for 114 yards and a pair of scores to lead Northern Iowa, while Tirrell Rennie completed 13-of-16 passes for 209 yards and finished with 246 yards of total offense. UNI dominated the second half and tallied 442 total yards, while holding MSU to 2-of-11 on third down.
The Bears out-gained the visitors in the first half by a 176-173 margin, but missed a pair of red zone opportunities to fall behind 21-7 at the intermission.
The Bears will host Illinois State (2-3, 1-2) next Saturday at 2 p.m. as they look for their first win of the 2011 campaign.