Northern Iowa pulls away in 2nd, beats W. Illinois 52-17

MACOMB, Ill. (AP) — Theo Day threw three touchdowns passes to lead Northern Iowa to its first win of the season, a 52-17 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday.

Day was 23-of-29 passing for 260 yards. He threw a pair of touchdown passes to Desmond Hutson and one to Quan Hampton, each from inside the red zone. Dom Williams and Harrison Bey-Buie each had a short-yardage scoring run and combined for 118 yards rushing on 25 carries for Northern Iowa (1-3, 1-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Clay Bruno threw for 166 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions for Western Illinois (0-4, 0-1). Bruno’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Reed pulled the Leathernecks to 17-10 early in the third quarter.