Northern Iowa hands North Dakota first shutout defeat in two years

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) - Theo Day threw for two touchdowns and Amauri Pesek-Hickson ran for 180 yards and scored a touchdown and Northern Iowa dominated ninth-ranked FCS North Dakota 27-0 on Saturday.

The last time the Fighting Hawks were shut out was Sept. 18, 2021 when Drake beat them 38-0 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Pesek-Hickson’s 14-yard scoring run with six minutes left in the first quarter made it 7-0 and ended a seven-play, 65-yard drive that took almost four minutes. Pesek-Hickson finished with 31 carries.

Eight minutes after Matthew Cook’s 30-yard field goal, Day connected with Sergio Morancy for a 70-yard score with 3:40 before halftime. In the third, Day threw a 2-yard score to Brady McCullough and finished a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to seal it.

Northern Iowa moved its record to 4-3, 3-1 Missouri Valley Football Conference and have won four of its last five.

Tommy Schuster threw for 164 yards and an interception for North Dakota (4-3, 2-2).