Heide leads South Dakota St past N Iowa 38-7

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BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) — Keaton Heide was 15-of-16 passing with two touchdowns, the defense forced two turnovers and South Dakota State overwhelmed Northern Iowa 38-7 on Saturday in a battle of top 10 FCS teams.

The Jackrabbits were clinging to a 17-7 lead entering the fourth quarter before breaking the game open. Don Gardner had a 24-yard fumble return after Tolu Ogunrinde’s defensive stop, Cade Johnson had a 20-yard touchdown reception set up by an interception and backup quarterback Kanin Nelson had a 12-yard TD run.

For the ninth-ranked Jackrabbits (8-3, 5-2 Missouri Valley Conference) it was their third straight home game against a ranked opponent but the first they won. They piled up 337 yards of offense; 196 on Heide’s arm. Johnson had six catches for 134 yards.

No. 5-ranked Northern Iowa (7-4, 5-2) had its four-game winning streak snapped. Will McElvain was 12 of 24 for 85 yards with three interceptions.