Northern Iowa rolls Eastern Illinois 53-17 in FCS opener

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) Aaron Bailey threw for three touchdowns and Tyvis Smith rushed for 147 yards and a score to lead Northern Iowa to a 53-17 win over

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) Aaron Bailey threw for three touchdowns and Tyvis Smith rushed for 147 yards and a score to lead Northern Iowa to a 53-17 win over Eastern Illinois in the FCS playoffs on Saturday night.

Bailey only threw 11 passes, completing 7 for 162 yards.

Northern Iowa (8-4) plays at sixth-seeded Portland State in the second round.

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Northern Iowa broke the game open in the second quarter as Michael Schmadeke kicked three of his four field goals, Bailey hit Daurice Fountain for a 32-yard score and Smith scored on a 1-yard run for a 23-7 lead.

Bailey connected with Charles Brown on a 52-yard score and Fountain for 41 yards when Northern Iowa built the lead to 43-17 after three quarters.

Ray Buchanan Jr. added a 70-yard interception return to close it out.

Jalen Whitlow completed 27 of 49 passes with one touchdown but had two interceptions for Eastern Illinois (7-5), which had four turnovers.