FNS Photo / North Dakota State's Kobe Johnson breaks off a 50-yard touchdown run against Northern Iowa at the Fargodome on Saturday.

FARGO — Northern Iowa’s second attempt at ending one of the longest winning streaks in NCAA Division I FCS football didn’t go the way it did the first time.

North Dakota State won its 27th consecutive game before 18,178 fans at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome, giving the program the top two streaks in FCS history. The 46-14 victory on homecoming weekend kept the No. 1-ranked Bison undefeated in Missouri Valley Football Conference play.

NDSU (6-0, 2-0 MVFC) handed the No. 10-ranked Panthers (3-3, 1-1) their first conference loss this season. Northern Iowa ended the Bison’s 33-game winning streak in 2014 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the longest winning streak in the division’s history. Bison freshman quarterback Trey Lance said the team isn’t concerned with the current streak.

“I don’t think it’s as hard as you think,” Lance said of blocking out the streak talk. “I have never heard anyone in our program talk about that. … It’s just not what we do here. We go 1-0 every week.”

The Bison have been impressive through their first two conference games, both played against top-10 ranked opponents. NDSU outscored Illinois State and Northern Iowa by a combined 83-17.

“We feel good about where we’re at right now,” Bison head coach Matt Entz said.

The Bison scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to pull away from Northern Iowa. NDSU was tied with James Madison (2016-17) for the second-longest FCS streak before Saturday’s victory moved the Bison into second place alone with their current streak.

Bison running back Adam Cofield had two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter to help ice the victory. Northern Iowa trailed by four points at halftime before NDSU’s strong second half. Cofield rushed for 104 yards on 15 attempts.

True freshman running back Kobe Johnson added a 50-yard touchdown run that capped a 21-point fourth quarter and gave the Bison a 46-14 lead with 2 minutes, 5 seconds remaining. The Bison rushed for 347 yards on 51 attempts.

“I can’t say enough about everybody on offense and their ability to run the football,” Entz said. “That was kind of the topic of the week.”

Northern Iowa had the ball to start the second half and trailed 18-14 after weathering an Bison scoring surge in the first quarter.

On the third play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Bison cornerback Josh Hayes popped Panthers receiver Deion McShane on a short pass completion. The ball came loose and NDSU cornerback Marquise Bridges recovered the ball at the UNI 35-yard line.

“To have something like that, it takes away from your rhythm,” said UNI linebacker Bryce Flater.

Two plays later, Lance hit a wide open Noah Gindorff from 30 yards and it was 25-14 with 13:02 to play in the third quarter.

The Bison raced to a 15-0 lead scoring two touchdowns in the opening quarter, both Lance touchdown passes. Lance had a 36-yard scoring strike to sophomore receiver Phoenix Sproles that gave the Bison an 8-0 lead with 10:57 to play in the first quarter. That capped a 77-yard drive, with James Hendricks running it in on the two-point conversion.

Lance added a 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Christian Watson in the back of the end zone, staking NDSU to a 15-0 advantage with 2:21 to play in the opening quarter.

The Bison threatened to pull away after Hendricks, playing safety, intercepted a pass and returned it to near midfield. Two plays later, after NDSU moved into Northern Iowa territory, fullback Hunter Luepke and Lance didn’t hook up on a handoff. Panthers linebacker Chris Kolarevic picked up the loose ball and returned it the Bison 11.

Two plays later, UNI quarterback Will McElvain fired a 17-yard TD pass to Isaiah Weston, slicing the Bison lead to 18-7 with 13:13 to play in the second quarter.

After an NDSU field, goal, the Panthers scored another touchdown. Sophomore running back Tyler Hoosman powered into the end zone from 6 yards out, cutting the Bison lead to 18-14 with 2:40 to play in the first half. Hoosman’s run capped an 8-play, 65-yard drive.

“We kept our composure and played well in the first half,” Farley said.

McElvain completed 9 of 15 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown in the first half. Weston had three catches for 87 yards heading into halftime. On the game, McElvain completed 15 of 29 passes for 233 yards and the one score.

“Creating the turnover in the second half was the tipping point,” Entz said.

Lance completed 10 of 18 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Through six games, the 6-foot-3, 221-pound Lance has 15 touchdown passes with no interceptions. Lance credited the offensive line for the team’s offensive success, averaging 42.0 points per game.

“Everything starts and finishes with them,” Lance said. “They dominate every week. They don’t take the foot off the gas.”