DEKALB, Ill. — Lew Nichols III had 12 carries for 91 yards and a touchdowns and added a 58-yard TD reception to help Central Michigan beat Northern Illinois 40-10 on Wednesday night.

Drew Richardson was 13-of-19 passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns with one interception for Central Michigan (2-0, 2-0 Mid-American Conference).

Richardson hit Dallas Dixon for a 58-yard touchdown with 11:33 left in the first quarter and the Chippewas led the rest of the way. Nichols ran up the middle, broke a tackled and raced 36 yards for a score on the second play of the fourth quarter to make it 33-0.

Northern Illinois (0-2, 0-2) finished with just 244 total yards, converted just 2 of 15 third downs, and didn't get into the red zone until the closing seconds.

Kyle Pugh had 14 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks for the Huskies.