NIU falls to 0-2 after 40-10 loss to visiting Central Michigan

DEKALB — 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.

NIU (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 1.5 sacks for the Huskies.

NIU quarterback Ross Bowers finished 16 of 32 for 139 yards.

The Huskies’ lone touchdown came with 11 seconds left in the game when Andrew Haidet found Dennis Robinson for a 31-yard touchdown pass.