Hardly a work of art, but in the end, a win is a win and the Central Michigan football team will certainly take it.

The Chippewas utilized a three-quarterback rotation, Lew Nichols III returned the lineup, and the defense came up big when it most needed it as CMU downed Northern Illinois, 35-22, on Wednesday night at NIU's Huskie Stadium.

It was CMU's second win its last three games as it improved to 3-6, 2-3. The Chippewas committed four turnovers including a fumble that NIU returned for a touchdown.

"I'm so happy for our kids to get a win," CMU coach Jim McElwain said. "Especially on the road, it's tough to get a win. … I'm happy we won, don't get me wrong. But I'm also a football guy that realizes you can't win football games doing that kind of (stuff)."

The Chippewas never trailed and were seemingly in command with a 28-7 lead entering the fourth quarter. NIU scored two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the fourth to draw to 28-22.

CMU turned momentum back in its favor midway through the fourth quarter when Thomas Incoom stripped the NIU quarterback of the ball in the end zone and linebacker Kyle Moretti recovered for a TD with 7:17 for the final margin.

That sequence came about after Chippewa punter Luke Elzinga pinned the Huskies inside their own 1-yard line.

"The guys in the locker room, heads are high, guys are smiling, the energy's up and we'll just keep it going, make it happen next week," Incoom said. "It boosts our confidence, getting a big victory on the road. It means a lot."

Nichols, who missed the last two games with an injury, carried 28 times for 92 yards as the Chippewas rolled up with 245 yards on the ground – their season high against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent -- and finished with 451 total yards.

CMU used a three-quarterback rotation of Daniel Richardson, Jase Bauer and Bert Emanuel Jr. Richardson threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns and Bauer carried 14 times for 109 and two TDs.

Richardson's TD passes, the first a 23-yarder to Joel Wilson and the second a 19-yarder to Tyson Davis, came in the first half and Bauer scored on a 6-yard run to give CMU a 21-0 halftime lead.

Bauer scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter.

"All of them gave us a little something and they deserved to play and I thought for the most part they played pretty well," McElwain said. "I think that's going to bode well for us as we finish these last three games. Our quarterback situation for the future is pretty darned good."