EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) — Aidan Chiles passed to Joseph Himon II for three touchdowns and ran in two himself to lead Northwestern to a 41-7 rout of Colorado on Saturday night.
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Chiles → pass → night
Chiles finished with 241 yards on 17-for-22 passing and upped his season total to seven TDs – four passing and three rushing — in his first two games with the Wildcats (2-0).
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Chiles → finish → Wildcats
Chiles, a senior, made 20 starts for Michigan State before joining Northwestern during the offseason.
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Chiles → make → offseason
Himon caught an 18-yard pass for his first TD, then a 25-yarder and a 3-yard toss as Northwestern (2-0) pulled away on a rainy evening two days after it announced an extension of coach David Braun’s contract through the 2031 season.
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it → catch → season
In addition to 46 receiving yards, Himon, a graduate running back, added 28 on the ground.
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Himon → add → ground
He has four TDs this season.
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He → have → TDs
Jackson Kleather kicked a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter and hit five extra-point attempts.
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Kleather → kick → attempts
Colorado’s Julian “JuJu” Lewis threw for 168 yards and a touchdown to Joseph Williams on 19 for 29 passing as the Buffaloes (2-1) suffered their first loss after edging Georgia Tech, then routing Championship Subdivision foe Weber State last week.
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Buffaloes → throw → State
Williams finished with 88 receiving yards and JaQuail Smith led the Buffaloes with 91 yards on the ground
The Buffaloes committed three key turnovers – two fumbles, one interception – in the first half.
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Buffaloes → finish → half
Two led to quick Northwestern scores.
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Two → lead → scores
The Wildcats led 21-0 at the half.
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Wildcats → lead → half
Chiles dashed in to the left on a 1-yard keeper with 43 second left in the first quarter to open the scoring.
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Chiles → dash → scoring
Micah Welch fumbled at the Colorado 44-yard line to let Northwestern start the drive.
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Northwestern → fumble → drive
Lewis’ pass up the middle intended for Williams was intercepted by Braden Turner at the Colorado 40 midway through the second.
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pass → intend → second
Two plays later, Chiles hit a wide open Himon on the left side with an 18-yard pass to up the lead to 14-0.
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Chiles → hit → 14
Damian Henderson II was stopped, getting only one yard, on a fourth-and-2 rush attempt at the NU 28 on the Buffaloes next drive.
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II → stop → drive
Chiles ran the ball in from the Colorado 3 for his second touchdown of the night with 59 seconds left in the half to extend it to 21-0.
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Chiles → run → 21
Williams took off alone down the right side for a 50-yard touchdown dash after taking Lewis’ pass at midfield on the fourth play of the second half to complete a quick 66-yard drive for the Buffaloes’ first touchdown.
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Williams → take → touchdown
The Wildcats and Chiles countered to make it 28-7 midway through the third when he found Himon again, this time with a pass up the middle.
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he → counter → middle
Chiles hit Himon with a 3-yard toss with 3:15 left in the third to extend it to 35-7.
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Chiles → hit → 35
The Buffaloes were hurt by the early turnovers before Lewis was intercepted again the fourth quarter.
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Lewis → hurt → turnovers
The Chiles-Himon combo was unstoppable, and Northwestern committed only one turnover.
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Northwestern → commit → turnover
Saturday’s contest was the last played at 12,000-seat Martin Stadium, the Wildcats on-campus home since 2024.
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contest → play → 2024
They’ll open the new 35,000-seat Ryan Field on Friday, Oct. 2 when they host Penn State.
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they → open → State
Up next
Colorado: Opens its Big 12 schedule next Saturday at Baylor.
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Colorado → open → Baylor
Northwestern: Faces defending national champion Indiana in Bloomington, Indiana next Saturday to open its Big Ten schedule.
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Northwestern → face → schedule
The Aporia
