Aidan Chiles passed for three touchdowns for the second time this season and ran in another as Northwestern routed Ball State 45-14 in a nonconference matchup on Saturday in Evanston.
Chiles threw for 272 yards on a 17-for-23 afternoon in Northwestern’s second game at its swanky new Ryan Field. The 6-foot-4 senior transfer from Michigan State upped his season totals to nine passing TD’s and six on the ground.
Griffin Wilde pulled in a touchdown, his third, and finished with 144 receiving yards. Drew Wagner and Alex Honig also caught passes for scores.
Caleb Komolafe rushed for a TD and Robert Fitzgerald returned an interception for a 15-yard score as the Wildcats (4-1) raced ahead early, stumbled briefly in the second quarter, then took charge in the second half.
Jackson Kleather added a 52-yard field goal.
Ball State’s Keldric Luster passed for 209 yards (27 for 41) and a 2-yard touchdown to Jamarion McDougle as time ran out in the first half. TJ Horton punched in a TD from the 1 midway through the second quarter for the Cardinals’ (1-5) first score.
Northwestern scored on its first four drives, then added a touchdown off Fitzgerald’s pick to build a 31-14 lead at the half.
Northwestern jumped ahead 7 on the opening drive when Chiles dashed in on a keeper after Ball State foiled three straight Wildcat rushing tries from within the 2.
Northwestern upped it to 14-0 on its second possession, capped by Chiles’ 17-yard TD pass to Wilde.
Komolafe scored on a 14-yard rush up the middle 4:08 into the second, upping it to 21-0. Chiles narrowly dodged a sack on a third-and-8 at the Ball State 30, but hit Hayden Eligon II with a 16-yard pass to set up the TD.
Horton punched into the end zone at 8:20 to cut it to 21-7 after Luster led a 75-yard drive. Jackson Kleather’s field goal narrowly cleared the crossbar and made it 24-7 with 4:47 left in the half.
Pinned back on his own 12 on a third down, Luster’s pass intended for Jabari Smith was picked by Fitzgerald, who ran it in for a TD and a 31-7 NU lead.
Luster atoned, tossing to McDougle in the end zone from the 2 on fourth down as time ran out in the half
Northwestern stopped Ball State’s punt formation sneak from its 36 5:29 into the third quarter. Two plays later, Chiles tossed a 12-yard TD to Wagner, and Northwestern led 38-14.
The takeaway
Ball State: Ball State and Luster showed signs of making a game of it in their second meeting with a Big Ten opponent this season. The Cardinals were pounded 56-3 in a season-opening loss at Ohio State
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Northwestern: Chiles athleticism was on display. He pounced on opportunities and got Northwestern out of a bit of trouble.
Wagner’s apparent 92-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter was nullified by a series of penalties. A final infraction, sideline interference against Northwestern, put the Wildcats back in their 1 to start a drive with 4:34 left in the third.
Chiles engineered a 10-play, 99-yard drive after the odd call that culminated in a 32-yard TD pass to Honig and a 45-14 Northwestern lead.
Up next
Ball State: At Mid-American Conference rival Bowling Green on Oct. 17.
Northwestern: Returns to Big Ten play at Michigan State on Oct. 17.