ROSEMONT, Ill. — After leading Northwestern to a 41-7 victory over Colorado, Aidan Chiles has been named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
Chiles completed 77.3% of his passes (17-of-22) for 241 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, while also rushing for two scores. He is the first Big Ten player to record these numbers in a game since Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett in 2017.
Chiles is the first Wildcat to be named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week since Preston Stone won the award on November 24, 2025.
The fourth-year quarterback is the first Northwestern player to notch 3+ passing touchdowns and 2+ rushing touchdowns in a single game since 2001, when Zak Kustok did so against Bowling Green. He is the 26th Big Ten quarterback to reach those markers since 1995.
Chiles’ performance marked one of the best games of his collegiate career after stops at Oregon State and Michigan State. His 77.3% completion rate marked the second-highest of his career (min. 10 attempts) and the best by a Wildcat since Stone’s 83.3% completion rate against Minnesota on November 22, 2025. The contest also marked his fourth career game with 3+ rushing touchdowns and just his second career game with 2+ rushing touchdowns.
Chiles became the first Northwestern quarterback to rush for 2+ touchdowns in a single game since Andrew Marty on November 30, 2019, against Illinois.
Through two games, Chiles has led the Wildcat offense to 75 points, marking the program’s highest-scoring two-game stretch since November 2017 and its highest-scoring start to a season since 2013. Northwestern is 2-0 for the first time since the 2020 season.
This season, Chiles has thrown for 514 yards and four touchdowns while recording no interceptions. He also has three rushing touchdowns. Chiles is just the fifth Big Ten quarterback since 1995 to record 4+ passing touchdowns and 3+ rushing touchdowns through the first two games of a season, done most recently by Ohio State’s Justin Fields in 2019.
Chiles’ performance against the Buffaloes also earned him a spot on the Davey O’Brien Great 8 performance of the week list.
The Wildcats head on the road for the first time this season to take on No. 4 Indiana in Bloomington, Ind., on Friday, September 25. Kickoff from Merchants Bank Field at Memorial Stadium is set for 7 p.m. CT on FOX and WGN Radio 720.