Aidan Chiles passed for one touchdown and rushed for another, and Northwestern pulled away for a 34-18 win over South Dakota State on Saturday night in Evanston, Ill.
Chiles completed 14 of 24 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown for Northwestern (1-0). He also rushed for 18 yards and a touchdown.
Chase Mason completed 23 of 48 passes for 285 yards and an interception for South Dakota State (1-1). Josiah Johnson rushed for 79 yards and a score.
The Wildcats led by two points when Chiles provided a turning point late in the fourth quarter. He took a quarterback keeper to the left side for a 14-yard touchdown to boost Northwestern’s lead to 27-18 with 4:34 remaining.
Joseph Himon II sealed the victory with an 80-yard rushing touchdown with 1:15 to go.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Johnson punched in a 2-yard rushing touchdown to bring the Jackrabbits within 20-18 with 8:16 to play.
Northwestern needed only two plays to get on the scoreboard on its first drive of the game. Chiles completed his first pass attempt to Griffin Wilde over the deep middle for a 71-yard gain to the South Dakota State 11-yard line, and Chiles finished the job with a touchdown strike across the middle to Alex Honig.
The Jackrabbits settled down after their early stumbles and pulled within 10-6 at halftime.
Tristan Alvano made a 27-yard field goal to cut the Jackrabbits’ deficit to 10-9 with 9:56 to go in the third quarter.
Northwestern pulled ahead 17-9 with 7:13 left in the third quarter. Caleb Komolafe bounced left and dragged a defender across the goal line for a 7-yard touchdown.
A 26-yarder by Alvano brought South Dakota State within 17-12 late in the third quarter.
Northwestern made it 20-12 on a 38-yarder by Jackson Kleather with 13:32 left.
