Aidan Chiles threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others as Northwestern clobbered visiting Colorado 41-7 on Saturday night in Evanston, Ill.
Joseph Himon II caught all three of the TD passes from Chiles as the Wildcats (2-0) racked up 423 yards of total offense.
Chiles was 17-for-22 for 241 yards through the air. Himon scored on plays of 18, 25 and 3 yards.
Jackson Kleather kicked two field goals in the fourth quarter as Northwestern maintained control of the game by scoring the final 20 points.
Julian Lewis was 19 of 29 for 168 yards and one touchdown for Colorado (2-1), which struggled in most phases and finished with 348 yards of offense. Lewis was intercepted twice. JaQuail Smith ran for 91 yards on eight carries to lead all players on the ground.
The Buffaloes committed four turnovers and were hurt by nine penalties costing them 80 yards.
Chiles opened the scoring with a 1-yard run with 43 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Wildcats built a 21-0 lead by halftime, with a Chiles-to-Himon hookup for 18 yards for the first of the passing scores. That touchdown came two plays after Northwestern’s Braden Turner returned an interception to the Colorado 18-yard line.
Chiles ran in from 3 yards out with 59 seconds to play before halftime to complete a 72-yard, 11-play drive. That was the longest scoring drive of the game for either team.
Colorado broke through on its first possession of the second half, with Lewis connecting with Joseph Williams for a 50-yard scoring play.
Less than four minutes later, Chiles threw for 25 yards to Himon to extend the lead to 28-7. Slightly more than three minutes later, they combined for another touchdown play.
–Field Level Media
