Northwestern absolutely buried Colorado 41-7 on Saturday after a strangely early bye week, riding high on Joe Himon II’s three touchdown catches, Aidan Chiles’s straight-up dominant dual-threat performance, and a defense that just would not quit forcing takeaways. This wasn’t just a win, it was a lopsided statement in the last game held at Martin Stadium, showing exactly what this team can be when they click.
Himon II and Chiles Were UNSTOPPABLE
You wanna talk about playmakers? Joe Himon II, the graduate student, was a total beast on Saturday. He racked up 74 yards against Colorado, with a huge 46 of those coming from his three catches. All three of his touchdowns were in the air, including one spectacular 25-yard streak where he had nothing but open field in front of him. Yeah, he had a 79-yard rushing touchdown called back for holding, which was a gut punch, but still, Himon II was practically a cheat code out there. Then there’s Aidan Chiles, who in only his second-ever game with Northwestern, proved why he was the transfer everyone was talking about. This dude was incredible! He threw for 241 yards, completing 17-for-21 passes for a stellar 71% completion rate and tossed three passing touchdowns. And if that wasn’t enough, he picked up two more touchdowns on the ground. They advertised him as a dual-threat, and after this performance, you simply can’t argue it.
Defense Delivered Big, Penalties Got Sloppy
The defense? Oh man, they were on fire, forcing crucial turnovers that directly translated into Wildcat points. They snagged four turnovers in the first half alone: two recovered fumbles and an interception. Those takeaways led to a massive 17 of Northwestern’s 41 points. Colorado tried everything, going for it on 4th down three times, and the defense shut them down every single time. It’s wild to think the Buffaloes actually led in total net yards for much of the game, but those turnovers were their absolute undoing. However, it wasn’t all perfect. The run defense allowed a whopping 180 rushing yards, which is definitely a concern. Luckily, Colorado messed up a lot themselves, like when they were knocking on the door of a touchdown in the first quarter, only for LB Braydon Brus to scoop up a fumble at the Northwestern 17-yard line. Penalty discipline was also pretty rough, with eight flags costing them 60 yards. That called-back 80-yard Himon touchdown due to Ricky Ahumaraeze’s holding penalty was a real killer, even if it didn’t impact the final score.
And just to add to the mixed bag, redshirt sophomore Ezomo Oratokhai had to exit the game in the first quarter after yet another injury on the offensive line, having already missed the season debut. Moving forward, the offense is clearly clicking with Himon and Chiles leading the charge, and the defense can create game-changing moments. But the team needs to clean up those penalties and tighten up the run defense if they want to keep this momentum going.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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