Aidan Chiles threw three touchdowns and ran for two scores as No. 24 Northwestern raced out to a big lead in the first half and rolled to a 42-14 victory over Rutgers Saturday afternoon in Evanston, Ill.
Northwestern (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) earned its fourth straight win ahead of a big stretch against Oregon, Iowa and Ohio State in the next three weeks.
Chiles completed 19 of 25 passes for 219 yards and added 83 rushing yards. He threw TDs to Griffin Wilde and Alex Honig in the first quarter before connecting with Drew Wagner in the fourth for a 35-14 lead.
Chiles also had a 1-yard TD run in the opening quarter and a 37-yard run with 4:33 left in the fourth quarter for a 42-14 lead.
Wilde finished with nine catches for 133 yards, including a 13-yard TD a little over five minutes into the contest.
Caleb Komolafe rushed 13 times for 150 yards, including a 33-yard TD late in the first half to put the Wildcats up 28-3. Komolafe helped the Wildcats pile up 283 rushing yards and 502 total yards of offense.
Northwestern’s defense also forced three turnovers, including two in the first half that set up TDs, and bottled up Rutgers star wideout K.J. Duff.
Duff was targeted nine times but finished with three catches for 33 yards after getting 113 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s win at Maryland.
Rutgers (2-5, 1-3) lost its 46th straight game against a ranked opponent in a skid that goes back to a 31-0 win over No. 23 South Florida on Nov. 12, 2009. The Scarlet Knights’ last road win over a ranked team occurred against No. 17 Pittsburgh on Oct. 25, 2008.
Antwan Raymond rushed for a season-high 150 yards on 18 carries, including a 46-yard TD run in the second half that pulled Rutgers within 28-14. Clay Thevenin added 116 yards.
Dylan Lonergan lasted three snaps for Rutgers at quarterback before getting hurt on a scramble. AJ Surace relieved Lonergan and completed 7 of 18 passes for 64 yards.
Sean Ashenfelder ended the game for Rutgers and was 2-for-9 for 36 yards while mostly handing off to Raymond.