Aidan Chiles produced eight of Northwestern's ten explosive plays

It is not often one play carries this much of a game: Joseph Himon II's 80-yard run for a touchdown on 1st-and-10 at Q4 01:15. Northwestern takes down South Dakota State, 34-18 at Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium. Northwestern was the steadier side of a 16-point win. Aidan Chiles threw for 273 yards on 24 attempts with one touchdown and ran eight times for 18 yards and one score.

The turnover battle was the game

Northwestern won the turnover battle 0-1, led by Damon Walters (1 INT, 1 PBU, 6.5 tackles). Northwestern produced 10 plays of 15+ yards to South Dakota State's 7: Aidan Chiles (involved in 8), Griffin Wilde (involved in 3) and Joseph Himon II (involved in 2). That's what carried Northwestern.

The names on it

Aidan Chiles threw for 273 yards on 24 attempts with one touchdown and ran eight times for 18 yards and one score — two of them from inside the 20, five third-down conversions and a hand in eight plays of 15 yards or more. Joseph Himon II ran four times for 87 yards and one score and caught one pass for 15 yards. Caleb Komolafe ran 10 times for 46 yards and one score and caught two passes for 37 yards — that score from inside the 20. For South Dakota State, Chase Mason threw for 285 yards on 48 attempts and ran 13 times for 39 yards, including seven third-down conversions and a hand in seven plays of 15 yards or more. Grahm Goering caught nine passes for 117 yards, including a hand in three plays of 15 yards or more. Jack Smith caught five passes for 79 yards, with two third-down conversions and a hand in three plays of 15 yards or more. Damon Walters was the disruptive one for Northwestern: 1 INT, 1 PBU, 6.5 tackles.

Three plays

It came down to a few snaps. Aidan Chiles's 71-yard throw to Griffin Wilde on 1st-and-10 at Q1 12:14. Then Chase Mason's 25-yard throw to Grahm Goering on 3rd-and-5 at Q4 12:16. Later, Joseph Himon II's 80-yard run for a touchdown on 1st-and-10 at Q4 01:15.

The order of events

Northwestern struck first through Aidan Chiles, led 10-6 at the half and Northwestern got the final points on a late touchdown by Joseph Himon II.

Who got home

Three names to keep, all for Northwestern: Damon Walters (1 INT, 1 PBU, 6.5 tackles), Brendan Flakes (1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 3 tackles) and Braydon Brus (1 sack, 1 TFL, 1 PBU, 4.5 tackles).

What it means

Northwestern was the better team and looked it; South Dakota State has fixable problems. Tristan Alvano was responsible for 12 of South Dakota State's points; there was not enough behind him.