Northwestern football faced the possibility of rolling without quarterback Aidan Chiles last Friday. Now Chiles will be a no go against Ohio State in this pivotal Big Ten Conference showdown.
College football insider for On3 Pete Nakos not only revealed Chiles' health update, but shared who's in line to start.
“Nicco Marchiol is in line to get the start for Northwestern with Aidan Chiles out,” Nakos posted on the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter.
Coach David Braun plus offensive coordinator Chip Kelly will lean into an experienced starter here. Marchiol spent his first four seasons with West Virginia in the Big 12 Conference. But the native of Chandler, Arizona never threw past 720 yards in a single season with the Mountaineers.
Marchiol does bring a runner's element, though. Which should allow Kelly to avoid scaling down from his play calling with Chiles out. Regardless of the QB situation, Northwestern receives this prime opportunity.
Putting Ohio State out of its misery. Especially with the Buckeyes having three losses already attached to them. OSU enters this contest on a two-game slide, falling to USC and Oregon in consecutive weeks. Now, both the Trojans and Ducks are back in the College Football Playoff conversation.
Article Continues BelowNorthwestern now faces a team that went from top-ranked to dropping down to No. 20 Tuesday. That ranking now becomes Ohio State's lowest spot ever in the era of the CFP poll.
Northwestern is unranked, yet owns a 6-3 mark like the Buckeyes. But the Wildcats are aiming to snap their own two-game slide, which includes losing to USC.