Northwestern Falls 29-23 at No. 5 Indiana Behind Chiles' Second-Half Surge

OriginalGlobal Sportscast deskSep 26, 2026 · 04:05 UTC

The short version

Northwestern lost 29-23 to No. 5 Indiana in Bloomington on Sept. 25, 2026.
Aidan Chiles passed for 293 yards with three all-purpose touchdowns but was sacked three times and committed a first-play safety.
Luke Dehnicke caught seven passes for a season-high 140 yards.
Northwestern allowed 271 rushing yards and 472 total yards; Lee Beebe Jr. ran for 203 yards.
The Wildcats managed just 53 rushing yards as a team.

Aidan Chiles threw for 293 yards and accounted for three touchdowns, but a slow start and defensive struggles sent the Wildcats to a loss in Bloomington.

Northwestern dropped a 29-23 decision to No. 5 Indiana on September 25 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington. The Wildcats kept the Hoosiers to two points in the opening quarter but could not hold back Indiana's offense over the final three quarters, and their late rally came up short.

Quarterback Aidan Chiles finished with 293 passing yards and three all-purpose touchdowns. It was a tale of two halves: he completed just 5 of 10 passes for 56 yards before halftime, then engineered three scoring drives after the break, including a fourth-and-goal conversion he made while playing with a dislocated finger.

Chiles' rough first half included a botched first snap after a miscommunication with center Jackson Carsello that resulted in a safety. He also took a 21-yard sack just before halftime that pushed Northwestern out of field goal range, and he was sacked three times in total while frequently throwing the ball away or scrambling with limited success.

Receiver Luke Dehnicke was the standout performer for the Wildcats, hauling in seven receptions for a season-high 140 yards. His highlight was a 41-yard acrobatic catch over an Indiana defensive back, and his versatility in coach Chip Kelly's offense ranges from blocking to running deep routes. He joins Griffin Wilde as one of the few established threats in the passing game.

Redshirt first-year punter Nikola Dugandzic, ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 punter in the 2025 class, flipped the field with four punts for 180 yards, including a 72-yard boot from his own four-yard line. He pinned Indiana inside its 20-yard line three times after battling windy conditions early.

Northwestern's run defense allowed 271 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, with 203 of those yards going to Indiana backup running back Lee Beebe Jr., 144 of them in the fourth quarter alone. The defense surrendered 472 total yards despite being hit by injuries.

The Wildcats' own ground game never got going, managing just 53 rushing yards. Joseph Himon II, coming off a three-touchdown game against Colorado, was held to zero yards on two carries, while Caleb Komolafe ran for 10 yards on six attempts and Gavin Sawchuk gained 26 yards on five carries.

The loss leaves Northwestern searching for answers on both lines of scrimmage as Big Ten play continues, with the trenches identified as a significant vulnerability against conference opponents.