After losing to yet another ranked opponent, you'd think that the Aidan Chiles hype would fall off. However, that has not been the case. The junior quarterback had an impressive four-touchdown performance against USC in a game that turned out to be a shootout.
Chiles had the disadvantage of having a poor performance from his offensive line (again), and he still managed to account for 212 passing yards and 35 rushing yards to accompany his four scores.
The talented passer improved his Heisman odds, and is now up to 11 total touchdowns this season with one interception and one lost fumble (neither was truly his fault) through four games. He has been much better at making good decisions, and he looks like a completely different quarterback.
Before the season, Big Ten quarterback rankings lists had him outside of the conference's top 10, but after four games, he's close to a top-five spot than out of the top 10.
Is Chiles a top-five quarterback in the Big Ten right now?
Let's compare his numbers to some of the top Big Ten passers.
QB | Stats |
|---|---|
Aidan Chiles | 868 yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT, 68.6% completions; 123 rushing yards, 1 TD |
Fernando Mendoza, Indiana | 975 yards, 14 TDs, 0 INT, 76.8% completions; 76 rushing yards, 2 TDs |
Jayden Maiava, USC | 1,223 yards, 9 TDs, 0 INT, 70.8% completions; 55 rushing yards, 4 TDs |
Dylan Raiola, Nebraska | 1,137 yards, 11 TDs, 1 INT, 75.6% completions |
Dante Moore, Oregon | 962 yards, 11 TDs, 1 INT, 74.7% completions; 87 rushing yards |
Demond Williams, Washington | 778 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT, 73.5% completions; 220 rushing yards, 2 TDs |
As you can see, Chiles is right on par with the rest of the big dogs in the Big Ten, and he's a better rusher than all but Demon Williams of Washington.
In terms of dual-threat quarterbacks, Chiles is probably the best in the conference, just ahead of Williams, who I think he's a slightly better passer than right now.
Is he good enough to be a top-five Big Ten quarterback? I'd probably rank him behind Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore, Dylan Raiola, and Jayden Maiava, and just ahead of Williams. So, yes, I do believe that Chiles is a top-five quarterback in the Big Ten through four games.