Aidan Chiles' performance vs. Ohio State was encouraging

Through four weeks of the 2024 season, Aidan Chiles drew an onslaught of criticism.

Some of the criticism was warranted, but outside of the turnover issues, he had shown plenty of promise. Yes, he's had an issue with interceptions, throwing seven through the first four games, but all of them (outside of the first one of the year which wasn't his fault) were the result of trying to play hero instead of throwing the ball away.

Chiles is young so these types of mistakes were expected. No one wanted them to happen at this clip, but mistakes are bound to happen with a 19-year-old quarterback in his first year as the starter.

So going into the Ohio State game, some fans were worried that his performance would only further provide worry and hands were hovering over the panic button prematurely.

But he stepped up and played really well.

Chiles was 13-for-19 for 167 yards, a touchdown, and an interception that could've been avoided but he forced another throw that he probably should've thrown into the ground or away. Outside of the interception and the fumble in the first half where his head almost got ripped off, Chiles looked really solid against the nation's No. 2 defense.

To me, that's a sign of growth and his performance was more encouraging than I had expected or even hoped for.

No, he wasn't perfect, but the fact that he had his season-high completion rate and was 8-for-9 to start the game after making an NFL throw to Nick Marsh along the sideline against the second-best total defense in the country was more than encouraging. It feels like he may have turned a corner.

We'll see just how much he's grown on Friday night in a hostile (and familiar) environment in Eugene against a top-10 Oregon team.