On a chilly fall night in Michigan, junior quarterback Aidan Chiles stood on Boston College’s 3-yard line, down 40-34 in double overtime, looking to keep his team alive. With the weight of Spartan Stadium on his shoulders, he took the snap, charged toward the end zone on a designed quarterback run and found pay dirt.
The stadium roared, but soon fell silent as a two-point conversion loomed to decide the game. The good news for Michigan State: Chiles’ competitiveness was on full display, as he found senior wide receiver Omari Kelly in the back left corner of the end zone for the win.
With fireworks signaling the end of the game, MSU closed out a back-and-forth battle against Boston College 42-40. It was a storybook ending for a quarterback whose ability to even return to the field was questionable late in the fourth quarter.
“To be honest, I didn’t know if he was coming back or not,” sophomore wide receiver Nick Marsh said. “I seen him get back up out his chair, and I was like, well, it’s time to go.”
After taking a hit with just 30 seconds left in regulation, Chiles was down on the turf with a leg injury, needing trainers to help him off the field. But the quarterback’s toughness showed as he returned for the Spartans’ first offensive possession in overtime.
“I think the kid’s really tough,” MSU head coach Jonathan Smith said. “I mean, mentally, how competitive he is out there, just running, giving so much effort, extending outside the pocket, putting his foot in the ground. I know the kid’s tough.”
Toughness is a fitting trait for a player who has faced adversity and criticism over the past year, leading a Spartan squad that has struggled to play complete games offensively. But on this night, they refused to let one slip away.
“We wanted it,” Chiles said. “We wanted that game. We needed that game.”
Chiles finished with 231 passing yards and four touchdown passes, completing 19 of 29 attempts. He also made his presence felt on the ground with 39 rushing yards and the game-tying touchdown run in double overtime.
His second-half performance stood out, throwing for 184 yards on 13-of-20 passing. That included 72 yards on the first drive of the half, which ended in just four plays with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Marsh.
“It shows maturity and growth in a week,” Chiles said. “As an offense, we came out and we finished. We played a second half, we finished four quarters and, shoot, we finished two overtimes.”
It was an explosive half that proved MSU had a motivated offense ready to battle for the win.
“This group wants it more,” Chiles said. “We have player-led team meetings, and we talk about how much we want it and what we need to do to win this game, to succeed this season.”
That hunger fueled the Spartans to a win that now sets the tone for the remainder of the season as they aim for bigger goals.
“We come out and see another guy in front of us. Like J Hall (junior linebacker Jordan Hall) told you, it’s just another obstacle in front of us from achieving our bigger goal,” Chiles said.
MSU will next face Youngstown State on Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m. at Spartan Stadium in its final non-conference game.
