Northwestern got some unhappy news this morning, when Peter Thamel of ESPN revealed that starting quarterback Aidan Chiles is set to sit out a clash against the No. 19-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes this coming Saturday.

Per Thamel, Chiles is grappling with a vaguely defined "upper body injury," and lacks a definitive return timeline.

Chiles has been a revelation this season in leading the Wildcats to a blistering 6-2 start. The program only slipped out of the Associated Press' top 25 this past week, following a 34-26 defeat to Oregon. 

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound senior out of Downey High School in southern California has passed for 1,898 yards and 13 touchdowns, while notching an 80.8 quarterback rating.

So, who will step in to replace Northwestern's star signal caller?

According to Thamel, fourth-year Wildcats head coach David Braun has selected West Virginia transfer Nicco Marchiol to start in Chiles' stead. At West Virginia, he went 6-2 during the games he started — while appearing in 27 career contests overall.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Marchiol started in all four of the games he played with West Virginia in 2025. He completed 66-of-98 passes (67.3%) for 720 total yards and two touchdowns, notching a 131.7 passer rating for his efforts. Marchiol also rushed 40 times for 56 total yards and a touchdown. A foot injury cut Marchiol's season short, and he entered the transfer portal last spring.

A 23-year-old redshirt junior, Marchiol had been in the running to start for Northwestern during the offseason, before ultimately losing out on the role to Chiles. He has played sparingly in four Northwestern games this season. He has gone 0-for-1 on pass completions but has rushed twice for 22 total yards. 

Iowa will understandably be favored against the Wildcats now, with Marchiol subbing in for Chiles under center. It's a bold play by Braun and new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, but in theory Northwestern should be able to weather a handful of games sans Chiles. 

Chiles may have beaten out Marchiol for starting quarterback honors this offseason, but Marchiol now has an opportunity to reassert himself as a viable option running Kelly's system. 

Will Northwestern lean a bit more on a running game, with a less proven passer handling quarterback duties? That would be the natural reaction, but as we've come to find out, Braun and Kelly often like to spice things up with deeply retro formations and play calls.