Old rivals on Big Ten stage: Chiles and Iamaleava are reuniting in Spartan Stadium
After back-to-back losses with self-inflicted wounds, MSU and Aidan Chiles are heading back home to take on the UCLA Bruins. Chiles and the offense are turning their frustrations into focus and execution on the field, aiming to keep their winning streak alive at home.
After two back-to-back losses that Michigan State let go with fourth-quarter mistakes, the Spartans are coming back home to take on the UCLA Bruins, which doubles as a personal game for quarterback Aidan Chiles, facing his former high school rival - and current UCLA quarterback - Nico Iamaleava.
“We’ve known each other for a little while now because we played seven on seven when we were all young together,” Chiles said. “We grew up together. I played him and his younger brother, Madden. He played receiver for me at the time. Two great guys, just excited to get out there and see them again and watch them work.”
This weekend, the two California quarterbacks will meet on opposite sides of the sideline for a Big Ten matchup. Michigan State is coming off two games - against USC and Nebraska - full of flashes of promising plays, but ending in fourth-quarter frustrations, with QB protection issues playing a major role.
For Chiles, this meant taking tough hits and finding the strength to keep responding. Against Nebraska, Chiles took several hits, including one that knocked him out of the game for a couple of plays.
“It was a good hit,” Chiles said. “Just took a shot. Kind of just got a little dazed, you know, not concussed or anything. Just got rocked. Simple as that. Had to sit down, got the wind knocked out of me for a little bit. It was just, it was a good hit.”
That play highlighted the physical side of what has been an emotional two-week stretch for the Spartans and Chiles. Still, Chiles maintained a sense of accountability, not singling out his offensive line for the coverage issues, but put the focus on the offense as a whole, as well as his own individual performance.
“Not all of it’s on them,” Chiles said. “There’s a lot of stuff that went wrong in the offense as a unit. And overall, (I've) got to be better, (they've) got to be better, (we've) got to be better as a whole together, all six of us, me, including them. (I've) got to help them out, (they've) got to help me, so I mean, at the end of the day, I’m not blaming anything on them. I’m not blaming anything on anybody else, but myself, and we’re going to continue to grow from here.”
The inconsistencies among the offensive unit have been frustrating and persistent, with the Spartans taking a lead in both the Nebraska and USC games, only to lose command of the game. Chiles feels as though these lapses aren’t from a lack of skill or effort, but rather execution and energy.
