With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, Mother Nature wasted no time making her surroundings a winter wonderland. As freshman punter Nikola Dugandzic’s opening kickoff soared through the air, an unevenly groomed blanket of snow covered the field at Gies Memorial Stadium.
Southern quarterbacks were tasked with leading Northwestern and Illinois through the snowfall, but Luke Altmyer’s wealth of Midwestern football experience proved pivotal.
The Fighting Illini (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) forced four turnovers off of Stone and the Wildcats’ (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) offense to walk away with a 20-13 victory and “The Hat.”
Illinois proved that the squads were going to have to adjust due to the snow, at least in the first half.
The hosts marched their way down the field on the game’s first drive. Faced with a fourth down in the redzone, Illinois opted against a field goal attempt and kept the ball in the hands of Altmyer. What followed was his first incompletion of the day, and the ’Cats took over.
For an NU team that relies heavily on its ground game, it was not good to see redshirt sophomore running back Caleb Komolafe on the injury report and redshirt junior running back Joseph Himon II go down on his second carry of the game. With the top options unavailable, the visitors turned to freshman running back Robby Preckel, who picked up 31 total yards on the opening drive.
The ’Cats were successful on two fourth down conversion attempts, but settled for a 38-yard field goal from graduate student kicker Jack Olsen.
Despite the unfavorable conditions, the Fighting Illini responded with their air attack. Illinois completed two passes for over 20 yards en route to a six-yard rushing touchdown by running back Ca’Lil Valentine.
The ’Cats’ offense took a page out of their opponent’s book. With the ball back in his hands, Stone passed for 47 yards on the following possession, capping it off with a 13-yard strike to the endzone to sophomore wide receiver Hayden Eligon II. Taking a 10-7 lead called for a snow angel celebration for the California native receiver.
Defensive coordinator Tim McGarigle’s unit forced a punt when it went back on the field, but Stone’s first interception in 106 pass attempts handed possession back to the opposition.
Five plays later, running back Kaden Feagin punched the football into the endzone from a yard away. Illinois took a 14-10 lead into the intermission.
The ’Cats went three-and-out to begin the third quarter, and the Fighting Illini took advantage with a 47-yard field goal.
Neither team added points to the board again until the fourth quarter. A forced fumble from redshirt junior linebacker Braydon Brus gave way to a 26-yard field goal from Olsen with under eight minutes remaining in the contest.
NU looked to add on during its next possession, but had no such chance after Stone threw his second interception of the night. The Fighting Illini turned the turnover into three points and a seven-point lead with three minutes remaining.
Stone added another turnover to the tally right before the two-minute timeout. The ’Cats’ defense made a stop to give the offense another chance, but nothing came of it.
Here are five takeaways from NU’s loss to Illinois:
1. Turnovers keep “The Hat” in Champaign for another season
Though Braun has had unprecedented success as NU’s coach through three seasons, he has only won “The Hat” once. The previous two matchups were filled with offense, but today’s contest took a different direction.
After combining to score a combined 60 points in their last two games, the ’Cats only scored 13 points Saturday driven by the one touchdown they mustered in the second quarter.
A year ago, NU scored 28 points against Illinois led by former quarterback Jack Lausch.
The defense did its part to keep the visitors in the game in 2025, but Stone and his group couldn’t put the pieces together.
The former SMU quarterback turned the ball over four times after a good stretch of playing at a high level. Stone threw an interception for the first time since Oct. 25.
The ’Cats have lost every game where Stone has thrown multiple interceptions, and Saturday’s loss to Illinois is the fourth time he has done so at NU.
2. Komolafe, Himon catch the injury bug
Komolafe has been the most reliable option in NU’s offense this season. Before today’s game, he was listed as questionable on the availability report. Himon was the obvious choice to handle the lead running back role instead, but he went down with an injury of his own after just two carries.
Entering Saturday, the two backs combined for 1,361 of the ’Cats’ 1,914 yards on the ground.
Redshirt freshman running back Dashun Reeder, who has the third most rushing yards on the team, was also listed as out.
Needing another option, Braun’s squad turned to Preckel, who switched to running back from tight end just this season. The freshman answered the call early in the game, earning eight touches on the team’s first series.
Preckel ended the night with 22 carries for 82 yards, but the offense will definitely want their two veterans for the final game of the season.
3. Quarterbacks hit walls after halftime
Bundled up with white long sleeves under his jersey, the Texas native Wildcat quarterback may not have been in his element. Stone, however, didn’t let it show for much of the first half.
After two drives, Stone had completed nine of his 11 pass attempts for 72 yards and one touchdown. His connection with Wilde and Eligon seemed as strong as it was a week ago, as the pair received eight combined targets in that same span.
Stone threw his first interception in over 100 attempts near the end of the half, however, and never quite returned to form.
In its first two drives after the break, NU only mustered consecutive three-and-outs. Stone completed 10 passes for 91 yards in the game’s final 30 minutes.
Illinois showed early on that it wasn’t afraid to get it done through the air. The strategy was a potent one. After two drives, Altmyer had completed four of his five pass attempts for 70 yards. Half of those completions gained over 20 yards.
The Fighting Illini also got tricky on their second drive, allowing wide receiver Hank Beatty to sling the ball down the field for a 28-yard gain before the game’s first touchdown.
After 30 minutes of play, the rivals had amassed a combined 184 passing yards.
The second half was a different story, even though that’s when the snow started to weaken and the green of the field showed through.
In the game’s last two quarters, only 143 yards were gained through the air.
Ultimately, Altmyer won the turnover battle versus his counterpart, and the final score reflected the difference.
4. Defense responds after allowing 35 points at Wrigley Field
It’s been tough sledding for NU’s defense as of late, but Saturday’s rivalry clash was a different story.
The Fighting Illini looked as though they might come away with an easy opening drive score until redshirt sophomore defensive back Josh Fussell broke up a fourth down pass in the redzone. After the ’Cats’ only touchdown of the night, redshirt junior defensive back Robert Fitzgerald tackled Altmyer for a loss to force a punt and give his team a chance to extend its lead.
Fitzgerald finished the night with 11 total tackles and one tackle for loss.
The team’s timeliness continued into the second half. As Illinois worked its way deep into NU territory in the third quarter, the defense blew up a trick play, forcing a fumble that ran out of bounds for a 25-yard loss. A potential touchdown opportunity turned into a field goal.
In the fourth quarter, Brus couldn’t have done much more with his strip sack to grant the ’Cats prime field position to tie the game. A few minutes later, the defense held their rivals to only a field goal after Stone’s second interception of the game.
The last two battles for “The Hat” under Braun have been high-scoring affairs for Illinois. In 2024, the NU defense allowed 38 points. A year before, it allowed 43. The snow might’ve been an additional catalyst for success, but pivotal stops kept the ’Cats in the game.
5. NU turns its focus to final game of the season
Braun emphasized earlier this week that the team was treating Saturday’s rivalry game like postseason play.
The good news for Braun after his team’s loss is that the true postseason only just started. The first bowl game of the season is slated for Dec. 13, and the ’Cats are unlikely to play until later in month.
Getting key pieces of the squad like Komolafe, Himon and graduate student defensive lineman Aidan Hubbard healthy are the first priority should NU want to compete in its final game of the season.
Importantly, Stone has one more chance to make his mark on the ’Cats’ program.
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