It was a blustery, snowy evening in Champaign where Northwestern took on Illinois tonight, attempting to win back "The Hat" trophy.

Things didn't go as planned for Northwestern as quarterback Preston Stone threw three interceptions and the 'Cats fell 20-13. There were some individual impressive performances, but overall it was a frustrating evening for a program that could have used an inspiring win. Here are three takeaways from the loss as Northwestern refocuses on a TBD bowl game:

Late-game execution was poor

The 'Cats were given opportunities to get back into this game in the second half. After struggling mightily for much of the game, NU's defense stood tall in the fourth quarter and kept Northwestern within a score.

But Preston Stone and the offense failed to execute. On one third quarter drive down seven, Northwestern's quarterback essentially threw a pick and fumbled twice. The pick was wiped away after it was ruled his knee was down before he threw it. The first fumble was recovered by Northwestern. But then Stone lost one on a QB sneak at the goal line, and the Illini recovered.

Northwestern immediately caught a break, though, when the Illini fumbled deep in their own territory. Unfortunately, the offense failed to punch it in, and David Braun decided to take a delay of game on fourth down and kick a baffling field goal to make it 17-13. Much will be made about yet another conservative call from Braun.

On the next drive, Stone threw yet another brutal interception. On the drive after that, yep, another one. It was a catastrophic end of the game on offense for the Wildcats. They have nobody to blame but themselves.

Illinois moved the ball too easily for much of the game

For two weeks straight, Northwestern's defense hasn't quite looked itself. The unit has been a strength for most of the season, but it's now given up 50+ points in a two week stretch. It improved as the game went on, but Illinois was gaining yards at an alarming rate early.

Despite the snow, the Illini moved the ball easily in the first half. As a team, they had 200 total yards from scrimmage, with 112 of them coming through the air. By the end of the game, Illinois had racked up 284 total yards, 164 passing and 120 rushing.

Quarterback Luke Altmeyer was impressive in the conditions, but he had a lot of wide open receivers to throw to. It's harder to make reactionary cuts and defend in the snow, too, but defensive breakdowns aren't common for the Wildcats. It's something they need to figure out for the bowl game.

Robby Preckel met the challenge

Before game time, Northwestern learned it would not have starting running back Caleb Komolafe available. Given the snow situation, no Komolafe felt like it would be a pretty big deal. Then, when running-mate Joseph Himon II went down on his second run of the game with injury, the situation became dire.

Enter Robby Preckel, the third-stringer entering this game who has seen some limited action since Dashun Reeder went down with an injury. The 'Cats desperately needed a competent rushing attack in this game, and Preckel was the next man up. He did an impressive job with the added workload, especially in winter storm conditions.

Preckel finished the evening with 82 yards rushing on 22 carries. He averaged 3.7 yards per carry in the contest, but it felt like he was consistently capable of keeping the Wildcats in sequence. Without Preckel, the 'Cats would have had a hard time staying in this game. 

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