CHAMPAIGN — With record snow, wind and cold wreaking havoc on the Illinois offense, the embattled Illini defense stepped up time after time to keep the Land of Lincoln Trophy downstate for a fourth time in five years in a 20-13 win over Northwestern.

With a record nine inches of snow for an Illinois home game, the Illini defense stood tall throughout a tight second half. Illinois (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) had four takeaways of Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone (two interceptions for Miles Scott, one interception for Torrie Cox Jr. and a Leon Lowery Jr. fumble recovery), and Gabe Jacas had 2.0 sacks.

The Illini defense also held Northwestern to a field goal after a Luke Altmyer fumble gave Northwestern the ball at the Illinois one-yard line in the fourth quarter, and then the Illini forced a turnover on downs in the final minute in Illinois territory to close out the game.

Ca’Lil Valentine led Illinois with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Altmyer completed 10 of 15 passes for 136  yards. Collin Dixon had two receptions for 53 yards, and Hank Beatty completed a 28-yard pass and had 21 receiving yards.

With star running back Caleb Komolafe out with an injury and Joseph Himon suffering a leg injury on his second run of the game, freshman Robby Preckel led Northwestern (6-6, 4-5 Big Ten) with 82 rushing yards. Stone completed 19 of 36 passes for 163 yards but had three interceptions and a fumble.

Illinois drove the field on its first drive but turned it over on downs at the Northwestern 17-yard line. The Wildcats responded with a time-consuming 15-play, 63-yard drive, converting two fourth downs along the way, but settled for a Jack Olsen 38-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Illinois responded with a quick seven-play, 83-yard drive with wide receiver Hank Beatty’s 28-yard double-pass to Tanner Arkin setting up a six-yard Ca’Lil Valentine touchdown run to take a 7-3 lead with 11:27 left in the second quarter. But Northwestern answered with a 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a Preston Stone 13-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Eligon II on 3rd-and-12 against a busted Illini coverage.

Illinois punted on its next drive to give Northwestern a chance to double-dip around halftime, but James Kreutz deflected a pass to assist a Torrie Cox Jr. interception at midfield. After first-down runs by Altmyer and Valentine, Kaden Feagin plunged in from a yard out to give Illinois a 14-10 lead into halftime.

After the defense forced a 3-and-out for Northwestern, Illinois drove inside the Northwestern 30-yard line, but Luke Altmyer fumbled on a failed flea flicker and lost 25 yards. But Illinois salvaged a 47-yard David Olano field goal to take a 17-10 lead. The teams traded punts before Northwestern had a wild drive in which it flirted with two turnovers. Tanner Heckel’s interception was overturned on review because Gabe Jacas sacked Stone before he released the ball. Malachi Hood then forced a fumble, but Northwestern recovered and converted a key third-down to get into the red zone. But Stone fumbled on 4th-and-1 from the 10-yard line and Leon Lowery Jr. recovered for another huge turnover.

But Northwestern took the ball right back as Altmyer fumbled inside the Illinois 5-yard line. But Dylan Rosiek had a tackle for loss on first down, and Northwestern gained just one yard on two pass plays and settled for a 26-yard Olsen field goal to cut the deficit to 17-13 with 7:46 left.

After an Illini three-and-out, Miles Scott intercepted Stone and returned it to the Northwestern 17. But the offense failed to get a first down and David Olano hit a 29-yard field goal into the wind to give Illinois a 20-13 lead with 3:00 left. Scott intercepted Stone again on the next drive, but the Illini went 3-and-out to give Northwestern the ball back with 1:34 left. Stone led Northwestern across midfield but threw four straight incompletions to turn it over on downs, and Illinois knelt out the clock.

What it means: Ending the season 8-4 with three wins over the last four games certainly feels different than finishing 7-5 with back-to-back losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern. Illinois had higher expectations this season but just notched 8+ wins in three of four seasons for the first time since 1901-04. This is sustained success for the program, and Illinois has solidified itself as a consistent top-half Big Ten program and can use that to continue pushing forward the program during the offseason. The Illini have also turned the Land of Lincoln Trophy rivalry with Illinois now 4-1 against Northwestern under Bret Bielema after losing the previous six.

Star of the game: In their final home game as an Illini, Gabe Jacas and Miles Scott left a lasting impression. Jacas looked like an NFL edge rusher and killed a few Northwestern drives with 2.0 sacks. On his third-quarter sack, he became just the fifth Illini to record 10+ sacks in a season, joining Simeon Rice (x2), Whitney Mercilus, Mike Poloskey and Scott Davis, and he finishes the regular season with a Big Ten-leading 11.0 sacks. He also had two quarterback hurries and 1.5 tackles for loss. He is in the running for First Team or Second Team All-Big Ten honors for his senior season. Meanwhile, Scott made two huge interceptions in the fourth quarter and came close on a few more to close out Northwestern.

Stats of the game

Illinois doubled its season total of interceptions with a season-high three picks.Illinois led the takeaway battle 4-1.Preston Stone completed just five of his final 15 passes and threw two interceptions during that stretch.Illinois ran for 5.2 yards per carry in the first half and just 1.7 yards per carry in the second half.Illinois is 12-2 at home during the last two seasons.

Don’t overlook: David Olano made two huge field goals in the second half on a blustery, slippery day to give Illinois some needed scores when the offense struggled mightily. That takes some focus, talent and toughness from the Illini kicker.

What’s next: Illinois awaits its bowl destination, which will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 7. Following Saturday’s win, Illinois’ likeliest destinations are Nashville for the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 against an SEC team or the Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31 against a Big 12 team. The ReliaQuest Bowl could be an outside possibility, but Iowa seems likely destined for that spot.