By Ryan Evan Schroat
Illinois defeated South Carolina 21-17 in one of the most electric and entertaining bowl games this year. You couldn’t tell this wasn’t played like a playoff game. Both teams wanted that 10-win season and beautiful Citrus Bowl trophy to help catapult into next season. Momentum is one heck of a thing in college sports and the Illini should end the year inside the top 15 and start 2025 inside the top 20.
On paper, Illinois was a 9.5-point underdog but Bret Bielema and his team knew it was ready for the challenge. Illinois had a major advantage in coaching savvy and experience and it showed as the game progressed. Shane Beamer complained and moaned the majority of the game untill he imploded midway through the 3rd quarter. Bielema sent mass and slow defensive substitutions legally when the South Carolina offense subbed. That created animosity and frustration on the sideline of the Gamecocks.
After an injured Illini football player had been checked on by training staff and Bielema, the Illinois coach gave a T-Bar arm motion to the entire Gamecock sideline. That turned Shane Beamer into a reaction similar to a 10-year-old who just had his Playstation taken from him by his parents. That created a huge buzz and helped catapult the Illini to the finish line and fend off a late surge from South Carolina.
https://twitter.com/UnnecRoughness/status/1874223863133069450
In the Postgame press conference, Beamer called Bielema Bush league for his out stretched arm gesture. Bielema explained to the media that South Carolina used the very same signal on a kickoff (Which refers to a touchback or for kickoff coverage team to slow down and avoid collisions and instead waited for illinois players to slow down thinking it was going to be a touchback and ran a trick play). Bielema doesn’t pull punches to cheap tactics like that and even called it unethical.
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What did the Citrus Bowl win mean for Illinois?
Illinois won ten games for the first time since 2001, had five fourth-quarter comeback victories this season, and proved it could compete against top teams. It had four AP top-25 victories and will be returning 80% of this season’s starters. A huge transfer portal haul awaits, including West Virginia WR Hudson Clement, who recently committed. Illinois may have a top-five coaching staff in the Big Ten and this team could easily be a true CFP contender next season.
In the win, Illinois was without AP first-team All Big-Ten wide receiver Pat Bryant and starters in OLB Seth Coleman and RB Kaden Feagin. All the hype before Citrus Bowl was about who South Carolina had sitting out but it was equally shared production and minutes for both teams. Don’t let the Gamecock fan base fool you, this meant a lot to both teams and proved Illinois belonged and deserved its top 20 ranking.
Big Ten proved it’s the top dog conference
Illinois easily could have played and been deserving a shot at the CFP just as much as Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. The best league in the country this year has been the Big Ten, having four teams in the top 10 most of the year, and the bowl battles with the SEC showcase that point where USC beat Texas A&M along with OSU dismantling Tennesse and Michigan getting past Alabama.
Illinois’ schedule in 2025 sets up nicely for them to take advantage, just like Indiana did this year. I believe most Illinois fans agree, Bret Bielema is the man to lead Illinois to places they have never been. 2025 will be that sweet spot, Illinois is for real and coming for more next year.
