#15 South Carolina vs #20 Illinois (THINGS GOT HEATED!) | Citrus Bowl | College Football Highlights

[@mrchopp100]

This was a bowl game and bowl game atmosphere. The crowd was amazing, took me back to when Bowl Games were somewhat a big deal

[@sports3117]

The SEC has really struggled during this bowl season so far. Great way for Bret Bielema to get Illinois their first 10 win season since 2001

[@Carowindsxantonio]

There’s no excuse for bama because they had no opt outs but some of South Carolinas best players weren’t playing

[@larrymcardle]

@@Carowindsxantonio Too bad that South Carolina's coach has a short fuse and never read the rulebook.

[@Carowindsxantonio]

@ there was no need to do the taunting tbh

[@larrymcardle]

@@Carowindsxantonio It wasn't taunting. If it were taunting, the refs would have penalized him or the Illinois bench. It was playing by the rules and getting under Lil' Beamer's skin. Lil' Beamer shouldn't let his emotions get in the way of coaching. He let his team down today, but the biased announcers would never say such a thing.

[@zaynes5094]

@@larrymcardle No lie, if these two were to rematch again, SC would absolutely destroy Illinois. But it is true that the SEC was weak this postseason. Be glad it's 2024 and not 2025. I'll tell you what, I think SEC is looking good coming into next year talent-wise.

[@funstock2965]

Bielema coached in the SEC and Big 10 previously. He knows the SEC play style and out coached SC today. That is a rare thing to say about Bielema, but true in this case. Great win for Illinois bad loss for SC and the SEC.

[@WhiteAngloSaxon]

Excellent.

[@nomad7734]

Lol... SEC is always overrated.

[@c-portraider7411]

​@@nomad7734and yet somehow they have the most nattys over the last what 25 years? Yep definitely overrated

[@TechGod990]

@@nomad7734no it isn’t lil bro 💀

[@caseyschoenleber1760]

​@nomad7734 not always...just this year

[@staygold5280]

I'm sorry but Cheez-it and Citrus Bowl does not belong together from a culinary POV.😮

[@bk6555]

The announcers even made a Cheese It type joke, holy hell, lmfao.

[@destinypirate]

ROFL. Fiesta Bowl, sure. But this one gave me indigestion.

[@pencilpen8838]

Unless your high

[@the1magageneral323]

Rename some of these bowls into better names. Plus I don't trust kelloggs.

[@YTAnon10]

South Carolina got introduced to a little Bielema ball today. He's a hell of a coach.

[@truthiscensored]

This is why South Carolina and Alabama deserved to be in the playoffs over Big 10 Teams like Indiana, because the SEC is better.... Oh Wait never mind

[@zaynes5094]

Just this one season. But mark my words, next year will be year 2 for Deboer. And I honestly can't wait to see the spanking my Bama does onto all these trash talkers. Come and get us while you can now.

[@bk6555]

@@zaynes5094 hahahahahaha

[@JJSmithszn]

One of the weirdest games I’ve ever watched😭

[@larrymcardle]

Illinois' only losses - Oregon, Penn State, and Minnesota. Frickin Minnesota.

[@RonRussell-sj1zf]

Purdue almost had ya, almost!

[@evading240]

i had 350$ on the ML vs minnesota 🫠

[@caseyschoenleber1760]

Minnesota was better than their record and stats indicated this year IMO. They're gonna be pretty decent next year

[@Davin-yv4xv]

Minnesota was actually a tough team this year

[@thefrozenpanda]

Appreciate it, Wheels.

[@Cmdr_Exo]

This is truly one of the bowl games of all time.

[@g-man2228]

Whoa, now that was a game…😳👊🏻🏈

[@FirstorDirt]

The game started with the refs taking a clear TD from Ill then the anouncers pretending it was a good call

[@tomboyer5608]

A whole lot of NFL talent on SC roster but Illinois is really well coached and play with a lot of cohesiveness and tenacity. Definitely a Bielema team. I've gained a lot of respect for him as a coach.

[@haydenbriggs]

I loved.. absolutely loved watching USC lose.

[@bananagrape-nq4oz]

South Carolina is not USC

[@billnotice9957]

Best bowl game so far.

[@ZenityStudios]

Love how Altmyer always has a good attitude throughout each game. even after picks hes smiling laughing. good kid

[@kmarks97236]

SEC is having 🐦‍⬛ for the holidays 😂

[@darthbader6506]

Thank you Wheels

[@00ghostcobra]

The BIG 10 has completely taken over college football..

[@andrewmcnicoll4268]

?

[@WhiteAngloSaxon]

I’m impressed. A Louisville fan

[@cameronparker2877]

ain’t no way bruh

[@FacundoCampazzo123]

lol

[@gseric4721]

What sort of television you be watching these games on, man? 😂😂😂😂

[@CrazyAnimeGamer2]

Gator fan. I don't give a crap about conference unity. Been made fun of Billy's whole tenure so I'm just going to enjoy this very short time I can laugh at some other SEC teams. 🤣🤣🤣

[@WhiteAngloSaxon]

Good attitude 😂

[@smokey_gator_239]

Absolutely! Beamer is such a crybaby it is hard to root for him.

[@CrazyAnimeGamer2]

@@WhiteAngloSaxon Right?!

[@CrazyAnimeGamer2]

@@smokey_gator_239 Exactly!!!!

[@CollegeSportsSuperfan]

As a Tennessee fan, I have never rooted for other SEC teams besides Tennessee. I was cheering for Michigan to take down Alabama this morning and was very pleased by the result!

[@MYRRHfamily]

Nice musical clip there in the gap. Thanks😊

[@suntaurus9282]

HAIL! Too the victors Orange&Blue. Go ILL......

[@hugh009]

My Illini WIN! What a shootout and everyone on that field play their hearts out! Two great duelling QBs! That definitely was an earlier TD by my Illini.

[@sharkastic2633]

The defense by 34 at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="293">4:53</a> was incredible. Watch him from the start of the play.

[@OverAfton]

His awareness+speed+ defensive skill (not to run into receiver/draw interference) was nuts. Aaaaand aided by the f-ing kicker floating a completely unnecessary jump-pass. Plant feet, throw ball, six points. 🙄

[@alexanderapollo2177]

😂Bro he got lucky, he didn't even turn around. Go to awareness and all but. No interception or nothing. It's so easy a caveman can do it

[@kingbaldwiniv5409]

The SEC is showing what overrated really means. Bama, Tennessee, A&M, South Carolina, OU, that's some bad ball. I thought Bama and South Carolina were supposed to be playoff teams. Sure, they're not ACC bad, but they're pretty bad.

[@Carowindsxantonio]

@@kingbaldwiniv5409 they’re at least the second best conference because big 12 is trash to

[@devw4967]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="668">11:08</a> this is the second time I seen this. How isn't this on the defense? I'm confused as to why this is a delay of game or a TO for the offense

[@crimdell]

When the offense substitutes the defense is given 15 seconds to also substitute. They don't need to rush off the field because they were within their 15 seconds. In this case the offense should not have substituted because there wasn't much time remaining on the clock before the end of the half. So, they had to call a time out to stop the clock. Coach's blunder.

[@MrRFAvery]

I think the SEC was over rated this season. S.C. actually beat themselves.

[@nomad7734]

They are overated every season

[@caramelpop9427]

​@nomad7734 simply not true at all

[@ZenityStudios]

This was a great game. the energy, spirit, and grit is what these bowl games are about. Glad we got to shut up the haters since pre-season. They aint believe in Altmyer.... We DID! I L L

[@Maxშემიწყალე]

lmao South Carolina was given everything and still lost!

[@oddculturetv6197]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="456">7:36</a> “Oscar adaway III” You mean fuckin MLK… wtf😭 I can’t be the only one man I can’t be hahaha

[@garyparry]

How many Illinois holding calls were missed in this game? One play early on the offensive lineman was grabbing the SC lineman from behind with both arms. Right in front of the ball carrier.

[@bluefalcon3ID]

South Carolina got away with a lot of holding calls. Wow

[@caramelpop9427]

So did Illinois

[@dunglifemovement]

Really intense game for sure

[@revvyhevvy]

Thanks, WHEELS!

[@llongone2]

Tide rolled, Gamecocks slapped. Even Iowa -Yes, IOWA - almost beats a ranked SEC team. Big 10 asserting its obvious dominance over the SEC again and again.

[@destinypirate]

Iowa is never a team to overlook - at least with their defense which is coached like no other. I think they were missing their best RB too.

[@caramelpop9427]

"Obvious dominance" is crazy

[@johnandrews5479]

Absolutely, especially when considering that almost every bowl game is much more like a home game for the sec team.

[@nomad7734]

Well, it is obvious that SC didn't belong in the playoff too like Bama... LOL

[@lastbestplace8112]

that was a td by illinois not a touchback...weak refs

[@tonywilson4713]

Yeah that would have been an argument going on forever had the result gone the other way.

[@jamesheracklis4020]

Wheels, love your stuff but you missed all the substitution drama that was going on

[@need2c]

At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="184">3:04</a> you will see one of the best holds of all time: tackled from behind right at the LOS and then he looks at the ref like WTF…

[@keakuawaleno]

South Carolina’s coach needs to relax lol out here acting like he’s gonna do something 😂🤦‍♂️

[@hunterwhitaker6504]

Happy new years wheels !!

[@anteiku_regular]

Im ngl, that fumble in the first quarter by McCray was not a fumble

[@quigonkenny]

"Goes right through the hands of the big fella..." As they replay the "big fella" being mauled by a defender...

[@dennismerritt5517]

Ever notice how often ref marks it out at the 1, instead of a td? Just saying…

[@johnandrews5479]

Broadcaster on the field had no frickin clue what he was talking about.

[@scottymitch1]

From Aussie just getting into College Football, in a game like this, how many players will go on to be drafted and how many will never play football again?

[@tonywilson4713]

From am Aussie who actually went to Illinois back in the late 80s the answer is very few. If you watch the film Friday night lights about Texas high school football which is usually played on Friday nights. One of the dads (who won a championship in his day but got nothing after that) tells his son that he doesn't understand that this is the best his football will ever get because he knew what comes next - nothing. The cut off level between high school and college is something like less than 1 in 10 plays college. Its something like less than 1 in 100 plays anything at all after college and most of them is NOT the NFL. The NFL is something like 1 in 1,000 college players maybe gets a couple of games. If you look at how many players get drafted then never play a game in the NFL its a lot higher than you think. 2 doors down the hall in my dorm were 2 guys named Craig Swoope (free safety) and Mike Heaven (strong safety). Mike Heaven wen Rnd 4 in the 85 draft. Never played a snap and was back at college finishing his degree the next year. Craig Swoope also went Rnd 4 but in the 86 draft. He was an All American but only played a couple of seasons. On that same team was David Williams arguably the best college receiver of all time setting several records. His 1 on 1 contests with Rod Woodson (Purdue) were the stuff of legends. Rod Woodson went to the NFL and was a superstar who still NFL holds records and is regarded as the GOAT defensive back. David Williams was drafted then cut before the start of the season. He ended up playing 2 unremarkable seasons in the NFL before playing 7 seasons in Canada. YEAH a while back I did one of those "whatever happened to....." looks at a couple of people I met including a couple of others who played in the NFL or made the practice squad. You gotta remember the NFL is 32 teams with a limit to how many players are on the roster. There's 100s of college football programs and they have no roster limit. Then there's 100s of 1,000s of high schools. We had a pretty good basketball team but I only remember 1 of our players who made it in the NBA and that was Kendall Gill. America has 335 million people and have the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, NASCAR INDYCAR and then not much else. Australia has 27 million. We try and support the AFL, NRL, Rugby Union, Soccer, Cricket, V8s, 2 lots of Basketball, Netball and a dozen more other minor national leagues. They look at us and think we are bonkers.

[@scottymitch1]

@@tonywilson4713 Hey Tony, thanks so much for taking the time to post such a comprehensive reply. It's fascinating what a tight funnel it is to make it into the NFL. Baseball is played at multiple levels below the NL and AL but I guess football isn't, due to the cost of fitting out and running a team as well as the strain on bodies. Maybe they could have a league made up of uni graduates who don't make it to the NFL. Some of those big colleges get big crowds and has large budgets to play with. Americans are very loyal to their alma maters. Maybe somewhere between 12 and 20 college teams. Standard would be pretty good and the fans passionate. I'm sure there must be a good reason why this hasn't happened. Again, thanks for the info.

[@tonywilson4713]

@@scottymitch1 The NFL does support several semi-professional leagues where people not on the playing rosters keep their game fitness. But to find out anything you have to go looking for it. America culturally is kind of strange. For many decades pro-sport was seen as kind of unethical and there was always an undertone of rigged outcomes. While College sport was seen as the place where true sportsmanship existed and people were generally expected to get real jobs after college. So for a long time pro-sports existed but they had not much standing. It wasn't until TV and televised games became "a thing" that pro-sports took off. There was an NFL commissioner guy who signed the first ever million dollar TV deal and then years later signed the first billion dollar TV deal. Now there are (I just checked) 7 contracts in place and the smallest of those is $1 Billion for Amazon's Thursday Night Football. Yeah Amazon paid $1B for 1 game a week for 18 weeks for 10 years. That's about $5.56 million per game. or about $1.6million an hour. The other thing is that almost all of their pro-sport teams are privately owned. The one well known exception is the Green Bay Packers. And that's part of the issue. Those networks and those owners DO NOT want too much competition from other sports. We've seen a bit of that in Australia with the AFL trying to starve everyone else of oxygen.

[@Yellow_Brick_Road]

Google sez 1.6% of college players make it to the NFL. NFL teams limited to 53 players + a practice squad of 17 players. 32 NFL teams x 53 = 1700 players Avg. NFL career = 3.3 years

[@scottymitch1]

@@Yellow_Brick_Road Amazing that so many Americans play football as school and Uni students but so few 'adults' play.

[@the1magageneral323]

Seriously during the taunting call and them holding back Beamer, should any one of the coaches been ejected from the game? It looked like to me that Beamer was going to fight.

[@kobyw9869]

Guess it just meant more to Illinois...and Michigan...and Ohio State... But hey at least Mizzou squeezed out a win against that juggernaut Iowa offense. SEC, SEC 😂

[@gsandy5235]

Why is making the substitution signal considered a taunt?

[@johnandrews5479]

You must not have kept up with this story. Had nothing to do with substitutions, or taunting. Bret had every right to point out a cheap and potentially dangerous ploy by Scar.

[@peachbabygyrl]

Ooh That thumbnail....you messy 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ceterisparibus6261]

come on!!! south carolina had the game they had the chance!!! they had it!! it wast not that far off they need to work out the small issues in game play communication. And execution... a little better execution IMO

[@hvacgar2]

BIG Football leading the way !!!!!

[@joshwarren3341]

This is what college football is all about, what an awesome game!! Always funny watching smallest guy on field throwing a fit then losing!

[@drop1x1x22]

Big ten is the best conference in college football

[@WhiteAngloSaxon]

They seem to be formidable. I’m impressed. ~ a Louisville fan

[@JohannTomasicyk-c9x]

Is it just me or wtf is the Illinois coach mad about his player ran into sc's guy so why is he acting like its sc's fault or did I get the entire thing wrong?

[@kevinbluebingo]

i think south carolinas coach was mad but im also confused bc why would illinois be taunting when their player got injured

[@markciccone9875]

Answer; cute little sc coach subbing on every play like he's superior. Beliema just who's your daddy their snob coach.

[@larrymcardle]

@@kevinbluebingo Bielema wasn't taunting, the announcers were quite biased. He was getting under Bane Sheemer's skin repeatedly by doing something unfathomable - playing by the rules. God forbid a coach actually reads the rulebook. Bielema thoroughly outcoached South Carolina's thin-skinned little guy today.

[@larrymcardle]

@@markciccone9875 Exactly, if the offense is going to substitute, the defense gets to respond in kind. Obviously it's something Illinois noticed on film, so they took advantage of the rulebook and took their time, getting under Lil' Beamer's skin. Then when Bielema made the substitution motion at SC's bench, Lil' Beamer lost it. Bielema outcoached him and got under his skin at the same time. Classic.

[@MarvinThiessen]

ABC refused to show the incident, but they sure yakked it up. Mainstream media sucks.

[@frankh6399]

Jesus.. they’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel with some of these bowl games. These teams giving WNBA vibes

[@SidekickZero]

But...... they belonged in the playoffs....😂😂😂😂

[@bigghago]

big 10 > sec

[@savannahrei8674]

Someone explain the substitution thing Belima did and why Beamer lost his shit over it

[@Guevon_Pajaro]

Yeah I was confused too. They said beilema came over when his player was hurt, and then did some stance that means substitution that the refs do, taunting SC. but I don't get it, is it taunting the SEC/ Ole miss since they were known for faking injuries for stopping momentum at key points in games this year? That's my best guess but this isn't Ole miss. Idk.

[@dfueinvisibleninja8920]

​@@Guevon_Pajaro the entire game Illinois was abusing the substitution rule and was taking up 17 seconds of play clock to sub players and even the announcers agreed that it was taking far to long and beamer was mad over it as it caused him to use two time outs among other things that the big 12 ref crew does different than SEC ref crews While belima was prob mad about a trick play on a kick off return that SC ran as he believed it was against the rules Overall both coaches disliked the officials

[@Chap49]

Beamer cried all day.. he is an idiot. Illinois had control the whole game 😊

[@garyaldridge5574]

ILL

[@trevorsanso32]

Clueless refs

[@Dude-etiquette]

Beamer is such a cry baby.

[@caramelpop9427]

Defending yourself and your team is being a "crybaby"?

[@jaredchavez6717]

What a joke, do they not teach these kids how to tackle anymore?

[@arachnid4910]

They not too bright down in South Carolina huh

[@GoatedAtNFS]

i’m just here before the sec is overrated crowd. i don’t complain about the refs but two games decided by it is a big difference from 8-4 to 10-2 even if this is a bowl

[@madirts1]

Non-partisan here. Lost all respect for Bielema. Sorry Illini, you all are now colored by your a-hole coach. Rooting against Illinois in everything until he’s gone.

[@Guevon_Pajaro]

Totally fair, he's always been annoying. Big ten fan who has always hated him at Wisconsin and now at Illinois. He's elite at being obnoxious and stubborn, is tough to beat. And his nickname is the pig farmer. 😂😂😂

[@johntucker5994]

Which players skipped the game for each team? I expect that explains the result because in the regular season Illinois would have been a definite underdog to South Carolina.

[@larrymcardle]

South Carolina lost to LSU, #14 Ole Miss and #11 Alabama. Illinois lost to #4 Penn State, #1 Oregon and Minnesota. Illinois was an underdog in this game, despite the players that sat out, and still won.

[@nomad7734]

2 meaniless players skipped for SC... typical SEC cry babies, always looking for excuses... LOL

[@johntucker5994]

@@nomad7734 Not SEC and didn’t watch the game, but I am surprised. SC looked tough in latter half of season. From what I had seen of IL, I thought it was a solid team but not as good as SC. Good for the Illini and the B1G. I like to see SEC teams taken down.

[@dfueinvisibleninja8920]

​@@johntucker5994 only opt out I know for Illinois was there best wide receiver pat bryant SC opt outs was Kyle kennard the 2024 Bronko Nagurski trophy winner Raheim sanders starting RB And Nick Emmanwori sat out the second half and he's considered the #2 safety this draft class

[@johntucker5994]

@@dfueinvisibleninja8920 Thanks for the info. Sounds like SC went without more than two "meaningless players". But I am glad Illinois won. What has been frustrating the past few years is trying to figure out the significance of the bowl game results as a measuring stick, since so many players are opting out. I understand why this is happening, but I don't like it. Anyway, I will go back and watch this game in full.

[@tucanoguy4719]

The SEC is trash

[@the1magageneral323]

Pro players who stand out this game?

[@nomad7734]

None for SC

[@dfueinvisibleninja8920]

That played or opt'ed out?

[@tko8218]

If the starting RB for South Carolina--Rocket Sanders--was playing, the results would have been different.

[@GoatedAtNFS]

you can’t tell the haters this

[@larrymcardle]

If the South Carolina coach knew the substitution rules, the results might have been different, but much less interesting. I recommend more crying.

[@KarlParl]

Does he play defense?

[@markciccone9875]

That's funny. South Carolina is a soft team

[@cookiedough6]

IL didn't have their best receiver Pat Bryant playing either so it was an even match up