Illinois Football Stuns South Carolina in Program-Shifting Citrus Bowl Upset

The Illini save their best for last in a 21-17 win over the favored Gamecocks to secure their first 10-win season since 2001

Dec 31, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks running back Oscar Adaway III (27) runs the ball against Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Jojo Hayden (30) in the first quarter at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images / Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

Illinois' 2024 football season ended as it began: with all expectations defied – perhaps even the Illini's own.

Facing No. 14 South Carolina in Tuesday's New Year's Eve Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, No. 20 Illinois scraped, cobbled and fashioned just enough of the good stuff that had marked the high points of its past four months to complete yet another late comeback, upset the Gamecocks 21-17 and tie a bow on its first 10-win season in 23 years.

DUMP THOSE CHEEZ-ITZZZ#Illini // #HTTO // #famILLy pic.twitter.com/MUkvXK0X3z

— Illinois Football (@IlliniFootball) January 1, 2025

And, also characteristic of this heart-racing Illinois season, none of it came easy for the Illini (10-3, 6-3 Big Ten).

In a game that saw five lead changes, a seemingly endless string of big plays from both teams, on both sides of the ball, and a flashpoint moment between coaches, the Illini delivered when they needed to – often in unanticipated fashion.

When running back Josh McCray (114 rushing yards, two touchdowns) powered across the goal line on a nine-yard run to give the Illini a 21-17 lead with 7:29 remaining, it completed a 13-play drive that saw Illinois convert three third downs along the way and secure the teams's fifth fourth-quarter comeback of the season – an FBS high. If it hadn't quite become old hat, the Illini had at least proven by then that they had the grit to claw back into contention.

But what we hadn't seen recently from the Illini were defensive stops, big plays on that side of the ball and containment of dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks. Yet Illinois' defense, by and large, bottled up the Gamecocks' SEC Freshman of the Year quarterback LaNorris Sellers (279 total yards, one touchdown) and stepped up in the highest-stakes moments.

Take this first-half sequence: With Illinois up 7-3 midway through the second quarter, South Carolina's offense was gaining steam but faced a third-and-7 at the Illinois 13-yard line. Enter Illini linebacker Alec Bryant, who knocked down a Sellers pass at the line. When South Carolina went for it on fourth down, throwing a funky formation at the Illini and nearly burning them on a tackle-eligible pass, it was linebacker Ryan Meed, trailing the play, who caught up with the Sellers floater and batted it away in the end zone.

On the Gamecocks' next possession, this time linebacker Gabe Jacas led the charge, teaming with a handful of Illini defenders to collapse the pocket and drop Norris for a loss, blowing up a key third-down play. Moments later, South Carolina kicker Alex Herrera clunked a 41-yard attempt off the right upright at the halftime gun to send Illinois into the break up 7-3.

More of the happily unexpected: The Illinois run game, which has produced in fits and starts behind an inconsistent offensive line for much of the season, outmuscled an SEC power at the point of attack in both teams' biggest game of the year.

For instance, with 2:24 left in the third quarter, McCray could have slung himself sideways through the hole Illinois' offensive line split open at the goal line, instead trotting through for a three-yard touchdown that, after the extra point, gave the Illini a 14-10 lead.

The meat movers up front did it again at the game's most critical point, on a third-and-2 with 1:56 remaining and the Illini pinned inside their own 20. A first down might have sealed it, but the Illini O-line did went the extra mile, springing McCray for a 60-yard gain that flipped field position, chewed up precious seconds and gave Illinois the four downs it needed to soak up the remining time on the clock.

The Illini outgained the Gamecocks 183-130 on the ground, bested them in tackles for loss (5-3) and mustered at least as much pressure on Sellers as Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer (174 yards, one touchdown and an interception on 13-for-22 passing) faced. If Bielema's intention is to ultimately remake the Illini in the image of an old-school Big Ten basher on both sides of the ball, he came closer to achieving the goal Tuesday against South Carolina (9-4, 5-3 SEC) than he previously had in his four years in Champaign.

Tapping into some of the providence that launched its 2024 magic carpet ride early this season, Illinois took the most significant step yet toward long-term contention in its first bowl win since 2011. Starting now, Bielema and the Illini will surely demand even more of themselves than they could ever get from just the good fortune and blessings of the football gods.

And maybe the rest of the college football world will begin expecting as much, too.

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