There were a lot of people who didn’t see the Illinois football team taking down South Carolina in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
The Illini came into the game as a 10-point underdog, and honestly, nearly everyone who wasn’t an Illinois fan was taking the Gamecocks and the -10.
Bret Bielema didn’t let that happen, though. It was a chaotic game, as South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer embarrassed himself on the sidelines with childish tirades. Illinois didn’t get distracted. We were focused on the main goal, a victory.
South Carolina pushed the Illini to the brink of defeat, as they had the ball at our seven-yard line. LaNorris Sellers stepped back and threw an incompletion on fourth down with under four minutes left. Illinois’ offense then went to work, and our running backs salted away the game. Illinois managed to hold on to a 21-17 win over South Carolina.
Here are five glorious observations from the Illinois football win over South Carolina
1. Illinois did a great job containing LaNorris Sellers
Coming into the game on Tuesday, the Illinois football team was preparing for a quarterback in LaNorris Sellers who had an impressive 2024 campaign.
Sellers finished his freshman season throwing for 2,534 yards, 18 touchdowns, and seven interceptions. He also had 674 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
This is a player who had some big games too. Sellers threw for 353 yards and five touchdowns while adding 45 yards on the ground in a win over a ranked Missouri team. He also took down Texas A&M and Clemson in one of the best seasons South Carolina has had in decades.
At the beginning of the game, the broadcasters mentioned that Sellers is going to be one of the top Heisman Trophy candidates for 2025. I was thinking, oh boy, this could be a rough day if this kid is that special.
Well, Illinois was able to handle Sellers’ talent. We turned him into an average quarterback. Through the air, he completed 70% of his passes for 260 yards and a touchdown. This is a kid who went up against what people claim to be the best defensive conference in the country in the SEC.
The thing that impressed me the most about Illinois’ game against South Carolina was the fact we didn’t let Sellers go off on the ground. Sellers had more rushing yards than any Illinois running back this season, but he only had 19 yards on 11 carries in the game on Tuesday.
Illinois did a great job keeping everything in front of them. Gabe Jacas was sensational on the edge, and the defensive backs honed in on Sellers so he couldn’t bust big plays. This was a great defensive effort and one that will be underrated in the pantheon of big Illinois games.