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Illinois football bowl win over South Carolina continues to age well

It was a great win at the time, but Illinois football's victory over South Carolina continues to get better as time goes on.
ByRees Woodcock|
Dec 31, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers (16) before the play call against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the fourth quarter at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
Dec 31, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers (16) before the play call against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the fourth quarter at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images | Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images

Illinois football fans are ready for the 2025 season to start, and it is closer than most think.

With less than eight weeks until the Western Illinois contest, the Illini are hoping to build on the 10-win campaign from 2024. This was a magical season that finished with a win over South Carolina of the SEC.

At the time, this was a good victory for the Orange and Blue. Whenever you can humble an SEC program, it is always a good day. But as time goes on, the win over the Gamecocks looks better and better.

On Monday, Pro Football Focus College was drooling over South Carolina and the potential they have this season. One of the posts was about Gamecock’s quarterback, LaNorris Sellers.

In the post, PFF College posted a graphic of a quote and said, “LaNorris Sellers has ELITE potential as a rusher.” The graphic quoted one of the PFF writers saying, “Sellers gives you shades of Cam Newton as a runner.”

Sellers finished the 2024 season with 674 yards on the ground and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Both are solid numbers. He was also the quarterback for South Carolina in the bowl game against the Illini.

In the Citrus Bowl, Illinois managed to hold Sellers to just 19 yards on 11 carries. That is 1.7 yards per carry. The only game he had fewer rushing yards was against Kentucky, where he had -11 yards on the ground.

On top of PFF loving Sellers, he is also one of the top Heisman Trophy hopefuls entering 2025. According to DraftKings, it is Arch Manning (+650), Garrett Nussmeier (+850), and Cade Klubnik (+950) as the top three odds to win the Heisman Trophy. Sellers is next in line at +1600. He is the fourth-highest Heisman Trophy favorite.

The Illinois football win over South Carolina wasn’t just huge for stopping a Heisman Trophy candidate

Sellers is a really good quarterback, but I honestly thought his passing was way more impressive than his running ability. The fact that PFF is fawning over his running ability is interesting to me. Illinois was able to take down someone who is looked at as a contender for the best player in college football.

The success against South Carolina didn’t just come on defense, though. Illinois’ offense did a great job containing a high-impact defensive end, too.

PFF also produced their top 50 players list for 2025. They laid out who the top 50 players will be for this upcoming season, and shockingly, Sellers wasn’t on there. Six other quarterbacks were listed, but Sellers was left off for some reason.

A player who was on the top 50 list is Dylan Stewart. He is an edge for South Carolina, and PFF has him as the No. 9 player in the country.

Stewart also played in the bowl game against Illinois. He played 47 snaps, and Bret Bielema schemed up a game plan that held Stewart to just three quarterback hurries, three tackles, zero sacks, and zero batted passes.

That is the No. 9 player in all of college football. Let that soak in for a second. Illinois took on one of the top five Heisman Trophy candidates and a player who is in the top 10 among all players in college football. We beat them. We took them down. When we look back five or 10 years from now, the win over the Gamecocks in the Citrus Bowl is going to look incredibly impressive.

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