It’s the Citrus Bowl for South Carolina: Showdown vs. Illinois locked in
The Gamecocks are headed to Orlando, Florida.
Following a 9-3 season that included wins over Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson, No. 15 South Carolina will play in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 against No. 20 Illinois (9-3).
It will be the first time the Gamecocks have played in the Citrus Bowl since 2014. The game airs at 3 p.m. on ESPN on New Year’s Eve.
“This was the best-possible outcome, in our opinion, of where we could be playing,” coach Shane Beamer said Sunday on a teleconference. “What a statement. Obviously, the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl had a choice on who they wanted us. And they chose us.”
Earlier Sunday, it was expected that Alabama — which missed out on the College Football Playoff — would get invited to the Citrus Bowl, which has its pick of any non-playoff squad. Instead, it’ll be the Gamecocks playing in one of the premier SEC-affiliated bowl games.
When Alabama missed the playoff, Beamer texted with a number of veteran leaders about bowl possibilities. The best case, of course, was still the Citrus Bowl, but the Gator Bowl and other options were very much in play.
Then Beamer was greeted in his office by a visitor. Athletic director Ray Tanner, like he just won the Super Bowl MVP, delivered some joy.
“Get ready for Disney World,” Tanner said.
“I gave him a bear hug. I can’t lie,” Beamer said. “There was a lot of excitement, for sure. And the text messages that I started getting from our players — they feel the same way.”
The news is perhaps bittersweet for some South Carolina fans. The Gamecocks finished the season on a six-game win streak and put an exclamation point on their College Football Playoff case with a victory at No. 12 Clemson.
But, citing head-to-head losses against Alabama and Ole Miss, the selection committee slotted South Carolina at No. 14 in the rankings and essentially said there was no scenario that would vault the Gamecocks into the 12-team playoff.
The next day, a clearly-frustrated Shane Beamer railed against the committee’s reasoning but also assured fans that his team still deeply cared about winning the bowl game.
“The players on this team are extremely motivated to try and go get a 10th win,” Beamer said “That’s really important to a lot of guys.”
This will be the third bowl game in Beamer’s four seasons in Columbia. In his first season, the Gamecocks beat North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl and the head coach was doused with the condiment. The next year, though, South Carolina fell to Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl.
The South Carolina head coach was clear to point out the history at stake. Sure, the playoff disappointment will sting, Beamer noted, but this 2024 Gamecocks team has a chance to do what just four others have done in the 117 years the University of South Carolina has been playing football: Win double-digit games.
“We’re gonna handle it the right way,” Beamer said. “There were some examples last season of teams that dealt with disappointment and handled it the right way and handled it the wrong way. We talked about being the team that handles it the right way.”
Beamer is likely referring to the 2023 Florida State team, which didn’t earn a spot in the playoff despite an undefeated season. Over a dozen key pieces for Seminoles either hit the transfer portal or opted out of the game and Florida State went on to lose to Georgia by 60 in the Orange Bowl.
As of last week, Beamer said no players had told him they will be opting out. Still, for likely NFL Draft picks such as defensive tackle TJ Sanders and edge Kyle Kennard, there’s definitely a decision to make.
SEC teams in College Football Playoff
- CFP First Round Game: Clemson at Texas (Austin) – Dec. 21, 4 pm (TNT and MAX)
- CFP First Round Game: Tennessee at Ohio State (Columbus), Dec. 21, 8 pm (ESPN and ABC)
- Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans): Georgia vs. Indiana/Notre Dame winner, Jan. 1, 8:45 pm (ESPN)
SEC bowl games
- Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa) – Florida vs. Tulane – Dec. 20, 3:30 pm (ESPN)
- Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth) – Oklahoma vs. Navy, Dec. 27, noon (ESPN)
- Birmingham Bowl (Birmingham) – Vanderbilt vs. Georgia Tech, Dec. 27, 3:30 pm (ESPN)
- AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis) – Dec. 27 – Arkansas vs. Texas Tech, 7 pm (ESPN)
- SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas) – Dec. 27 – Texas A&M vs. Southern Cal, 10:30 pm (ESPN)
- TransPerfect Music City Bowl (Nashville) – Missouri vs. Iowa, Dec. 30, 2:30 pm (ESPN)
- Reliaquest Bowl (Tampa) – Alabama vs. Michigan, Dec. 31, Noon (ESPN)
- Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (Orlando) – South Carolina vs. Illinois, Dec. 31, 3 pm (ABC)
- Kinder’s Texas Bowl (Houston) – LSU vs. Baylor, Dec. 31, 3:30 pm (ESPN)
- TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Jacksonville) – Ole Miss vs. Duke, Jan. 2, 7:30 pm (ESPN)
Gamecock bowl history
Bowls listed by season
- 2024 — Citrus Bowl vs. Illinois
- 2022 — Gator Bowl (L, 45-38 vs Notre Dame)
- 2021 — Duke’s Mayo Bowl (W, 38-21 vs. UNC)
- 2018 — Belk Bowl (L, 28-0 vs. Virginia)
- 2017 — Outback Bowl (W, 26-19 vs. Michigan)
- 2016 — Birmingham Bowl (L, 46-39/OT vs. South Florida)
- 2014 — Independence Bowl (W, 24-21 vs. Miami)
- 2013 — Capital One Bowl (W, 34-24 vs. Wisconsin)
- 2012 — Outback Bowl (W, 33-28 vs. Michigan)
- 2011 — Capital One Bowl (W, 30-13 vs. Nebraska)
- 2010 — Chick-fil-A Bowl (L, 26-17 vs. Florida State)
- 2009 — Papajohns.com Bowl (L, 20-7 vs. UConn)
- 2008 — Outback Bowl (L, 31-10 vs. Iowa)
- 2006 — Liberty Bowl (W, 44-36 vs. Houston)
- 2005 — Independence Bowl (L, 38-31 vs. Missouri)
- 2001 — Outback Bowl (W, 31-28 vs. Ohio State)
- 2000 — Outback Bowl (W, 24-7 vs. Ohio State)
- 1994 — Carquest Bowl (W, 24-21 vs. West Virginia)
- 1988 — Liberty Bowl (L, 34-10 vs. Indiana)
- 1987 — Gator Bowl (L, 30-13 vs. LSU)
- 1984 — Gator Bowl (L, 21-14 vs. Oklahoma State)
- 1980 — Gator Bowl (L, 37-9 vs. Pitt)
- 1979 — Hall of Fame Bowl (L, 24-14 vs.Misouri)
- 1975 — Tangerine Bowl (L, 20-7 vs.Miami of Ohio)
- 1969 — Peach Bowl (L, 14-3 vs. West Virginia)
- 1945 — Gator Bowl (L, 26-14 vs. Wake Forest)
This story was originally published December 8, 2024 at 2:41 PM.
