Believe it or not, the Citrus Bowl includes a college football game– it’s not just an infomercial for cheese-flavored crackers. It was one hell of a ballgame too as the #20 Illinois Fighting Illini came in as 10 pt. underdogs and upset #15 South Carolina 21-17, marking the school’s first ever win over a SEC team!
It was also the first win for the Illini in a traditionally held on New Year’s Day bowl since 1990 (1989 season) when they beat Virginia in this same bowl, 31-21.
I woke up feeling the Cheeziest Coach!#HappyNewYear
— Aaron Henry (@AaronHenry7) January 1, 2025
(note: I’m a big believer that when Illini defensive coordinator Aaron Henry opened his press conference this week by saying exactly what he tweeted above here, it was purely organic. I don’t think he said it because he was paid to)
And by “traditionally held on New Year’s Day,” we mean the big six, plus the three Florida bowls, in Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, which are usually staged on Jan. 1.
Many believe the Citrus Bowl to be the biggest and best of the non-playoff bowls, so it’s strange to see them going full on native advertising/sponsored content in their presentation of the game.
They should be above that. Also the bowl game itself was horribly mismanaged, from a media perspective, but that’s another story for another time.
Earlier this week, Illini defensive coordinator Aaron Henry talked about how his program takes a lot of pride in not taking four-star and five-star rated recruits out of the transfer portal, and instead taking one, two and three-star rated guys, and then developing them into elite players.
This emphasis on development is a winning formula, and you can see that with the team that currently has dynasty going, at at the highest level of football- the Kansas City Chiefs.
Andy Reid, head coach of the current Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, truly excels at this. Chiefs legend Jamal Charles pointed this out.
“That’s why a lot of people want to play for Coach Reid,” Charles said in an exclusive with RG. “Because you can be a nobody and all of a sudden you can be somebody and now everybody knows about you. And if you’re really good — if you’re just an average player — he can turn you into a great player.”
Illini coach Bret Bielema has doing a great job of recruiting, both with the portal and out of high school, with guys that fit his program and can work well within his systems. Josh McCray, Bielema’s very first Illini recruit from the high school ranks, was the Citrus Bowl MVP, with 13 carries for 114 yards and rushing and two touchdowns.
But it was really the Illini defense who came on strong today, with an effective bend-but-don’t-break against Lanorris Sellers and a very high-powered offensive attack.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for their defense, because they do what they do, and when I say that, that’s a compliment,” said South Carolina coach Shane Beamer after his side was defeated.
“Like they’re going to get up in your face, they’re going to play man coverage. They don’t bring a lot of pressure. When they do, on the quarterback draw, where they got LaNorris in the first half into the half, I believe, that’s their main pressure. They do that in a go-to situation.
“They bring some edge pressure, which they did to us some, as well.
“I have a ton of respect for them, because they do what they do. They say that we’re going to be very good fundamentally, as well, and they are. They’re well-coached. They’re hard to beat. Nobody has scored a lot of points on them this year outside of Oregon.
“Penn State is playing in a playoff game tonight and scored 21, and they got a long interception return that led to one of those touchdowns, if I’m not mistaken.
“They’re a good defense, and they’ve got good players. Let’s not act like this is Wabash College. Is that a Division III school in Illinois? Wheaton, is that a school? There you go.
“I went to a basketball camp at Elmhurst College back in the day in Illinois, Michael Jordan’s camp. I don’t think they have football, but let’s not act like this is some Division III school out there without good players. They have all-conference guys.
“The nickel No. 14 [Xavier Scott] is a really good player, and the linebackers are really good at what they do.
“What’s the defensive end, 17 [Gabe Jacas]? He is a really good player on the defensive line, and 23 [TeRah Edwards] is a handful.”
Henry has taken a lot of heat, and sometimes deservedly so, but he and his guys came up absolutely huge today! The Illini players, coaches and staff should feel very proud of what they accomplished.
And for Illini fans, students, alumni faculty etc. it was the perfect way to ring in the New Year. Things are really looking up for Illini football right now.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.