Illinois beats South Carolina 21-17 in Citrus Bowl for first 10-win season since 2001

ORLANDO, Fla. — They came. They saw. They bumped bellies with a reputedly superior SEC team and found themselves more than able to handle it. They ticked off the entire opposing sideline, though that was mainly on their head coach. In all, they represented themselves beautifully and finished off a breakthrough season in style.

What was this 21-17 Citrus Bowl victory over South Carolina if not the best damn day Illinois football has had in well over a decade?

And for Illini coach Bret Bielema, what was it if not the very sort of moment he has longed for since things turned for the worse in his previous job at Arkansas?

For long-suffering Illini fans, a day like this one had to be so much fun.

What do orange-clad fans do after filling half a stadium around the holidays and watching their team actually come out on top? They high-five, hug, chant “I-L-L!” and linger in delight. They puff out their chests for a change, smile as folks in some other school’s colors leave disappointed and think, “This must be what being good at football is like.”

The No. 20 Illini capped a 12-play, 75-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown drive with Josh McCray’s 9-yard run — his second score — to take the game’s final lead. They then kept the No. 15 Gamecocks out of the other end zone when star quarterback LaNorris Sellers misfired on a fourth-down pass from the 7-yard line. The Illini got the ball back needing to kill some clock, leading to a third-and-2 run by McCray that went for 60 glorious, unforgettable yards.

That was it — Illinois had a 10-win football team for the first time since 2001, a bowl win for the first time since 2011 and arguably its biggest win in any game since the 2007 upset at No. 1 Ohio State.

“When I was relieved of my last coaching job,” Bielema said, choking up, “I knew that I wanted to prove what I could do and that I wanted to do it my way.”

As well as the Illini held up physically against the SEC team that played the best football in that conference over the second half of the regular season, it’s clear Bielema has, in four years, elevated football at a basketball school to a level that deserves to be taken seriously. The Illini withstood hits and gave them back. They answered scoring drives when needed. They showed there’s depth on the roster. And when it got late and they started blocking and running just a bit harder than the Gamecocks, it almost had a feel of Bielema’s old Wisconsin teams to it.

“Illinois is not an easy team to play,” Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said.

How seldom have we heard that sentiment?

The Illini showed some real attitude, too, especially after Bielema lit Beamer’s fuse during a stoppage in play late in the third quarter. The Gamecocks had tried some trickery on a kickoff return, with their return men making the “T-bar” gesture — arms out to their side — that generally indicates the ball won’t be fielded or returned. But a returner not only caught the kick but also threw it across the field in a lateral. The play didn’t accomplish much, but Bielema didn’t like it — and gestured at Beamer minutes later, his own arms out, causing Beamer to flip out. Beamer rushed toward Bielema, who was far out onto the field, and had to be held back.

“In all my years of being around football,” Beamer said, “I’ve never seen an opposing coach come over to the other team’s sideline and basically make a gesture toward the other head coach. …

“I thought that was bush league, to be honest.”

Bielema responded, “I love Shane. He’s a good person. I know he thought I did it at him. I did it to their whole damn sideline.”

McCray — who was Bielema’s first recruit — cost Illinois a touchdown with a fumble at the goal line in the first quarter but still was named player of the game after carrying 13 times for 114 yards and two scores. Luke Altmyer threw a touchdown pass to Zakhari Franklin, safety Matthew Bailey had 13 tackles and Gaba Jacas had three tackles for loss.

“A special day,” Bielema said.

That it was.