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The Illinois football team ended the season on a high note as they took down South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl on Tuesday. Both of these teams entered the game ranked and they both had three losses, but only the Gamecocks were being talked about as a College Football Playoff snub. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer noted that he and the Fighting Illini felt disrespected by South Carolina, and they ended up earning a 21-17 win.
South Carolina was a big favorite over the Illinois football team, but they weren't able to get the job done in the game. Perhaps part of the issue is that there were some Gamecocks thinking that the team was playing Syracuse, according to Luke Altmyer. Wrong Orange team.
“A couple days ago we were at the fun spot doing a team activity with the other team and they were calling us Syracuse,” Altmyer said, according to a post from Jeremy Werner. “They didn't even know who they were playing. Not that we needed any extra motivation, but that was all we needed to hear and we gave them that Big Ten belt.”
Illinois certainly isn't known for having a good football program, but that is starting to change. The Fighting Illini finished with 10 wins this year and the team is trending in the right direction under head coach Bret Bielema. Altmyer doesn't think the disrespect is going to continue.
“Been hearing all this talk about SEC, SEC in the playoff and things like that, and I'm just tired of the disrespect,” Altmyer said. “Illinois has been a disrespected program for a long time. I know that because I'm from that area and that conference. I don't think that's the case anymore.”
The Fighting Illini certainly proved a point in the Citrus Bowl, and if South Carolina didn't know they were taking on Illinois, it didn't take them long to find out.
This was an impressive year for the Fighting Illini that saw a 10-3 finish. Illinois doesn't have seasons like this come around all that often, but fans are hoping that this becomes more of the norm in the future under Bielema.
Both Illinois and South Carolina have struggled in recent years, but this was a solid season for both programs and the future looks bright for both. They weren't far from making it to the College Football Playoff this year, and that will be the goal in the future as both have the potential to crack the top-12.
