No. 15 South Carolina is gearing up to face No. 20 Illinois in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, and head coach Shane Beamer says fans could not be more excited to take the trip down South to Orlando to cheer on the Gamecocks.
Fans were so excited to be heading to the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl that South Carolina sold out of their initial allotment of tickets within an hour of the bowl game being announced. Soon-to-be former athletic director Ray Tanner had to call down to the Citrus Bowl to ask for more tickets.
Beamer said that this is a testament to South Carolina football and how far they came this season to get to this bowl game. Beamer even said that this bowl game is the premiere site for SEC teams that didn't make the College Football Playoff.
"Very!.. South Carolina fans have been wanting to get back to this game for a long time."@CoachSBeamer Sunday evening in Orlando when asked how confident he is that #Gamecock fans will make the trip south for the @CitrusBowl game later this month 🏈@abc_columbia pic.twitter.com/Y2PuFBtOQz
— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) December 16, 2024
"This is one that everybody in the SEC if you're not in the playoff, this is where you want to come," Beamer said in an interview with ABC Columbia Channel 25.
South Carolina was not selected for the new 12-team College Football Playoff this season because the committee did not deem the Gamecock's resume strong enough to make it in. While South Carolina was snubbed from the playoff, so was Alabama and Ole Miss, who were two teams the Gamecocks were trying to get ahead of all season after suffering losses to both.
However, South Carolina beat both of those teams out for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl as each bowl game extends invites to the teams they desire to have in it. Alabama and Ole Miss didn't get the invite to this bowl that is exclusively set aside for SEC and Big Ten teams, but South Carolina did. This is one of the bigger bowl games after the New Year Six bowls simply for its location and sheer size of the game.
Beamer is right in saying if SEC teams can't get into the playoffs, this is the game they want to be in. Last season, Tennessee nearly missed the playoff and faced the Wisconsin Badgers in what ended up being a blowout for the Volunteers, and this season, Tennessee is in the playoff for the first time ever. South Carolina could do the same with a win against No. 20 Illinois this year and playing well enough to get into the playoff next season.