South Carolina is heading to Orlando to play in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve, as they will take on Illinois. The great thing about bowl games is that it isn't the NCAA deciding who is going to play where, but the bowl games themselves select who they want and extend invitations to those teams.
The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl is a big bowl game, maybe not quite as big as the New Year Six bowl games, which are now all being played in the College Football Playoff, but it is up there as one of the best bowls to play in outside of the CFP. This bowl game is always the SEC vs. the Big Ten and they made their pick and it wasn't Alabama or Ole Miss, teams that are ranked higher than South Carolina, but it was the Gamecocks.
In his most recent press conference on Sunday, head coach Shane Beamer made a bold statement about how it feels the Gamecocks are being looked at against Alabama and Ole Miss.
"They chose us. That's a strong statement."@CoachSBeamer with gratitude for the Cheez-It @CitrusBowl choosing the #Gamecocks over other SEC schools who missed the playoff (Alabama, Ole Miss).@abc_columbia | @GamecockFB pic.twitter.com/hYup4yarJs
— Noah Chast (@NoahChastTV) December 9, 2024
The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl had its pick of any bowl-eligible SEC team, and they chose South Carolina, and that says a lot. They could have chosen Alabama or Ole Miss, who did beat South Carolina, but instead they went with the Gamecocks.
Beamer said that South Carolina's initial allotted tickets have already sold out and that the university is already calling to get more tickets for their fans. The fanbase is excited that they were selected for this bowl game, even if it isn't the College Football Playoff.
Alabama and Ole Miss were selected to the Reliaquest Bowl and the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, which aren't bad bowl games, just maybe not as big as the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. So buckle up, South Carolina fans, and make your way to Orlando to cheer on the Gamecocks against Illinois.