First look: What you need to know about Illinois ahead of Citrus Bowl

In exactly three weeks, South Carolina will be going for its 10th win of the season, something that has only happened four times in program history.

The No. 15 Gamecocks will conclude their 2024 season with a trip to Orlando, Florida to play in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Their opponent? No. 20 Illinois.

These two teams have never met before, which makes for an interesting matchup in the top non-playoff bowl game. Here’s an early look at the Fighting Illini.

Season review

For as much talk as there has been about South Carolina’s remarkable turnaround after finishing 5-7 in 2023, Illinois went through a similar situation this year. Bret Bielema’s squad also won five games last year, missing a bowl game for the second time in three seasons. Heading into this season, both teams were picked to finish 13th in their respective conferences.

Much like the Gamecocks, who surprised many and won nine games in the regular season, the Fighting Illini also went 9-3 this year. They won their first four games before losing to Penn State in a top-20 showdown in Happy Valley. But they bounced back with two straight wins to become bowl eligible by Week 8.

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Their next two games proved to be much tougher with a 38-9 thrashing at the hands of No. 1 Oregon. After taking the lead in the fourth quarter against Minnesota the following week, Illinois surrendered a go-ahead touchdown with five minutes to go in what would be a 25-17 win for the Golden Gophers.

However, the Illini finished the season strong on a three-game winning streak, beating Michigan State, Rutgers and in-state rival Northwestern. In what proved to be a great year for the program, they finished as the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten to not make the College Football Playoff.

Key players on offense

In his second year as the starting quarterback, Luke Altmyer has made big strides, being much more effective than he was in 2023. The junior threw for 2,543 yards with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions. He’s been a bit up and down this season with some great games and mediocre performances mixed in. When Illinois wins, though, he’s usually been at his best with 19 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in those games.

Senior wide receiver Pat Bryant has been Altmyer’s go-to option in the passing game with 54 catches for 984 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s only 16 yards away from his first 1,000-yard season of his college career. Zakhari Franklin is also another notable name to watch for in the receiving game. The senior receiver caught 51 passes for 613 yards and three touchdowns in the regular season.

It’s also worth noting that former South Carolina assistant Justin Stepp, who was on Shane Beamer’s staff for three years, is now the receivers coach at Illinois.

Illinois has a very balanced rushing attack with Josh McCray and Aidan Laughery being the two feature running backs. McCray leads the team in carries (104) and has rushed for 495 yards and eight touchdowns. But Laughery leads the team in rushing yards (522), despite having 23 less carries than McCray. That’s mainly due to his breakout performance against Northwestern, where he ran for 172 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 14.3 yards per carry.

Key players on defense

Sophomore defensive back Matthew Bailey leads the team with 81 tackles, 38 of which have been solo. He’s broken up five passes with an interception and forced two fumbles.

Also in the secondary, Xavier Scott and Torrie Cox Jr. have wreaked havoc in coverage this season. Scott has broken up six passes with four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown against Kansas. Cox has recorded three interceptions this year.

Illinois has a solid trio of linebackers, much like South Carolina does with Debo Williams, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Bam Martin-Scott. But the Illini’s best linebacker has been Gabe Jacas, who has 66 tackles with a team-leading eight sacks along with three forced fumbles.

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What sticks out

Illinois is pretty balanced from an offensive standpoint. Under third-year offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr., the offense is averaging 214.3 passing yards and 151.2 rushing yards per game. However, the Illini have only ran for more than 200 yards in one FBS matchup this year.

Facing five top-20 defenses in the college football this year (all from the Big Ten), they averaged 129 yards in those five games. Illinois is ranked middle of the pack in rushing offense this year at No. 79 in the FBS. But with South Carolina being another top-20 defense that doesn’t allow a ton of yards on the ground, this could bode well for the Gamecocks in forcing Altmyer to beat the defense with his arm.

Even then, Altmyer has been under heavy pressure from opposing defenses all year, as he’s been sacked 31 times. Illinois has also given up 66 tackles for loss, setting up for a good recipe for the Gamecocks to have some success.

For some of the team’s faults in protecting Altmyer, he does take good care of the football. The quarterback has only thrown five interceptions this year while the team in general has only lost seven fumbles. Because of this, Illinois is one of the better teams in football with a +7 turnover margin.

And when they get into the red zone, they usually come away with points of some sort in most cases. The Illini are 41-for-46 in red zone attempts this year, with 28 touchdowns and 13 field goals. On the flip side, it’s a much different story. Opponents are 37-for-43 in their red zone opportunities against this defense, with 24 touchdowns and 13 field goals.

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