CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The No. 20 Illinois football team has landed in Orlando, Florida, to begin preparations for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. The Fighting Illini will have a week of practice under the Florida sun to get ready for the matchup against No. 15 South Carolina.
Illinois arrives in the Sunshine State with a 9-3 record after closing the regular season with three-consecutive wins. The Fighting Illini posted nine regular-season victories for the eighth time in program history and are looking to earn Win No. 10 for the fifth time ever.
The Orange and Blue's three-game winning streak started on Nov. 16 with a dominant 38-16 victory over Michigan State before the team following it up with a last-gasp 38-31 road win over Rutgers. The Illini's last triumph came on Nov. 30, when Illinois defeated Northwestern, 38-28, at Wrigley Field to claim the Land of Lincoln Trophy.
South Carolina, which concluded the regular season with an identical 9-3 record and a 5-3 mark in SEC play, makes the trip to Orlando on a six-game winning streak, which is tied for the fifth-longest stretch in the FBS. After narrowly falling to No. 7 Alabama on Oct. 12, the Gamecocks have rattled off victories against Oklahoma, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 24 Vanderbilt, No. 24 Missouri, Wofford, and No. 12 Clemson.
The top-20 postseason contest between Illinois and South Carolina serves as the first-ever meeting between the sides, while the Illini are making their second appearance at the Citrus Bowl after last playing in the game following the 1989 season.
For more information about Illinois' trip to the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, visit FightingIllini.com/CitrusBowl.
Notes
#20 Illinois Selected for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
• Illinois qualified for the 21st bowl game in program history.
• The Citrus Bowl will be Illinois' second New Year's bowl game in the last three seasons, along with the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl following Illinois' 8-4 regular season in 2022. The last time Illinois played in two New Year's bowls in a three-year span was 1990-91, when the program played in the 1990 Citrus Bowl and the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl (now the ReliaQuest Bowl).
• Illinois will play in two bowls over a three-year stretch for the first time since back-to-back bowl seasons in 2010 and 2011.
• Bret Bielema is the first Illini coach to go to two bowl games in his first four seasons since Lou Tepper from 1991-94.
• Illinois is looking to win a bowl game for the first time since Dec. 31, 2011 (Kraft Fight Hunger vs. UCLA, W, 20-14).
Nine-Win Illinois
• Illinois is looking to tie its school record for wins in a season with 10, set in 1902, 1983, 1989, and 2001.
• Illinois won 9+ regular season games for the eighth time in program history (1892, 1902, 1904, 1983, 1989, 2001, 2007).
• Illinois has 22 wins over the last three seasons, the program's most in a three-year span since 1999-01 (23 wins).
• Illinois had six Big Ten wins for the first time since going 6-2 in Big Ten games in 2007 on the way to the 2008 Rose Bowl.
• Illinois had its third six-win Big Ten season in the last 30 years (2001, 2007, 2024).
Illinois in the Rankings
• Illinois was #20 in the final College Football Playoff Top 25. The Illini were ranked in the last four CFP rankings, the longest stretch of consecutive CFP rankings in program history. Before this year, Illinois had appeared in two CFP rankings in 2022.
• Illinois is in the AP Top 25 for the 11th time this season, coming in at #21 in the Dec. 8 poll.
• Illinois' 11 AP Poll appearances are tied for the third-most in program history behind only 1989 (17) and 1990 (16).
• Illinois has five wins when ranked in the AP Top 25, the most since recording eight such wins during the 1990 season.
Illinois at the Citrus Bowl
• Illinois was invited to the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl for the second time in program history (1990 Florida Citrus Bowl vs. Virginia).
• Illinois will return to the Citrus Bowl for the first time since the 1989 season, when RB Howard Griffith and QB Jeff George led the Fighting Illini to a 31-21 victory over Virginia in the 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl.
• Illinois snapped a 26-year bowl victory drought with the win over Virginia in the 1990 Florida Citrus Bowl, the Illini's only appearance in the Citrus Bowl. Illinois jumped on the Cavaliers early, with LB Bill Henkel recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff. Five plays later, QB Jeff George drilled a 15-yard scoring strike to Steven Williams. After Virginia tied the game early in the second quarter, George directed Illinois on an 80-yard scoring drive. Illinois opened the second half with an 84-yard drive capped by RB Howard Griffith's three-yard TD. Early in the fourth quarter, WR Mike Bellamy scored on a 26-yard pass from George to clinch an Illini victory. George earned MVP honors, completing 26-of-38 for 321 yards and three TDs.
• Illinois' trip to Orlando will be a homecoming for 17 Illini who hail from Florida, including nearly a dozen starters. Illinois' 17 players that hail from the Sunshine State represent the most of any Big Ten program.
• Bret Bielema's first career bowl game as a head coach was at the Citrus Bowl, then called the Capital One Bowl, when he took his 2006 Wisconsin team to Orlando and beat Arkansas, 17-14, on January 1, 2007.
• In 16 years as a head coach, Bielema has led 12 of his teams - including this year's Illinois squad - to bowl games.
The Bielema Era
• Bret Bielema is 27-22 during his Illinois career. Since Robert Zuppke went undefeated in two of his first three seasons at Illinois from 1913-15, Bielema's 27-22 start is the second-best through 49 games by an Illini head coach, behind only Mike White (29-19-1, 1980-83).
• Bielema has won at least eight games in two of his first four seasons at Illinois, becoming the first Illini head coach since John Mackovic (1988-91) to do so.
• Bielema's 18 Big Ten wins through his first four seasons at Illinois are the most since John Mackovic won 22 in his first four seasons from 1988-91.
• Bielema's five ranked wins (AP/Coaches/CFP) during his first four seasons are tied for the second-most in program history, behind only John Mackovic (8, 1988-91) and tied with Mike White (5, 1980-83).
• Bielema has three road ranked wins (AP/Coaches/CFP) during his first four seasons in Champaign. He is the second coach in Illinois history to win three ranked games on the road during his first four seasons, joining Lou Tepper (1992-96).
• Bielema has had the Illini ranked in 15 AP polls during his first four seasons in Champaign. Only John Mackovic (39 weeks, 1988-91) had the Illini ranked more during their first four seasons as Illinois head coaches.
• Bielema joined John Mackovic (1988-91) and Lou Tepper (1992-95) as the only head coaches in Illinois history to win 5+ games in each of their first four seasons leading the Fighting Illini.
• Bielema is 10-8 in Big Ten road games at Illinois. His 10 Big Ten road wins are tied for the second-most by an Illini head coach in his first four seasons, behind only Mike White (11, 1980-83) and tied with Lou Tepper (10, 1992-95), and John Mackovic (10, 1988-91)
