Illinois 21, South Carolina 17 Postgame

[Mr. Tibbs]

What’s the odds that we see a new rule by the NCAA by next season regarding some aspect of T-barring? Thinking a letter gets sent to them regarding player safety and something gets finalized. Probable result: Beamer probably can’t do that anymore going forward.

about 99%

 

[green_bay_energy]

Now back home from the game and man what a game it was. I still can't stop grinning ear to ear getting to see one of the greatest wins in the entirety of my Illini Fandom. There's a lot to say about the game, but much of that has been said in the 26 previous pages. But what I can add is my experience with South Carolina fans:

The stadium was probably nearing 60/40 Carolina as it looked like the SEC side was a bit fuller than the B10 side despite more tickets being sold on the B10 side. As well there were a large amount of Carolina fans who bought up sides in the first few rows on the B10 side. I was in one of those areas 2 rows from the field with more Gamecocks fans around me than Illini fans (though I was right next to Declan Duley's girlfriend- more on that later).

1. Overall I thought their fans were nice, respectful, and were good company who were there to cheer for their team. There's always bad apples, but honestly, I walked away more appreciative of them than what I saw of their coach and team on the field.

2. The Carolina fanbase seemed more organized and louder especially at the beginning of the game. However, they couldn't sustain that intensity for any large amount of time as the play of our team took them out of it.

3. When Carolina went up 10-7 and picked Luke off, the crowd noise and momentum was really starting to pick up and their fans were ready to explode. The extremely timely forced fumble and recovery put an end to that and their fanbase would not get any louder the rest of the game.

4. Beamer going ballistic had an untalked about effect on the fans there: For much of the first half it felt like much of the Illini crowd was just happy to be there and sit and watch some football. After that Beamer-Bielema exchange, the sea of orange turned into a tempest. Huge swaths of orange stood and cheered with an organized intensity that reminded me of the early 00s through the rest of the game. Momentum had completely shifted and as the game went on, the Illini Fandom and cheers took over the stadium, absolutely dwarfing the South Carolina faithful. The Illini Fandom was no longer just happy to be there, they believed they were they to win. Thanks, Beamer!

5. From multiple South Carolina fans mouths:
5a. They could not believe our physicality. Many said "this was the hardest their players had been hit all season". That we were a "tough physical bruising team" that "pushed them around harder than anyone".
5b. Several said our Illini were "massively underrated" and they had no idea why the national media wasn't higher on us. A few even went to say that "Your Illini are better than 'Bama this season". Yes, straight from their mouths, and they played both Bama and us.
5c. Almost every South Carolina fan I talked to thought both teams played their hearts out and that we were simply the better team. "Better coached", "Smarter", "More physical", "Nastier", "CFP level team". "Illinois deserved to be talked about more as a potential playoff team".
5d. Most said "This was a great game" between "2 really really good teams"

6. The most interesting moment for me was right before that 3rd and 2 McCray run to clinch it. The South Carolina fans were restless, sounds muted for the situation, and one of their fans started shaking Illini fans hands, saying great win. When people were like, dude, there's 2 minutes left, he said "If you run it, we can't stop you. We've got nothing left." I looked to the crowd and saw the hopefulness and belief in all of our Illini fandom's eyes and the total lack of belief in the South Carolina fans, and I thought back to almost every major moment in the past decades where our fans looked like that. Sad, pitiful, depressed, knowing that we're going to lose despite there being all sorts of time and possibilities left. And to see those tables flipped. The feeling was something else. The entire stadium of orange believed we were getting that 1st down.

And then McCray comes bursting through a hole the size of the Grand Canyon. The perfect ending to a masterpiece.

I-L-L my brethren!

Thanks for a great summary!

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

4. Beamer going ballistic had an untalked about effect on the fans there: For much of the first half it felt like much of the Illini crowd was just happy to be there and sit and watch some football. After that Beamer-Bielema exchange, the sea of orange turned into a tempest. Huge swaths of orange stood and cheered with an organized intensity that reminded me of the early 00s through the rest of the game. Momentum had completely shifted and as the game went on, the Illini Fandom and cheers took over the stadium, absolutely dwarfing the South Carolina faithful. The Illini Fandom was no longer just happy to be there, they believed they were they to win. Thanks, Beamer!

I can testify that, before the kerfuffle, I was watching and hoping we’d win. But after that, I REALLY wanted us to win. I suddenly cared a whole lot more!

 

[OrangeBlue98]

Lol I just got on x for the first time in forever man these south Carolina fans are funny and completely delirious .ILL

They’re pretty interesting on The Athletic’s site as well. A couple of them in the comments would clearly do whatever favor Shane Beamer asked them to do.

 

[illini0440]

I just remember how many people on here were so against him being hired . It was a lot .

Bret was hardly well liked in Illiniland

I remember when I first mentioned him as a candidate and I got a lot of messages and responses that people didn’t want him. I tried to tell them he was my number 1 choice between Freeman, Lance and Bret. All the stories about Bret at Wisconsin got taken up a notch after he left(because they wouldn’t give his staff a raise). They were butt hurt by the move Bret made. I could go on as to why it didn’t work out for him at Arkansas but all I’ll say is that Bret does everything above board…..

 

[MoCoMdIllini]

They’re pretty interesting on The Athletic’s site as well. A couple of them in the comments would clearly do whatever favor Shane Beamer asked them to do.

 

[gamecockhater]

I'm so sick of these abc/espn games against their darlings where the bias is so heavy from the announcers. They never once acknowledged that we controlled a great deal of the game and made everything seem like SC was either be wronged or will turn it on at any moment.

Welcome to the world of competing against the SEC where "it just means more". And ESECPN is who you're up against.

 

[Krombopulos_Michael]

I remember when I first mentioned him as a candidate and I got a lot of messages and responses that people didn’t want him. I tried to tell them he was my number 1 choice between Freeman, Lance and Bret. All the stories about Bret at Wisconsin got taken up a notch after he left(because they wouldn’t give his staff a raise). They were butt hurt by the move Bret made. I could go on as to why it didn’t work out for him at Arkansas but all I’ll say is that Bret does everything above board…..

I remember saying at the time of the hire that given where the program was at, he was the “ceiling” candidate we could bring in and probably the best chance to finally sustain success. A young up-and-comer almost assuredly leaves for a more prestigious program. Bret had actually won in a major conference. This felt like he came here to cement his legacy instead.

 

[Retro62]

It still bothers me that ESPN is running commentary calling what Bielema did “taunting.” It’s obvious, and it was referred to by both coaches, that what he did was show the touchback T, and then, palms up, held up his arms asking “why did you do that,” or in the worse case, “ what’s up with that crap.” It was not taunting and it is a perfect example of the media ginning up a story regardless of what the truth is. Disgusting example of poor and biased reporting.

 

[dsg]

Burn

https://twitter.com/x/status/1874498386831065465

 

[ILLNIU97]

It still bothers me that ESPN is running commentary calling what Bielema did “taunting.” It’s obvious, and it was referred to by both coaches, that what he did was show the touchback T, and then, palms up, held up his arms asking “why did you do that,” or in the worse case, “ what’s up with that crap.” It was not taunting and it is a perfect example of the media ginning up a story regardless of what the truth is. Disgusting example of poor and biased reporting.

ESPN in the new flagship of the SEC not surprising so not surprised on the stance they took. I find it hilarious that they thought the whole time he was taunting their slow substitutions ( something most teams do). I used to think that outside of Daddy getting him his job Shane Beamer was an OK person.. this game showed him to be a cry-baby and a hot head IMO

 

[BZuppke]

I remember when I first mentioned him as a candidate and I got a lot of messages and responses that people didn’t want him. I tried to tell them he was my number 1 choice between Freeman, Lance and Bret. All the stories about Bret at Wisconsin got taken up a notch after he left(because they wouldn’t give his staff a raise). They were butt hurt by the move Bret made. I could go on as to why it didn’t work out for him at Arkansas but all I’ll say is that Bret does everything above board…..

I was for him as well - what we’ve lacked for decades - a power 5/4 coach who knows how to win. We could not continue to take chances on unproven coordinators, nfl coaches, MAC head coaches et al.

 

[BZuppke]

Don’t know if we said much about this but we possessed the ball for about 10 1/2 minutes of the 4th Qtr. The TD drive was about 7 1/2 minutes long

 

[OrangeBlue98]

I was for him as well - what we’ve lacked for decades - a power 5/4 coach who knows how to win. We could not continue to take chances on unproven coordinators, nfl coaches, MAC head coaches et al.

I was personally all in on Leipold. A lot of the things many have said about Bielema also applied to Leipold without some of the baggage that I felt Bielema would carry from Wisconsin and Arkansas. I felt like Leipold had won everywhere he had been and in some less than ideal circumstances, and that he would look at Illinois as a destination job unlike the next hot coordinator who would jump if there were a couple years of success.

But honestly, in hindsight the Bielema hire made so much sense. Bielema knew how to win in the Big Ten. He had a defined style of play that was based more on player development than being able to just recruit the top talent like OSU and Notre Dame are able to do. Most importantly, what I felt was his biggest liability was actually his biggest asset. He was p!$$ed off about what had happened in his previous head coaching roles. He had something to prove to himself and to a lot of people who doubted him, and he was going to enjoy proving that he belonged.

So like I said, I was absolutely wrong and am very happy I was wrong.

 

[Illinir1]

What’s the odds that we see a new rule by the NCAA by next season regarding some aspect of T-barring? Thinking a letter gets sent to them regarding player safety and something gets finalized. Probable result: Beamer probably can’t do that anymore going forward.

Would be yet another NCAA rule change because of something that happened to an Illinois team.

 

[mhuml32]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1874508023601021311

 

[foby]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1874508023601021311

LMAO at the comments. I mean, I guess since PB wasn't there to scorch them they don't really know much about it.

 

[Illinir1]

I still wanted a review of the previous play. I thought Beatty was in.

Does anyone have a still, or slow motion capture of the end of Beatty's catch and run to the pylon? I've watched the recorded play several times and can't stop it to capture a definitive spot. The sideline referee is trailing the play by about 7 yards and runs to spot it at the 1/2 yard line with apparent confidence. The Illini probably didn't do themselves any favors by going fast to line up and hand off to McCray. Very disturbing that the telecast crew never questioned the Beatty tackle spot and there was never a replay of the spot. That play and the next play, the McCray "fumble" could have cost us the game.

 

[tcb13]

Trying to get grips on the "Trick" play. So, the SC player indicated by outstretch arms that we would not return, but then he caught the ball and started running. Not sure I''m understand the play......anybody help?

Over the past several years, all levels of football have implemented changes to try to decrease the high-velocity collisions that occur during kick offs and punts. That was the injury aspect Bret was mentioning, this play was a kick off. By doing the T-Bar signal (which is not a legal or recognized gesture in college football rules but is commonly used), the Illinois defenders would have "let up" a little not expecting a play. However, all of South Carolina knew what was happening. The receiver, on the far side of the field, made the signal, made the catch, then walked 2-3 steps forward as Illini defenders peeled off and did not make any attempt to defend him. All of the sudden, he lateralled the ball to the near side of the end zone and SC went on the attack. It's sort of like sticking your hand out like you want to shake hands, then slapping the person when they let their guard down. That's why you see Bret make the signal towards the sideline, then put his palms up as if to say "What was that?"

In general, I do not love coaches making a spectacle of themselves, but I do feel they should protect their players at all costs.

 

[NickBardoGill]

It still bothers me that ESPN is running commentary calling what Bielema did “taunting.” It’s obvious, and it was referred to by both coaches, that what he did was show the touchback T, and then, palms up, held up his arms asking “why did you do that,” or in the worse case, “ what’s up with that crap.” It was not taunting and it is a perfect example of the media ginning up a story regardless of what the truth is. Disgusting example of poor and biased reporting.

Cheese and Wine Game. The Citrus Bowl brought the Cheez (Its) and Shane Beamer brought the w(h)ine!

 

[Illinir1]

Does anyone have a still, or slow motion capture of the end of Beatty's catch and run to the pylon? I've watched the recorded play several times and can't stop it to capture a definitive spot. The sideline referee is trailing the play by about 7 yards and runs to spot it at the 1/2 yard line with apparent confidence. The Illini probably didn't do themselves any favors by going fast to line up and hand off to McCray. Very disturbing that the telecast crew never questioned the Beatty tackle spot and there was never a replay of the spot. That play and the next play, the McCray "fumble" could have cost us the game.

I went back and captured this. In the two frames before this one Beatty is being pulled down by the defender and lands on top of the defender, in bounds, not touching the ground. This is the first frame where Beatty is actually touching the ground. And the referee can accurately spot the ball from his position?????

 

[AutoPoster 3000]

Transcript of the ESPN tv call for the go-ahead score, 7:29 4th quarter

Mark Jones: Laughery into the boundary, nowhere to go, got rocked. Deebo Williams looked like he took Laughery’s bike there. You could hear the shoulder pads popping down on the field. Third and three.

Roddy Jones: Now that they get closer to the goal line, those windows are going to shrink for Luke Altmyer. The two guys he’s been going to consistently on third down, 4 Zakhari Franklin and 80, Hank Beatty.

Mark Jones: Franklin in motion. They fake the jet sweep. McCray, touchdown Illinois!

34 SECONDS OF SILENCE.

Mark Jones: Three point game and the second touchdown today for Josh McCray.

Roddy Jones: (silence)

Mark Jones: When you aggregate the numbers between McCray and Laughery you got one of the best 1-2 punches in the conference.

Roddy Jones: (silence)

Mark Jones: Extra point is good, the lead up to four.

Roddy Jones: (silence)

Mark Jones: With the vitriol still apparently flowing just enough, heightened sensitivities down in the field, and a great finish coming up.

Commercial

 

[GrayGhost77]

Now back home from the game and man what a game it was. I still can't stop grinning ear to ear getting to see one of the greatest wins in the entirety of my Illini Fandom. There's a lot to say about the game, but much of that has been said in the 26 previous pages. But what I can add is my experience with South Carolina fans:

The stadium was probably nearing 60/40 Carolina as it looked like the SEC side was a bit fuller than the B10 side despite more tickets being sold on the B10 side. As well there were a large amount of Carolina fans who bought up sides in the first few rows on the B10 side. I was in one of those areas 2 rows from the field with more Gamecocks fans around me than Illini fans (though I was right next to Declan Duley's girlfriend- more on that later).

1. Overall I thought their fans were nice, respectful, and were good company who were there to cheer for their team. There's always bad apples, but honestly, I walked away more appreciative of them than what I saw of their coach and team on the field.

2. The Carolina fanbase seemed more organized and louder especially at the beginning of the game. However, they couldn't sustain that intensity for any large amount of time as the play of our team took them out of it.

3. When Carolina went up 10-7 and picked Luke off, the crowd noise and momentum was really starting to pick up and their fans were ready to explode. The extremely timely forced fumble and recovery put an end to that and their fanbase would not get any louder the rest of the game.

4. Beamer going ballistic had an untalked about effect on the fans there: For much of the first half it felt like much of the Illini crowd was just happy to be there and sit and watch some football. After that Beamer-Bielema exchange, the sea of orange turned into a tempest. Huge swaths of orange stood and cheered with an organized intensity that reminded me of the early 00s through the rest of the game. Momentum had completely shifted and as the game went on, the Illini Fandom and cheers took over the stadium, absolutely dwarfing the South Carolina faithful. The Illini Fandom was no longer just happy to be there, they believed they were they to win. Thanks, Beamer!

5. From multiple South Carolina fans mouths:
5a. They could not believe our physicality. Many said "this was the hardest their players had been hit all season". That we were a "tough physical bruising team" that "pushed them around harder than anyone".
5b. Several said our Illini were "massively underrated" and they had no idea why the national media wasn't higher on us. A few even went to say that "Your Illini are better than 'Bama this season". Yes, straight from their mouths, and they played both Bama and us.
5c. Almost every South Carolina fan I talked to thought both teams played their hearts out and that we were simply the better team. "Better coached", "Smarter", "More physical", "Nastier", "CFP level team". "Illinois deserved to be talked about more as a potential playoff team".
5d. Most said "This was a great game" between "2 really really good teams"

6. The most interesting moment for me was right before that 3rd and 2 McCray run to clinch it. The South Carolina fans were restless, sounds muted for the situation, and one of their fans started shaking Illini fans hands, saying great win. When people were like, dude, there's 2 minutes left, he said "If you run it, we can't stop you. We've got nothing left." I looked to the crowd and saw the hopefulness and belief in all of our Illini fandom's eyes and the total lack of belief in the South Carolina fans, and I thought back to almost every major moment in the past decades where our fans looked like that. Sad, pitiful, depressed, knowing that we're going to lose despite there being all sorts of time and possibilities left. And to see those tables flipped. The feeling was something else. The entire stadium of orange believed we were getting that 1st down.

And then McCray comes bursting through a hole the size of the Grand Canyon. The perfect ending to a masterpiece.

I-L-L my brethren!

So...anything tidbits from being next to Declan Duley's gf? Any insight on why he entered the portal? We really need a punter.

 

[Ghost77]

I know there's many South Carolina fans, general CFB fans, and national media that are saying we played unethical, dirty, insert adjective here. And while we certainly did nothing against the rules, I can see where they are coming from. But do I care? Absolutely not. And why don't I care? Because of all the !!!! we've had to put up with time and time again. Conference disfavor, horrible calls, opponents getting the edge on us, and inept buffoonery for coaching. It's always Illinois and it never matters. Oh giving some athletes some dough which every school is doing but owning up to it, death penalty and lucky we don't kick you out of the league. Oh sorry on those plays we messed up, we'll expand football replay but still screw you. Horrible call for out of bounds possession in that tournament game, oh well, we'll get replay at the end of games going forward. Absurd targeting calls, techs for hanging on rims, opponent trickery getting the best of us, and strings of coaches who rarely figured out how to exploit the game to gain every advantage and instead end up making us look like clowns. Feels pretty damn good to see it go the other way in a big moment for once, and in this case, it all started with a competent staff that knows how to run a football program. Masterpiece theatre. Illinois against everyone.

 

[KyBourbon]

I know there's many South Carolina fans, general CFB fans, and national media that are saying we played unethical, dirty, insert adjective here. And while we certainly did nothing against the rules, I can see where they are coming from. But do I care? Absolutely not. And why don't I care? Because of all the !!!! we've had to put up with time and time again. Conference disfavor, horrible calls, opponents getting the edge on us, and inept buffoonery for coaching. It's always Illinois and it never matters. Oh giving some athletes some dough which every school is doing but owning up to it, death penalty and lucky we don't kick you out of the league. Oh sorry on those plays we messed up, we'll expand football replay but still screw you. Horrible call for out of bounds possession in that tournament game, oh well, we'll get replay at the end of games going forward. Absurd targeting calls, techs for hanging on rims, opponent trickery getting the best of us, and strings of coaches who rarely figured out how to exploit the game to gain every advantage and instead end up making us look like clowns. Feels pretty damn good to see it go the other way in a big moment for once, and in this case, it all started with a competent staff that knows how to run a football program. Masterpiece theatre. Illinois against everyone.

I thought I was the only one that felt this way. Amen brother, well said!