Illinois football pulls off the upset against South Carolina with a thrilling 21-17 victory, notching the program's fifth-ever 10-win season. Mike Carpenter reacts from his hotel in Orlando after attending the game, an intense evening with some fireworks between Bret Bielema and Shane Beamer. A solid defensive game plan, effective offense, and yet another 4th quarter comeback propel the Illini to their biggest win yet in a 2024 season chock full of them.
The 200 Level with Mike Carpenter: A Fighting Illini Fan Podcast
Citrus Bowl Champs! (12/31/24)
It is the 200 level mic carpenter in Orlando, Florida, back in the hotel room, trying to unsuccessfully come down from the high that I am riding from that Citrus Bull win. Now, you can tell from my voice, it was that type of game. I will be collecting my thoughts and trying to be semi-elequent today, but I don't know how well I'm going to do with that. That was, without hyperbole, maybe the most fun I've had in the line-eye football game in my life. And there have been, fortunately, the Beelma era, a few memorable moments, of course, the Michigan game this year as a day top to bottom, was hard to beat, and will remain so because of everything surrounding it. The Kansas game early this year, the kind of signal that you were going to have a good season, that was a big moment too, but there's something so validating about this win against this South Carolina team, and to be there in person at what was probably a 60/40 split, 55/45, a slight inch for South Carolina fans, even sitting next to a few of them that were very nice, but nonetheless, the enemy, you want to beat them. And to be on the winning end of that game, with all the emotions riding high the way that they did, with everything that transpired, we will talk about Brett Beelma and Frank Beamer. And the more I'm watching clips of this, the more unbelievable it really is. It was so special to be there. I just feel lucky because I've talked about this podcast, have the Citrus Bowl, while not the Rose Bowl, and not a college football playoff or anything, has some meaning to me. And I think a lot of college football fans in general, it's a bowl game with a lot of cachet, and one that I grew up watching and always thinking, "Oh, that's nice, if you're Michigan, you're in the Citrus Bowl every three, four years. If you're Wisconsin or Iowa, same thing." It was always the very good programs that made it to the Citrus Bowl in the years where maybe they weren't quite good enough to make it to the BCS. In other words, if you were in the Citrus Bowl representing the Big Ten, you were one of the best teams in the Big Ten. And after what happened today against a South Carolina team that was pegged, rightfully so, as one of the hottest teams in the nation, you showed that you were in fact one of the best teams in the Big Ten. Not just the sort of, "Oh, you're nine in three, you're a cute story, a lot of bounces want your ways." It's not bad anymore. That nine in three is if it needed any more validation, is all the more legitimized with what happened today. Ten in three by itself is a special record for a program like Illinois, and really for that matter, ten wins for any program is a big freaking deal. But for this team to do it this season with yet another fourth quarter comeback, another game-winning drive, the defense coming up big when they needed to the most, right in front of me. I was so lucky to be down by that end zone for some big plays in today's game. What right there is why I would probably circle this as the best experience that I've had at an Alanae football game. And I think the reason I err or tend to side on that part of the argument is because there seems to be, after a win like this, a little bit more juice behind the idea that maybe Brett Bilema and this program have arrived in some way, shape, or form. And this is to me the crux of it. The most impressive thing from Brett Bilema and what he's done with this program is not winning ten games. That of course is impressive in and of itself. But to me the most impressive thing that he's done is really take an entire fan base's notion of what Alanae football is and turned it on its head. What he has done is really rid this program and this fan base of all the sort of toxic ideas that we have that could be felt in Memorial Stadium and close games for most of my life. That could be felt that wherever you were watching in a way game, whether it be in the garage or a man cave or a bar, always expecting the other shoe to drop and in fairness to Alanae fans, all too often it has. So it's only natural to say, well, I don't feel so good about this. And I bet some of those feelings might have crept in a little bit today, but I got to be honest, I'm not just saying this to sound like a Nostradamus or like I knew anything more than anybody else watching that game. But even after the fumble at the one, even after that, my mind did not go to the, ugh, that's so Illinois. And credit to Belama, my mind has not done that much at all this year. And even last year with the disappointments of five and seven, which felt like a very Alanae season, I noticed it didn't feel that way to the same extent as 2002 maybe or 2021, which I guess it's a little bit different as first year point being that if Illinois under breppy Elma loses a game, it is no longer, oh, we're Illinois football and we're doomed to mediocrity or worse. That's done. And what has replaced it is what so many of the fan bases and programs have been able to experience, which is, you know, a normal existence. Oh, we lost today's game. Okay. Bummer. Move on. I mean, think of it this way, and Illinois lost today's game. We would have talked about a few plays. We would have talked about the fumble of the one yard line and how cool is it that Josh McCray gets that redemption so to speak with the 60 yarder to put that game on ice late after what happened early. But no, we would have been talking about that and we would have been talking about a few other places. Well, maybe the onside kick that didn't work though that didn't really bite you because you stopped them on defense. Maybe some missed opportunities on offense and other drives where you just weren't able to quite get things going. But I don't think we would have had a conversation of Illinois football, just one you thought you could trust them. They do that. No. But here we are on the other side of that where not only are we not having that conversation, the conversation we've had so many times where Illinois football has disappointed us. Therefore, we are doomed to eternal damnation as a football program. Instead, we are on the complete opposite side where we get to revel in this victory for as long as we damn well, please up until game one on September 1st, whatever it is, 2025. We get to sit and soak in this feeling at the end of a season in a way that I have never been able to as an Illinois football fan. 2001, yet in the sugar bowl, it was a great season, but LSU gave you a slice of humble pie, so to speak. And yeah, you were lost by 13, but you were down by as many as four scores. It was not really a close game, and you felt it. 2007, I was at the Rose Bowl. Cool to attend it. Glad that I had checked it off the old bucket list, but that game sucked. And unfortunately, it was a harbinger of things to come for runs that are going forward. We've won bowl games in my life. We won the Texas Bowl, beat RG3 to go 7 and 6. We won the Craftite Hunger Bowl, which I think was our last bowl win before this one. And I guess in 1999, he had a really impressive one in the Micron PC. But this right here, to get your first ever program win, it's an SEC team that many were calling the hottest team in the country, a team that was worthy potentially of a look in the college football playoff, a team that was favored by two scores in a bowl game against another nine-win team that was only five spots beneath him in the AP poll. All of these factors contribute to this being potentially the biggest win in Illinois football recent history. And if I were to think about the biggest wins in my lifetime and what they could mean for the program going forward, this is at the very top of the list. And what a cool place to be where I can be sitting in this hotel room, and I know the sound quality is not as good as when I'm at home, but this computer does fine. And just sitting here and just trying to kind of wrap my head around what just happened and how that doesn't happen to Illinois, but actually let me rephrase that. It hasn't happened until now. And because of kind of the historic significance of this and the fact that we can talk about this being the first time Illinois did this or the first time they did that or the fourth or fifth time ever they've won 10 games in the season, we can have those conversations about potentially having turned the page as a program and kind of rid ourselves of all this negativity that used to so easily seep into things and instead replace it with just unbridled optimism for what Brett Beelima can do. So before I get too far ahead of myself, I want to remind you that 200 levels brought to you by Hamilton Walkers, downtown Champagne, Steak, Seafood and Spirits, appreciate them for being sponsored this season, what a football season was, and they'll continue with us through basketball. I met with a fan yesterday that listened to the podcast and specifically mentioned the Hamilton Walkers reads and that they love going there too. I have to pay off a bet in January coming up here at Hamilton Walkers, so I'm excited to get back there. I would eat there every week if I could, and the cool thing is it's not just fancy dinners or anything like that. You want to go out with your partner or something like that, totally fine, but it can be very informal, pre-game meals, they've got a menu, very expansive all the way from filet mignon to a really good hamburger. And I will say as far as hamburgers in Champagne or Banna, you cannot beat this one, Hamilton Walkers. Steak, Seafood and Spirits, and downtown Champagne. Stayed for our major Brian Hanson online at brianismighguy.com for life auto home business renters. You name it. Brian is my guy and he could be your guy as well. I know Brian is probably beaming as well right now, big time Alonai fan, and I don't know if he came down to Orlando or not, but wherever he was watching it, no, he had a good time as well. And I can say that for me and Cara, there's no other insurance person we'd want to work with. And Brian has been great with us for the God coming up on four or five years that we've been with him. Brian Hanson, stay farm agent at brianismighguy.com. Also talk down, hitting your own plumbing, your home's best friend. Give them a call at 217-841-4728. And if you need to make sure that your furnaces operating, especially considering the cold streak and potential winter storm that will be arriving this weekend, it's not too late. Yes, of course, tomorrow is New Year's Day, probably not going to be able to get them as they deserve a holiday themselves, but they are very quick to get out to check your HVAC system and make sure it is operating perfectly. That's talk down, hitting your own plumbing, your home's best friend, 217-841-4728. And finally, got to thank Owen Builders LLC. I saw Luke and his wife at the point yesterday for the Pepper Alley, so it was good to see Luke. Big ton of line I fan and probably like me and all of you beaming as well. And when the dust is settled, then we get back to our lives and champagne and you need a home project to get done and get done well. Check out a gallery at Owen Builders LLC.com and see all the great work they can do for your home. It's Owen Builders LLC.com. Champagne showers, podcasts, network, appreciate them and appreciate you. Know YouTube tonight. The Wi-Fi is okay here, but we're just going audio just to be kind of on the safe side of things as far as connection is concerned. And I will, as far as feedback, be opening up the listener mailbag on Twitter, where I just simply ask this question. Alana fans, what did that sit for school when mean to you? Let's talk about the game itself. I woke up this morning and tried to get a gut feeling as to how this game would go. And I just didn't really have any feeling one way or the other, but I did talk to Jeremy Warner yesterday at the point and it was after the Pepper Alley and he popped into, I think it was a sport and social club, did a big Alanae event afterwards. So I'm in there with a few friends, talk to Jeremy, say hello to Joey and I tended to agree with Jeremy's assessment, which was this would be a one score game, but that South Carolina was probably just good enough to be on the winning side of it and that, hey, no harm, no foul. If that's what it would have ended up being, I don't think I would have left that stadium upset. It would have been darn would have been nice to win that, but nine and four totally fair. So the game is going on or the day is going on leading up to the game and I may be uttered two or three times total, whether it be to the friends I was with or even just like an inner monologue. Man, what if we won today? And I think everyone I fan did that. I know Harry and I did that about three or four times last night on the podcast, but how much of a consideration was it? I don't know because I was trying to be realistic about it, but also be fair to the fact that Illinois got two, nine and three for a reason that they wore a good team. And actually, I would say very good, even at nine and three. Great. No. Were they college football playoff caliber? I don't think so. And that was okay with me. So if they could just show up in this game and show that they belonged, I was not going to leave feeling empty. So get in the stadium, South Carolina's band comes on, Illinois's band comes on. It's only my second bowl game that I've been to and it's amazing how these little signifiers from home marching band, or even just being in the company about other Illinois fans, you can be 15 hours away from Champaign Urbana and still feel like you're in some bizarro world version of Champaign Urbana. I mean, it felt like home away from home and that's the cool thing about bowl games. There's enough of those little branches that are kind of keeping you rooted with where you came from. And I don't know. Like marching along, they do their thing and it's like, all right, yeah. What the hell? Like that's when the juices start flowing and you're in the stadium and you start thinking, okay, really, no, what if, what if teams come out, game starts. And by holding South Carolina to a field goal on, let's see, that we went three and out really quick. They go down, they get three. Okay. Fine. You can take that. The defense today was all going to be then not break and that that would give you a chance as long as you avoided giving up big plays like you did, it gets an organ, for example. Thing is South Carolina's offense had been pretty explosive in the last six games. So it felt like a taller task than some of your earlier games this season. It certainly felt like it was going to be, man, if you can keep them under 30, then maybe Luke can get things rolling offensively. Well, they get their three, we get the ball back, we're going down and in the end zone that we were at, which if you were watching on TV, the Illinois sideline was at the bottom of the camera. So we were on the right side of the Illinois sideline and that deep pat, not deep pass, but that little crossing pattern to Hank Beatty, they got them all the way down to the one and a half yard line. And I don't know how he didn't get in, we're buzzing on, people are going nuts, right? And rounds like holy crap, like we might be able to do this. And it's amazing the difference one play can make where you think, oh, we are capable of explosive plays, even it gets to South Carolina. And then next play, hand off to Josh McCray, whether it was a fumble or not, I don't know if there was ever a good replay on it and they never showed a replay in the stadium. They went to the break and they never even reviewed it. And then I'm thinking to myself, gosh, dang, like, okay, don't overreact. Don't fall into the pit of despair that so often happens in Illinois football. It's an awful play at the worst possible time, but there are literally still 55 minutes left in this game. This is still relatively early in the first quarter. Well, the way the rest of the first half unfold, that you did get a touchdown is a very frequent, unbelievable catch in the end zone of the pylon. That's a very end of the first quarter. So you go in seven to three and that's how you go into halftime. The second quarter, I have this great opportunity where I went to the game today with an old friend from Urbana High School and he has been a lawyer down in Florida for a while. He was in Orlando for about five or six years and I was in Tampa and it just so happened that someone that he worked with at his law firm is in a family that has been part of the Citrus Bowl board for decades and literally the trophy for the Citrus Bowl is named after this former coworker of his grandpa. So we get field access. We're a few minutes into the second quarter, Illinois's up seven to three and all of a sudden I am on the left side of the Illinois sideline, literally on the sideline, watching the second quarter, which is where we stayed for that whole quarter. Not much happens, neither team can really get anything going offensively. You end with South Carolina missing their field goal and thinking, damn, after all that, you're leading seven to three and objectively looked like the better team. Would you rather have been up 14 to three? Sure. But I think we would all agree that we would have taken that spot seven to three, no matter how you got there. And that's a pretty good place to go into halftime. So halftime comes and goes. We say we end up leaving that spot sideline to go back to our seats and think my buddy's friends for the awesome opportunity. I mean, there is something different about being that close to the action and what was really cool, they could be expansive the Citrus Bowl itself and what seemed to be a really good crowd. I know the upper decks were not sold out. I don't think they ever sold out for this game. And that was a truly kind of out of body experience. In fact, I've never been on the sideline for any Illinois football game. I mean, why would I be? I'm not covering them for once. I'm not going to get the media access and I don't have that many friends in high places. So it was just really serendipitous to be able to experience that. Second half starts and then South Carolina, well, first off, let's talk about the onsite kick, which at the moment and at hindsight, I love. To me, this was the really beginning of the game garnering some significant juice. The onsite kick, damn near worked, Matt Bredesich had it in his hands and I know those are tough to corral, South Carolina recovers it and then you get him three and out. No harm, no foul. It was a worthwhile endeavor. I appreciated that was what Brett B and my thought to do. And he also even spoke afterwards about the reason he did it was even if we don't get it, I trust my defense. And I knew that was the subtext of it. When we didn't recover it, I thought, listen, the defense was just told, you got this and sure enough, they did one of their better possessions of the game. So how does this work? You get the ball back, you have an opportunity to go up two scores, but you can't capitalize on it. Then South Carolina gets the ball back and I believe that was the drive. Oh, no, it was not the broken coverage drive, but it was a touchdown drive for them to go up 10 to seven. All right. We had a ball game. They were bound to score. We were not going to keep them out of the end zone. Fine. What does Illinois do? They go right back down to the score. So indicative of this team and everything that they have done this year, when things look bleak, when the other team looks to be garnering momentum, Illinois snatches it right back. And we get in the fourth quarter and there was the broken coverage. I think Jeheem Clark missed his guy and that led to what, a 40 yarder down the field. South Carolina eventually punches it in, but this, my friends, is where it got really fun. This is where the game took on an entirely new dynamic. I don't know if it was that player or play or two later, but Jeheem Clark went down and he was on the sideline and the South Carolina sideline are right next to it. And Beelah goes over to check on. Now from our vantage point, we're on the other end of the field. So we can only really rely on the scoreboard, but it was doing all the sorts of things that would happen during a timeout. So jeez, it's promos, essentially. Anyway, all of a sudden, it looks as if there is a South Carolina coach barking at our guys. And it first is like, what is he yelling at Jeheem Clark or our injured player? What is he doing? And I thought it was probably just a South Carolina assistant coach. No, it was Frank Beamer. Now as all of a sudden folds, I'm relying, and so is Isaac, because he was at the game as well. We are relying on Trevor to give us basically the play by play as to what the hell happened. And it was even more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I like Trevor want the image of Brett Beelah holding the substitution two arms outstretched. I want that on a T-shirt like no other T-shirt I could ever dream up for a line of football. And I'm going to get in the significance of this moment here in a bit, but let's just appreciate at face value, how freaking funny this is. At first blush, it looks like, because this has been some gamesmanship going on. South Carolina kept substituting guys, and just like the Michigan game, we utilize that to substitute in some of our own guys. Gamesmanship, that's totally by the book, no big deal. So at first, it looks like Brett Beelah is just straight up trolling him. And I'll be honest, if that's all it was, I'm okay with that. I'm an Illinois football fan. We got a chip on our shoulder. Our coach has a chip on his shoulder. It only fits, I always found the word classy to be so overused. I don't need my coach to be classy. I need him to win, I need him to have an edge, I need him to be a bit of a badass. And that moment was, in so many words, badass. So we hold it up, Frank Beamer is going nuts. And then the sidelines, it looks for a second like they might queer, and oh my god, we're going to have a full lump brawl. Now credit to some of the Illinois staffers, the ones that wore colored polos, a yellow polo, green polo, I noticed. I think Artsakowski is light blue, but some of these younger staffers are doing a good job of crowning the guys. I think I even spotted Melvin Priestley getting some of the other guys back to the sideline. And Melvin, coming in, was known as a guy that had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. And man, will he avoid the penalties? Well, for the most part, other than the Rutgers game, and those were false starts. No one sports a mic or anything like that. He totally did this year and seemed to be a leader in that moment. So okay, tempers calmed down, the stadium's going nuts though, but both sides are just absolutely into it because now they see their teams all fired up. And then Trevor gives us the play by play. And I want to read this and I hope we've texted quite a bit after the game, but this is what Trevor had said about things as they unfolded. Let me pull this. Okay, Brett went right over to the South Carolina huddle and held the substitution hand signal where you hold your arms out. He was taunting them and then he just got them to bite on the substitution play again. Beemer said, according to web readers, this is from Trevor, I'm going to blanking kill him. You can imagine what Warder is in there for blanking. And as Trevor said, Brett was seen smiling. Now, I have been back in the hotel for about an hour and probably about 20 of those minutes. I've been perusing Twitter to find any and every angle that I can of this. It is absolutely beautiful. Frank Beemer was in fact going absolutely nuts on the sideline. Brett Beoma had a shit eating grin on his face on our sideline when it was all over. And if you will pardon my French, I don't think I've ever said this on the podcast. Frank Beemer came off quite frankly, like a bitch never said on the podcast. I know that's two curse words in 30 seconds. I do apologize for that, but let's be real in this Twitter environment where things go viral at the drop of a hat. That's all it took for Brett Beelema to elicit laughter from college football fans. I said, damn that Coach Beelema he's he's got some got some swag. And for Frank Beemer to look like a little dope, it is beautiful. And here's why, I mean, it's beautiful at surface level. It was great theater. It added some juice to the game. But as I'm going to get to in a reply on Twitter when I just asked like, why did that win mean to you? Someone specifically mentioned that, wait a second, for a little bit, we were kind of the bully. Illinois football got under the other team's skin. Our head coach got under the other head coaches skin. Huh, what world am I living in where this is even a possibility? So I have had so much fun watching and viewing all these things on Twitter specifically, whether it be memes that are already going around the internet of what happened between Beelema and Beemer. And it'll be talked about tomorrow at halftime shows of the college football playoff games and will be talked about if there is a college game made tomorrow, which I would assume there is somewhere. And some will not like what Beelema did, but most college football fans that don't get too worked up about things or don't get offended will think, damn, that's, that's kind of funny. And you know what, as an Illini fan, I'm not going to apologize for a coach having a chip on a shoulder. I'm not going to apologize for him having some attitude. We need that as a program. We do. And yeah, did it drive me nuts a little bit last year when he had a lot of grievances with officials and certain calls that were made? Yeah, it did. Totally did. Why? Because we weren't winning. When you're winning, that actually plays really well. And you can, in fact, I think in one, on one hand, be a successful program. And on the other, still maintain a chip on your shoulder. The reason I bring that up is because let's say Illinois somehow finds consistent relevance. And let's say this game was a launching off point for that. I don't think that means they're going to lose their edge because when Beelema is your head coach, that edge will remain. He's never milked toast. I got to give him that he's not boring. And you never question whether or not he really cares. And of course, all these coaches do, but there's a an underlying passion it feels like to the way that he coaches, the way he talks about football that is just very apparent. And I appreciate that. And it's something that Illinois needs. They can't just have a guy like Lovey Smith, for example, who, it was just another gig for Lovey Smith. But Beelema so much spoke about this after the game where he talked about the opportunity he got from Josh Whitman. He even mentioned Chancellor Jones in that when he, as Beelema put it, I think, got let go of or relieved of his duties at his last job. He basically bowed to himself, man, if I get another opportunity this, I'm going to do it right. Like I know what to do. I know what I want my program to look like that's what I'm going to do and I'm going to do it the way that I want to do it. And that's exactly what's happening now. So to me, Beelema is, he spoke about afterwards with this substitution sign. He was not taunting in his words, and again, you can believe him or some believe in whatever. He was not taunting South Carolina, so much as he was making a point based off of their kickoff return, which was weird. That was in the end zone where Rob was sitting where they didn't call a fair catch. You had Illinois players barreling down and then they tried that stupid, not lateral. Well, I guess it was a lateral, technically was behind him and then tried some trickeration. By the way, can I just say how sweet it is that South Carolina loses this game after all this stupid crap they were trying to pull? Yes, we tried an on-site kick. We had a flea flicker that resulted in an eight-yard gain from Malik Elsie. But when you consider the fake field goal with an amazing play by Ryan Mead, and when you consider that lateral on the kickoff return that only got them the 25, so it was as good as a touch back. You know what, South Carolina, Frank Beamer specifically screw you, pal. You look like a dope. You got too cute. And you got outplayed. Illinois outplayed South Carolina today. A South Carolina team and fan base that spoke about how much this game meant to them. It meant more to Illinois, at least based on what we saw in the field today. I mean, that is Yeoman's work from this coaching staff from Rep. Yeoman, because I don't doubt that South Carolina wanted to win that game. They didn't waltz in there like, eh, you know, ho-hum. But I will say this, this unique anecdote from Luke Altmeier after the game. He said that the team was at a fan fest, or a fun fest, or something rather the last day or two. And the guys in South Carolina were calling Illinois players Syracuse. Couple things, one that may or may not be true. I'll give you an example of that. Back in 1997, Illinois lost to Chattanooga, and afterwards, Chattanooga's coach said that Illinois could be heard in the opposing locker room celebrating before the game even started. Do we actually believe that happened? I don't know. Did some South Carolina players actually say Illinois, oh, you're Syracuse or whatever? Maybe, maybe not. But that's what Luke heard, and that's what other players heard, or that's what they believed. And this slight, this disrespect, they channeled that. So I do think there's something to be said, maybe not about South Carolina arrogance, but SEC arrogance. And if there was a moment where that meatball fan of me came out today, it was after the illegal substitution thing, and dumb ass Frank Beamer continues to substitute all the way to a way of game as if to make a point. It was a manhood measuring contest at that point, and below the one leading to a completely pointless the way of game, all because Frank Beamer had to be assured to get the last substitution in. And at that moment, I couldn't help it, and I don't want to sound like some wannabe Ivy Uyghur that Illinois is the greatest school since whatever, but I think I want something to look like that's that SEC education. And then I stop myself, I'm like, Jesus, Kirk, what are you doing? Don't go down that row, but it's like, wait a second, screw the SEC. Ever since the college football players were announced, they've been so far up their own ass about how good they are, and today we get in Michigan beating Alabama, and we get Illinois beating South Carolina, two teams that fancy themselves, college football playoff teams, and they can't beat a seven to five Michigan team in South Carolina with their wonder-themed quarterback, and their vaunted defensive line can't stop Illinois when it counts. As Brett Beoma said after the game, it was not televised, but he said this at the podium when they accepted the trophy, and I'm paraphrasing, he said, "Yo, hey, that South Carolina was a good team, but I got to be honest." He feels really good to be the SEC, and he was saying that for Illinois, first SEC win, but he was saying it for himself, I'm sure, as someone that was trying to lobby for his team to get the college football playoff, but was completely overshadowed by the likes of Lane Kiffin, and all the other talking heads that were just espousing how good the SEC was. Well, listen, the SEC is a good conference. They have won many more national titles than any conference in football in the last 20, 25 years. There's a reason why they had an argument, but they are not backing it up worth a crap right now, and Illinois pulled out, perhaps, the most surprising win of all, which you could say, "Well, what about Michigan vs Alabama?" Alabama didn't want to be there. We knew it. You could sense it from the beginning of that rely quest poll, despite really no opt-outs. I mean, no role played. Alabama couldn't be bothered, and that was kind of what I wanted them in the first place, but he got South Carolina that, "Oh, man, we can't wait to be there, what a great season for us," and there's something about not just the underdog role, but recognizing that the other team also expected to just walk in there and beat you by a few scores. They expected that, and how sweet it is that as this game is unfolding, and then we take the lead, and then we get the stop, and the moment, the moment, Josh McCray, 60-yard run. If I were to think about the most memorable plays this season, Pepperine Rocker is a special. The Tanner Arkin fake punt against Michigan. Big moment. Xavier Scott picked sixes, Kansas was an arrival moment of sorts. Like, "Oh, this is a pretty good team," but that Josh McCray run, which all been in it the game, right? I mean, it was put it on ice pretty much, was maybe the most euphoric moment I've had watching Illinois football. I mean, what would the competition be here? Beating Ohio State, but that was an eight-minute drive where juice helps you seal, right? So there wasn't that signature single play. There was a fourth down where they got the first, but the pure ovation seeing Josh McCray break through that line, and all that daylight, and knowing that by the time he got down, this game was over, and you were, in fact, going to win the Citrus Bowl. I mean, come on, man. Wherever you were at, you know, whether this was akin to Terrence Shannon getting the seal and dunk. I don't know if it was or not, but it wasn't that far, because that was when you put the game on ice in an explosive fashion. So I wanted to singularly shout out that play because that's probably the biggest reason my voice is in the shape that it's in right now. And for someone that really embodies everything that Brett Bioma once in this program, his first recruit, the guy that, you know, they call the fumble on that first touchdown and who's the one that puts it on ice for you and has 114 yards total. So it's not like he was productive before that run. It was already a good game for Josh McCray, but he caps it off like that. I mean, so cool, imminently likable, easy to root for, injury concerns throughout most of his career. And then he is so integral to this team's success, and frankly got better as the year went on. He was really good back by the end of it and felt kind of like the Josh McCray volt. So just what a cool moment. I will never forget the feeling of, oh my God, he's in the clear. He's in the clear. We're going to win this thing. And that's something that when I wake up bright and early tomorrow before I had a Disney, that will be the play that I'm going over in my mind again, thinking how I felt during it and looking around all the people near me going nuts and to be in that sea of orange and look across the field and see a silent sea of, they call it Garnet, like the birth stone, not Maroon, but Garnet and see them looking stunned. And we were the ones that stunned them legitimately. There was nothing flooky about today's win. There was nothing flooky about it. It's not like South Carolina turned the ball over four or five times. I mean, it was just a lineup, made the best team win, and you were the better team. There's truly remarkable stuff and 10 and three in absolute incredible fashion. I'm still up my head around it. Here's what we're going to do. So we're almost 40 minutes in this thing. I'm not going to go too much longer because I do need to get decent amount of sleep before my big day at Magic Kingdom, rock in my online gear, knowing I'll get some ILL, INIs, just absolutely beaming. I opened this up on Twitter, listener mailback style, and asked my followers, what does this citrus bowl mean to you? So let's get to that. Starting with Ethan, friend of the program, spot in a lot 31 quite often, completely changed my outlook on bowl games, wholly blank. We can win these things. We can beat SEC teams and we can look good doing it. I predicted 11 and three before the season. Here we are. 10 and three. I know next season is a different team, but Illinois football CFP bound in 2025. Ethan, that will be bandied about. I still will stand by. I don't need that. And if they want eight games next year for this program, that kind of continuity is massive. But will it be talked about? Yes. Will Brett B. Luma embrace that 100% from Jacob? Hey, Jacob. This is the corner turning moment we needed in this program and love that our coaches and shy about puffing out our chest. If we continue this, we can look back at the season and moment about why this era will be the best of Red Illinois. I agree wholeheartedly, Jacob. From David, 30 years of football fandom frustration released when the clock hit zero. When we stopped them on fourth down late, I could taste the W and the tears just started flowing. Good for you, David. I like that. Hey, let it out, baby. I love that reaction, but it felt so damn good to win that game. Fourth youngest team in power five, too. So 25 equals fire emoji. Good stuff, David. From Ben, short of a playoff appearance, this is a much more legitimate. We've made it a moment as we're going to get. And it's real. This program is finally nationally relevant and built in a sustainable way. We won't always be this good, but we'll be in the conversation. Thanks, Ben. And Blair, relevancy at its fullest for our football program fall becomes so much more elevated. We are so back. From Zach, one sec here, we've seen this now many times since Brett took over, but especially in my mind, since Luke came to this team, this team just finds a way to win. In the past, even when we were decent, it always seemed like a mistake was right around the corner, or we just couldn't get it done. Yes, Zach, I think that right there is the biggest difference and something you credit Luke about this. And I think that that's fair. There is a moment after the Zakari Franklin touchdown, but they reviewed it, right? So they're reviewing it and Luke comes up towards our seats. So along the sideline and he is getting the crowd. He's giving them kind of like that, you know, waving his hands, waving his arms to get more noise, just total swag. And when they call that a touchdown, and I'm not an Aaron Rodgers fan, not many people already more, but Luke did a championship belt signal after that. And I'm like, man, this kid, I say, kid, these young men now, but this dude has a swagger that I did not pick up on him last year. I mean, the growth that he's had, not just as a quarterback, but all the intangible things a quarterback seemed to do has been super impressive. All right, this is from Teddy. Is this what it feels like for other programs? Usually the end of the season, I'm happy to move on to basketball, but this year I'm wishing we had one more game already looking forward to next year. You and me both, Teddy. From Evan means a lot and it feels as long as Bealma is here, we're going to be nationally relevant. He did something this year that literally no other Illinois head coach has done. Took advantage of the big moment. Feels like any success is passing on my coaches for kind of once in a decade teams are random. This feels sustainable. We won't be Ohio State or Oregon, but we can absolutely be 2010's Wisconsin. Oh, Evan, be still my heart. I mean, that's what ends up happening. And it seems right there. It seems right there for him because as was alluded to earlier from another responder, you know, this is still a fairly young team and you have a chance to bring back basically everybody who's not Pap Ryan or Zachary Franklin. And I would think today only helped the cause of bringing back a JC or gay back kiss or Xavier Scott. I mean, they played the whole game. They played well. This is their team. They just shared a big moment with their guys and the NIL money will be there to keep them. And if that is the case, I mean, you're cooking with gas at that point. This is from Ben. When your sports teams can provide you moments of pure joy, that's the payoff for the investment we make as fans today and the season was filled with a moment of pure joy. With the gains of your investment, Alani football fans, I L L, I and I have been and it's funny. So after the game, I go to the designated Uber pickup spot and I'm like, I'm going to no rush. I'll save some money because the prices were, you know, not cheap. And I did this wait and save. So it says you're going to have a driver in the next 30, 40 minutes. Fine. It's a beautiful night. I'll just sit here, soak it in, call my parents on the phone, get off, not getting picked up, not getting picked up. Eventually, I just hail a cab and yeah, I probably paid a premium for that, but hey, time is money. All right, I want to get back here and soak in this victory and I'm talking to the cab driver and I mentioned something along those lines, Ben, where, you know, I recognize kind of how silly it is that we get so wrapped up in this, but the fact of matter is we do. And maybe it isn't silly at all because as I looked around and saw all the people having a great time and celebrating and just sharing in that joy with one another, that's why sports are this sort of cultural thing that we met so many partake in. And the reason why we go to games with our friends and family is so we can share these moments with it. So you mentioned the pure joy, you mentioned the investment of fans. Why do we do it? Well, today, today is why we do it. Today is why there was no question in my mind on going to Citrospool and I didn't expect this to be the result, but now that it is, it will forever be an indelible memory that I've had of the many Alana sports memories that I've had from Dale, my first bowl game and first Alana game for my son. That is awesome. Dale, very cool experience of a lifetime, but it feels good knowing this is going to become the norm. Now, Dale, at that point, I do think, hmm, become the norm. If by norm you mean that we will be in bowl games and we will be competitive regardless of opponent, right? Like in other words, if you're telling me Dale by saying that the norm is now kind of like what Beelman did at Wisconsin, I could subscribe to that. I could. It's probably a little bit tougher now because when Beelman was doing that, Michigan was like the Lloyd Carter, Rich Rodriguez phase, you did have Ohio State with Jim Tressel. They were the closest thing to Wisconsin. They were a little bit better probably overall, but Wisconsin was right up there as the second best team in the conference. Now with Oregon, with Michigan, which we'll see with Sean Moore, but they do have the NIL dollars, with Ohio State, with Penn State, it's really a raced 2/5 place and that's what you did this year essentially because of Michigan being bad and Indiana being the fourth best team. I think today proved that, you know what, you probably were not that far from Indiana. Metrics aside, you probably would have had a pretty competitive game against them if you were able to do what you did in South Carolina. So Dale, I guess that's a long way of saying that if the norm in your mind is fifth best team in the Big Ten, can that become the norm? I think it can and if it does, Dale, I am not just happy. I'm like just content. I don't need anything more for my football program. I mean really just bowl games are fine. The way I say when Brad Underwood was hired, just make tournaments and then I'm a happy basketball fan. I think if you're telling me the norm possibly is being beneath that top four in the Big Ten and making New Year's Eve bowl games like maybe next year it's the music city bowl when you go eight and four or something. That is fine and I do think that is very well within reach. It's right there for him. From Kevin, what an amazing game. If you will not wear Michigan's coach, I'd hate him. Glad he's ours. For a meaningless game, I was so invested in living and diet each play. I cannot imagine the stress of a playoff game but I'm willing to give it a try. I don't know why not, Kevin, could you imagine if a year from now or 11 and a half months from now, Illinois is hosting a college football playoff game? That would be a bucket list item exist. I've been to the Rose Bowl, fine. It was cool. I don't know if we'll ever make it back there again. I don't necessarily need that but if you were able to get a 5-year-8c in the college football playoff and host a game in Memorial Stadium, man, and it's not that crazy. I mean, you were 20th in the CFP this year. You're bringing back everybody next year. We feel as if the program is really starting to stabilize, so I don't know. Just food for thought, dreaming out loud, Kevin. From Bill, at long last, finally feel like the Alana football program is where it needs to be. From the AD, the coaches, to the players and even the fans, all heading in the same direction and it's a positive one. Absolutely, Bill. From the Tomahawk, hey, Tomahawk, was the most exciting game to watch in a long time. Feels like Beelma showed a whole new level of coaching, even though many didn't like it, with the fun he was having, egging Beemer on. I mean, it was fun and Beemer didn't have to take the bait and he did take the bait. That's on Beemer. So yeah, just awesome. From Adam, most meaningful one of my 32 years of life as an Alana football fan. Fair Adam, totally fair. From Ethan, another Ethan, Stepping Stone of sustained success enjoyed every moment of this year. From Rico, in Brett and Josh, we trust Illinois should be a portal destination. Keep building brick by brick. From Lasso-Matic, have to make a bowl next year and then we're really off and running with the sustainable program, but yeah, much momentum into 2025, no doubt. From Ryan, first seriously relevant Alana football team in my fandom, Beelma built something special and his aspirations for a CFP berth could very well be a reality. Keep Josh women in Illinois, no matter the cost. That will maybe be a challenge, Ryan, down the road. I think Josh would stay here as long as he could, but he is a savvy guy who I think would be attractive to conference commissionerships, things like that. I would not be surprised at all. Just keep him as long as you can, I agree with that. From Sports Ninja 779, I've been a fan since I moved to Illinois in 2001, but I don't really remember the 2001 season as I wasn't that tuned into sports yet. This feels like a payoff of 20 plus years of fandom and that it's only going to get better from here. Build the Burt statue. I mean, we've always joked Sports Ninja, not joked. That's serious. Seminate Wednesday or you get a statue. Let's say Brett, five, eight, five, and ten, 28 wins in four years, so an average of seven wins a year. Oh, there you go. I mean, might as well start getting renderings drawn up and find a sculptor or something because it seems to be on that trajectory. From AO, it kind of felt like we have finally arrived. Also, when B1 was poking fun at Beamer for once, we were the bullies. This is one I was talking about, AO, and it felt awesome. It was electric. Listen, I mentioned this earlier. I don't need to be the Classy's program. I don't need to look at my coach as the nicest guy or anything like that. It is sports. There should be some juice behind it. There should be some tension, competitiveness. It can get ugly sometimes. It should, frankly. So to me, just so cool that the side story and all this, I mean, winning is the story. But a secondary and tertiary story is the fun that people when I was having. And he knew what he was doing, and it was a beautiful thing. From Dr. Richard Kimball's Tuxedo Vest, a good fugitive reference, one of my favorite Twitter followers, man could visit Mars and discover an inexhaustible supply of clean energy. And I wouldn't be as happy as I am with this a lot I win. Well said, Richard Kimball's Tuxedo Vest. From a lot I Frank, it means I love Josh Whitman, the damn statue. From Tyler, I fully expected Illinois to get embarrassed today. When have we ever won a game this big? And our beautiful coach walked all the way across the field, taunting beamer. I love it. You know, Tyler, there's a recurring theme here with replies, love for belma. And that dude, I don't think he'd have a higher Q rating amongst Illinois fans right now. I mean, of course, Brad Underwood, he's pretty safe as well, even though he gets a lot of crap. And yeah, I criticize him too. I ran into Kevin Ducey who runs another podcast and he kind of took issue with a tweet that I had on Sunday about the rotation and why some recastal starting as if I was really criticizing Brad Underwood, like overall, when I think Brad Underwood has done a fantastic job. But he's not above criticism and Brad, but really ask yourself this in this moment, you know, as we get into the new year. Which coach overall is most popular with the fan base? And of course, we're always prisoners of the moment, but Brett Beelma has never been this popular. I mean, this game did immense wonders for someone that I think most of a lot of fans already liked and thought, damn, Brett, really good year. And now it's like, whoa, that's our ball coach. Like the affinity that a lot of fans have for Beelma grew considerably today. And it was already a pretty strong place. From ILL, seeing the fight from those guys makes me real proud. Ten wins is a significant number and this will be the catalyst to the most special season of our lifetime next year. I hope you're right, ILL or Outlaw on Twitter. I hope you're right. And there was a distinct possibility that it could be. You know, on Twitter right now, I'm just kind of looking through all these and seeing the different picks and videos that are kind of circulating and just the pure joy that you're seeing, the emotion from the players in the sideline. This meant a lot to them. You know, there was a great quote from Josh Crewts after the game and he talked about Beelma going over to Beamer on the sideline. He's like, I strap my helmet on. Like we're rated, we have coaches back. I know Jeremy and Joey have talked about this on their podcast quite a bit. There is something to be said about Beelma's ability to get his players behind him. I mean, it's pretty incredible last year, for example, you're five and seven, it was not a good year. You know, we would all admit that. But the wheels could have came off and then what do they do after their worst performance of the year against Nebraska? They go on the road and they went in Maryland, you know, left for dead essentially like that. We were kind of a mess at that point. And they were whisking her away from somehow salvaging a bowl game out of that. And I think as bad as last year was, there were enough signs that showed that he does command the respect of his players. They love that guy. And as I'm kind of bruising through different videos and stuff tonight, as I'm struggling to get to sleep, I'm sure I'm going to be seeing more examples of that as well. All right, we are about 55 minutes into this. I do have an early morning and a long day ahead of Disney. What a capper to what's been an incredible 48 hours already down here in Orlando. Just gobsmacked. For lack of a better term, I'm just absolutely gobsmacked by all this and just really, really lucky to have been here for this game. And here's the eat any to be here at the game to get the joy from it. You could have been watching wherever you were at heads and friends at Esquire and downtown Champagne. I had friends just watch it in their basement mancaves, sometimes with other people and sometimes just by themselves. And I guarantee you that through the same moments in that game, whether you were at the Citrus Bowl itself like I was or watching it by your lonesome where you had audible reactions and visceral reactions to what you saw on the field and that the one reaction we all had when Josh McCrae put that thing on ice of the 60 yard run is just pure euphoria. It does not get much better than that. It just doesn't. And boy, it is hard to come down from that. It is really hard to come down from that. And even a 45 minute wait to get a cab out of there, it did not at all quell the pure joy that I'm feeling and will feel tomorrow and on my flight back on Thursday. And if there's a winter storm that comes over the weekend and all the cold temperatures, I can't be pissed off because of what just happened. You ride that out and you can ride that all the way into the spring game and all the way in the office, the rest of the off season and in the next season. And Alanae fans, boy, have we earned this. It's been tough sliding for so much of our lives. I'm Brett Bielma showing that it doesn't have to be. And just because it has been does not mean that we are destined to be a not good program. In fact, quite the opposite. We have nothing keeping us from moments like this. And that's when I'm kind of taking away from this moment here in Orlando and settling down and just I keep coming back to the fact that that was big boy football. That was a big moment that happens to a big program. And hey, it remains to be seen what the 2025 team will do or 26, 27 programs are going to have ebbs and flows and they're going to have better seasons and not so good seasons. But this season, why I think it was so meaningful in so many ways is that this team found ways to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat and not in flooky ways. But because they went through it last year, they went through adversity and they came on to the other side, an extremely tough and resilient team. There is no easier team to root for than the underrated team, then the tough team, and the resilient team than the one that is completely outperforming expectations. And that's what this team did all damn year and what a cap in Orlando. On that note, everybody got to get some shut eye, got to think Hamilton Walkers, state for Major Brian Hanson, Dogtown Heating Aaron Plumbing, Owen Billers, LLC, got to think you. I know the sonic quality of this is not quite the same as I'm speaking into a computer and not a microphone, but I'm trying to make it as listenable as I can wherever you may be listening to this as you are nursing your hangover on New Year's Day. I know such hangover. I have been fairly responsible today and responsible this evening. One night cap to help me actually get some shut eye before Magic Kingdom, baby. Back in my alumni gear and just soaking it in in the happiest place on Earth, and I may very well be the happiest guy on Earth tomorrow. I mean, no, I don't think that's hyperbole. How could one be happier? I mean, this is just amazing. So have a great rest of your evening or morning or whenever you're listening to this. What a way to finish 2024, which is a great year for alumni athletics. And here's to 2025 being even better. And you know what? I wouldn't hold it past this football program and I wouldn't hold it past this athletic program with the leadership that it has to in fact have a better 2025 than 24. Sweet dreams, everybody. From Orlando, Florida, we will talk soon. It is the 200 level. [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO] (upbeat music) (upbeat music)