National predictions for South Carolina vs. Illinois in Citrus Bowl
It’s bowl week. Shane Beamer’s South Carolina football team will lock horns with Bret Bielema’s Illinois Fighting Illini in the Citrus Bowl on Tuesday. The two teams have never played before, and Illinois has never beaten an SEC foe. Both the Gamecocks and the Illini are gunning for the fifth 10-win season in their respective programs’ histories.
The two 9-3 teams each finished the regular season ranked and in the top-5 in their conferences. However, that doesn’t tell the full story.
The Gamecocks won six games in a row down the stretch and played on of the country’s most difficult strengths of schedule. Because of that, USC enters the Citrus Bowl matchup as a heavy favorite. Most outlets consider Carolina a 10-point or 10.5-point favorite.
National predictions are pouring in for South Carolina.
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ESPN’s matchup predictor gives the Gamecocks a 72.3% chance of victory in the Citrus Bowl. That percentage mirrors Carolina’s superior ranking in ESPN’s FPI and SP+ models.
Ahead of the College Football Playoff, the College GameDay panel made their bowl picks, as well. All six pickers (Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, and celebrity guest-picker AJ Hawk) believe in the Gamecocks. During their picks, Howard shouted out LaNorris Sellers, McAfee predicted a “huge win,” Saban called USC “one of the best teams country,” and Corso proclaimed that “South Carolina is the best team not in the Playoff.”
NBC Sports analyst Eric Froton thinks South Carolina will win big. He has picked the Gamecocks to win the game and cover the spread.
The college football team at CBS almost universally is picking South Carolina to win (Tom Fornelli likes Illinois). However, the CBS crew is split on the spread. Seven of eight CBS analysts are going with USC, and four of eight think the ‘Cocks will cover.
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The Athletic tells a similar story. Eight of nine of their reporters’ prognostications include a Gamecock victory. (Only Audrey Snyder predicts an Illinois win.)
FoxSports’ AI (yes, artificial intelligence) predictor projects a 31-18 South Carolina victory and cover.
College Football Network’s Will Helms believes the Gamecocks will win but Illinois will cover. He predicts a final score of 31-24.
On the local side of things, projections are following the national trend. The Greenville News‘ Lulu Kesin predicts a Gamecock victory but an Illini cover with a 30-24 final tally. On the Illinois beat, the Peoria Journal Star trio of Adam Duvall, Wes Huett, and Dave Eminian present a united front: South Carolina will win the game, but Illinois will cover.
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Citrus Bowl kickoff is at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday. ABC will broadcast the game, and ESPN+ will stream it on the ESPN app. For those concerned about a TV scheduling conflict, the Gamecocks and Illini will play prior to the CFP quarterfinal game between Boise State and Penn State at 7:30 p.m. Only Louisville-Washington in the Sun Bowl (2:00 p.m start) and LSU-Baylor in the Texas Bowl (3:30 p.m. start) will overlap.
