ORLANDO, Fla. — — Josh McCray scored his second touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to give No. 21 Illinois the lead and the Illini held on to beat No. 14 South Carolina 21-17 in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Tuesday.

Illinois’ defense sealed the win by stopping South Carolina (9-4) at the 7-yard line with a little more than three minutes remaining. McCray sealed the victory and helped the Illini run out the clock with a 60-yard run on a third-and-two play from the 15-yard line as Illinois (10-3) closed out the fifth 10-win season in program history and its first since 2001.

“He never looks for outward excuses,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said of McCray. “He just works hard and does a lot of really good things to make these days happen.”

McCray, named the game’s MVP, rushed for 114 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns. Luke Altmeyer threw for 174 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

The teams exchanged the lead five times, and neither led by more than one score. Illinois took its final lead on McCray’s touchdown run with 7:29 remaining.

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers completed 24 of 34 passes for 260 yards and a touchdown for the Gamecocks, who fell short of the fifth 10-win season in program history. He threw a 6-yard TD pass to Joshua Simon in the third quarter for his only score. They could not connect again in the fourth quarter, leading to the critical turnover on downs.

“Obviously, we want to win,” Sellers said. “Some things didn’t go our way tonight. We have to get back to work and focus on next season.”

Oscar Adaway III rushed for 69 yards on 14 carries, including a 36-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter that gave South Carolina a shortlived lead.

Mixed Signals

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer needed to be restrained from pursuing Illinois coach Bret Bielema during a stoppage in the third quarter after Bielema came toward South Carolina’s sideline with his arms extended, a signal to them that he was not happy with a signal given earlier in the game.

Beamer and Beielema confirmed the dispute was over a signal South Carolina’s kick returners gave on a third-quarter kickoff when a player gave the typical signal they would let the ball go over their head and not return the ball. But the Gamecocks not only fielded the kick, but tried a lateral play that ended with a tackle at the 25.

Beamer said he cleared the use of that signal with the Big 12 officiating crew before the game and that it was legal, as long as the returners did not wave their arms like a fair catch. Bielema agreed that returning the kick was not against the rules, but went against the spirit of using that signal to limit injuries on kickoff returns.

Missed Chances

South Carolina had several missed chances that cost the team opportunities to take the lead.

In addition to the failed fourth down conversion late in the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks did not convert on a fourth down play from the 11 yard line in the second quarter when holder Kai Kroeger’s pass to Alex Huntley in the endzone fell incomplete. Kicker Alex Herrera also missed a field goal off the right upright at the end of the second quarter.

The Gamecocks went 2 for 4 in the red zone overall.

“The whole key to this game was finishing,” Beamer said. “We didn’t finish.”

Takeaways

Illinois and South Carolina looked to make program history by winning the 10th game of the season in the Citrus Bowl. Illinois’ experience with the junior Altmeyer under center won the day to hit that mark. But Illinois has one of the youngest roster in the power conferences. So does South Carolina. Sellers put on an impressive display, and the future looks bright for both teams in 2025.

Up next

South Carolina looks to build on its strong finish and six-game winning streak to close the regular season. The Gamecocks will be in Atlanta to face Virginia Tech on Aug. 31 in its opener.

Illinois will look to build on a strong showing this season and open its 2025 season on Aug. 30 against Western Illinois.

——

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

One major South Carolina high school football recruit decided to end 2024 with some big news.

With the high school football season ending across the country, many underclassmen have started announcing their college commitments. While a commitment is little more than a pledge from player to college, they do often signal a player’s absolute intent to sign and carry significant weight in the recruiting world.  

So when news began swirling Tuesday that one of the top wide receivers in the Class of 2026 – Bluffton (S.C.) standout wide receiver Carnell Warren (6-foot-4, 195 pounds) – will announce his college commitment Thursday during the Under Armour Next All-America Game live on ESPN, it got the recruiting world buzzing.

A 4-star recruit by ESPN and a composite 4-star by 247Sports, Warren is expected to choose Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, Duke, or Virginia Tech, with the latter a seeming favorite. He also reportedly had interest from Appalachian State, Charlotte, Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina, amongst others.

The game is slated for 4 p.m. E.T. at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand, Fla.

As a junior this season Warren caught 53 passes for 800 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Warren made headlines earlier this season when he hauled in a touchdown over two defenders to earn the NFL’s “Way to Play” Catch of the Week for Week 12 on Nov. 29 – earning Bluffton High School a $3,000 equipment grant from USA Football through NFL Foundation.

He is currently ranked No. 203 on the ESPN Jr. Top 300.

It’s college football bowl season in 2024! Woohoo!

And in the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl taking place in Orlando, we’ve got South Carolina playing against Illinois — the Gamecocks are ranked No. 15 in the country, and Illinois comes into this game at No. 20.

And if you’re here, you might be wondering: who are those voices you’re hearing on the broadcast of the nationally televised game?

Fear not! We have answers.

Mark Jones will be on play-by-play. He’ll be joined by Roddy Jones as analyst, and Quint Kessenich will be on the sideline to report.

That’s it! Enjoy the game and have a good New Year’s Eve!