2024 Citrus Bowl (December)
| 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 79th Citrus Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Camping World Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Josh McCray (RB, Illinois)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | South Carolina by 9.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Kevin Mar (Big 12)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 47,129 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline) (ABC) Sean Kelley (play-by-play), Rene Ingoglia (analyst), and Marilyn Payne (sideline) (ESPN Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2024 Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2024, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The 79th annual Citrus Bowl featured Illinois from the Big Ten Conference and South Carolina from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game began at approximately 3:00 p.m. EST and aired on ABC.[3][4] The Citrus Bowl was one of the 2024–25 bowl games concluding the 2024 FBS football season. Sponsored by Cheez-It, the game was officially known as the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Teams
[edit]Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured teams from the Big Ten Conference, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the first meeting between South Carolina and Illinois.
South Carolina Gamecocks
[edit]South Carolina played to a 9–3 overall record (5–3 in SEC play) during the regular season. After starting with a 3–3 record in their first six games, they finished with a six-game winning streak. The Gamecocks faced six ranked teams, losing to LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama while defeating Texas A&M, Missouri, and Clemson. They entered the national rankings in mid-November, and entered the bowl placed 15th in the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings.
Illinois Fighting Illini
[edit]Illinois played to an overall regular-season record of 9–3 (6–3 in Big Ten play). After opening the season with four consecutive wins, the Fighting Illini suffered three defeats in five games, then ended with three wins in a row. Illinois faced five ranked opponents, defeating Kansas, Nebraska, and Michigan while losing to Penn State and Oregon. Ranked nationally for much of the season, the Fighting Illini entered the bowl placed 20th in the final CFP rankings.
Game summary
[edit]| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 15 South Carolina | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| No. 20 Illinois | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Camping World Stadium • Orlando, Florida
- Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2024
- Game time: 3:05 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: 13 mph (21 km/h) southwest
- Game attendance: 47,129
- Referee: Kevin Mar
- TV announcers (ABC): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Quint Kessenich (sideline)
- Box score
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Statistics
[edit]| Statistics | USC | ILL |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 22 |
| Plays–yards | 68–390 | 57–357 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–130 | 35–183 |
| Passing yards | 260 | 174 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 24–35–0 | 13–22–1 |
| Time of possession | 31:16 | 28:44 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | Passing | LaNorris Sellers | 24/34, 260 yards, TD |
| Rushing | Oscar Adaway III | 14 carries, 69 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | Joshua Simon | 6 receptions, 69 yards, TD | |
| Illinois | Passing | Luke Altmyer | 13/22, 174 yards, TD, INT |
| Rushing | Josh McCray | 13 carries, 114 yards, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Hank Beatty | 4 receptions, 90 yards |
See also
[edit]- 2024 Cure Bowl, contested at the same venue eleven days earlier
- 2024 Pop-Tarts Bowl, contested at the same venue three days earlier
References
[edit]- ^ Huett, Wes (December 31, 2024). "Citrus Bowl MVP: Illinois running back Josh McCray player of the game". Yahoo Sports. Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
- ^ Austro, Ben (December 9, 2024). "2024-25 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
- ^ Cobb, David. "2024-25 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ Kelley, Kevin. "College football bowl schedule for 2024-25 season released". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
External links
[edit]- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com