The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, pits two teams from the nation’s two best college football conferences against one another. The Southeastern Conference’s #15 South Carolina Gamecocks will take on the Big 10’s #20 Illinois Fighting Illini on New Year’s Eve at 3:00 pm ET.

Both teams will be missing significant pieces of the offense. Illinois is down their top receiver Pat Bryant (985 yards, 54 catches, and 10 touchdowns) while the Gamecocks will be without their top running back Raheim “Rocket” Sanders (881 rushing yards, 4.8 per carry, 11 touchdowns with 321 receiving yards on 27 catches with two more touchdowns). Bryant was the top Illini receiver in catches and receiving yards while Bryant was South Carolina’s top man in rushing yards and third-highest in receiving yards.

The biggest blow to either side might be South Carolina’s Nagurski Award Winner and All-American defensive lineman Kyle Kennard. (11.5 sacks with six tackles for loss and three force fumbles). All three of these players are preparing to enter the 2025 NFL draft.

With Kennard missing, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmeyer (61% 2,543 yards, 21 touchdowns, 5 interceptions) might have a better opportunity to find wide receiver Kazahri Franklin in the passing game. Franklin has hauled in 51 catches for 613 yards and three scores on the season. He will be a force to ensure that the passing game is still a threat with support from the running back duo Aidan Laughery and Josh McCray.

Illinois head coach Bret Bielema spoke about the chance for offense to shine on Tuesday, “You know, Zakhari has been a guy that’s been with us all year, but obviously, when Pat made the
decision to pop out from this game, Zakhari knew his role was going to be increased. But really excited about Malik Elzy, Capka-Jones, Hank Beatty, just a slew of guys that
will hop into the wide receiver position.”

That’s not to say the Gamecocks will be helpless defensively on Tuesday. Defensive end Dylan Stewart (6.5 sacks with 10 tackles for loss) and company will be trying to tear up the Illini backfield with support from a defensive secondary that features two defensive backs with four interceptions (Jalon Kilgore and Nick Emmonwari).

Head Coach spoke about his confidence in his defense. “When you don’t have the SEC Defensive Player of the Year here, that’s a loss. But we’ve got three defensive tackles that are still here that have been a part of our program since either 2020 or 2021. We’ve got three linebackers that are older guys. Our secondary, they’ve played a lot of football together. We’ve got a lot of really good players and leadership around them.”

South Carolina Quarterback La Norris Sellers (65% 2,274 yards, 17 touchdowns, 7 interceptions) might need to utilize his legs more with Sanders opting out of the game as the team’s second-highest rusher, but running back Robby Ashford and Oscar Adaway have an opportunity to prove themselves on a big stage. If the ground game can move the ball on linebacker Gabe Jacas and the Illini defensive front, that might make a difference in the football game.