South Carolina’s Shane Beamer takes a subtle shot at Alabama and Ole Miss with a blunt Citrus Bowl take

The CFP rankings always bring out the coaches’ politics. Lane Kiffin is known for his outspoken opinions. Now it appears South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer is joining the fray. While Kiffin and Beamer play well on the surface, there is definitely a certain tension brewing. Beamer has been subtly throwing shade at both Kiffin’s Ole Miss and DeBoer’s Alabama for some time now, suggesting his Gamecocks are more deserving of a playoff spot.

According to Jordan Kaye’s X post, Shane Beamer stated: “We told our teammates on the first night that Cheez-It Citrus Bowl had chosen us. They could have picked any team in the NCCA, any team, Alabama, Ole Miss, any of those teams. They had a choice and chose the University of South Carolina as their location.”

So why South Carolina? They were on a hot streak and had won six straight games, including a big win over Clemson. The HC has tried to argue that despite losing to the Rebels and Bama, his team is now playing better football and he believes that should give them an advantage over the other two SEC teams.

Through the He also expresses his admiration for his own team.

But before the Citrus Bowl, Beamer made a bold comment to encourage local fans. “They didn’t just choose our football team. You have chosen our fan base. So thank you very much for showing up. And as we told our players, we want to confirm this decision. So you have confirmed what you all will be doing in the next two days. We will do our part to make sure we continue to try to validate it tomorrow.“said the head coach. Furthermore, he mentioned: “We plan to create a great data point tomorrow.”

And to further excite fans, the third-year coach recalled South Carolina’s significant victories this season. They had some amazing moments during the 2024 football season, whether it was the home win over Texas A&M, the Kentucky game or week two in Lexington. It’s also important to remember the exciting victory over Missouri as well as the even more remarkable triumph over the Upstate team last month.

Now the 9-3 SEC team is ready to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. But what exactly did coach Beamer mean when he talked about the game?

How does Shane Beamer see Illinois?

With the SC coach Shane Beamer When he last spoke to local reporters before the Citrus Bowl at Rosen Plaza in Orlando, he had nothing but praise for former Illinois SEC coach Bret Bielema. Both groups’ seasons ended with a record of 9-3. The Illini finished November with a 3-0 record, defeating teams like Rutgers, MI State and Northwestern.

Tuesday’s Cheez It Bowl game between the SEC and the Big 10 pits South Carolina against Illinois. In preparation for the NFL Draft, SEC Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Kennard will not play for the Gamecocks, who have been favorites in their last five games and are 4-1 against the odds. It’s a homecoming for Illinois, which has 17 players from Florida on its roster.

Despite all that, Gamecocks coach Beamer had nothing but praise for rival Illinois. He explained: “They are a good football team. They won nine football games. They’re in a league where they also got four birds in the College Football Playoff, and they lost to the two playoff teams. We have a big challenge tomorrow.”

Undoubtedly a daunting task! The bowl game was the Gamecocks’ consolation prize after their playoff snub. And now they’re ready to see if they can take home the trophy. Will Shane Beamer’s team be successful against Illinois?