The Gold Sheet

THE PLAY: Illinois +9.5 (-110)

If this game had been played at the end of the regular season, we likely would have found ourselves looking at the Gamecocks. Shane Beamer's team was playing arguably the best football in the country during the last month of the season. But with a full month in between the end of the regular season and this bowl game, the South Carolina hysteria has died down a little bit. Consensus All-American defensive end Kyle Kennard will not be playing in this contest. South Carolina was only favored by more than a touchdown three times this season. The Gamecocks nearly lost to Old Dominion as a 20.5-point favorite to open the season. They needed a game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds left to beat Missouri as a 10.5-point favorite. There is a big difference between being the plucky underdog against Clemson and Alabama, versus laying over a touchdown against a Big Ten opponent. Illinois went 5-2 against the spread as an underdog this season, earning outright upset victories over Kansas, Nebraska, Michigan and Rutgers. Wide receiver Pat Bryant (ten touchdowns this season) is expected to be Illinois' only opt-out. The only two teams to beat Illinois by more than a touchdown this season are Penn State and Oregon. We're not quite ready to put the Gamecocks in their territory just yet.