Shane Beamer-Bret Bielema fight controversy: Why did South Carolina, Illinois coaches get into a heated scuffle?

Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks succumbed to a 21-17 loss at the hands of the Illinois Fighting Illini during the Cheez-it Citrus Bowl showdown on Tuesday. With this victory, head coach Bret Bielema and the Fighting Illini finished the season with a 10-3 overall record in the Big Ten.

One of the highlights of the Cheez-It Bowl game took place on the sidelines rather than on the gridiron as both Shane Beamer and Bret Bielema got into a heated argument during the third quarter. So why did things get spicy between the two head coaches?

When Illinois was leading 14-10 in the third quarter, the Fighting Illini DB Jaheim Clarke went down with an apparent injury. Bret Bielema stepped up onto the gridiron to check on his injured player.

As Jaheim Clarke stood up, Bielema raised his hands while making his way to the sidelines to signal for a substitution for the defensive back. He kept his hands raised while looking at South Carolina's sidelines, leading Shane Beamer to believe that Bielema was taunting them.

This triggered the Gamecocks head coach, who rushed onto the field to charge at Bret Bielema. Beamer had to be held back by several assistant head coaches while he was yelling at the Illinois head coach.

This incident went viral on social media. Many believe that the gesture was a likely taunt about Illinois' late substitutions throughout the entire game, which Beamer took issue with.

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Shane Beamer, Bret Bielema shed light on the heated altercation post-game

In the post-game press conference, both coaches were questioned about what could have sparked the spicy moment on the field between the two. According to SC's Shane Beamer, there was a particular play that occurred during the game that might have triggered Bielema.

"I think his issue was when we threw the throw-back kickoff return, our kickoff returner did this, which most teams that's a signal that it's a touchback and we're not going to return the kick. You're allowed to do that as long as you don't do a waving motion. It's no different than on a punt."

"There was no waving of the arms, and I cleared it with the Big 12 officials before the game. I told them we were going to do it, making sure they were good with it, and they said, 'Yeah, just as long as he doesn't wave the arms.' I think he had an issue with that."

Meanwhile, Bielema gave his own take on the situation:

“I know the only thing that I did was there’s an unwritten philosophy in coaching that when you do this (extends arms) as a college kickoff return guy, what you’re doing is you’re telling everybody else that it’s going to be a fair catch and it’s going to be dead in the end zone when the ball lands,” Bielema said.

Bielema also explained that everybody did the signal that way and that he had never seen it any other way. While Bielema admitted that South Carolina did not do anything illegal when they made the gesture on a kickoff, the "ethic" of the signal was lost.

Despite the altercation, the two coaches ended the night with a handshake showcasing sportsmanship.