What bowl game does South Carolina play in? Looking at the Gamecocks' postseason matchup

The No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks will face the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31. Despite closing the season with a win over the then-No. 12 Clemson Tigers, the Gamecocks missed the College Football Playoff. Clemson, which lost to South Carolina, still made the playoff field.

Their three regular-season losses came against SEC heavyweights LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama. However, their performance in the second half of the season was strong, with six straight wins, including victories against Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson. All of those schools were ranked at the time of South Carolina's victories.

What bowl game does South Carolina play in?

South Carolina (9-3, 5-3 SEC) will face Illinois (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31. The game will take place at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, with kickoff set for 3 p.m. ET.

It serves as a lead-in to the Fiesta Bowl, a CFP quarterfinal scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET the same day.

How to watch the Cheez-It Bowl? Streaming options for the postseason clash between South Carolina and Illinois

The game will be broadcast through ABC, which you can stream to Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream. All of ABC's games are also played on ESPN+.

You can also use ABC.com. However, you'll need your cable provider's credentials to stream the game that way.

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Favorites and odds

South Carolina is a heavy favorite for this encounter, with ESPN Bet making them 10.5-point favorites. ESPN's game predictor also favored them heavily, giving them a 72.6% chance of winning.

Their opponent, Illinois, had a highlight victory against Michigan and losses to Penn State, Oregon and Minnesota in the regular season.