Bret Bielema trolls Shane Beamer on social media following Citrus Bowl outburst

Bret Bielema and the Illinois Fighting Illini downed Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks 21-17 on Tuesday, but that’s hardly the full story coming out of Orlando.

What caught the attention of the public Tuesday was not solely Illinois’ win over the Gamecocks. It was the brouhaha between the Illini and Gamecocks at the end of the 3rd quarter, spearheaded by both head coaches.

There’s no other way to say it; Beamer completely freaked out on Bielema just before the 4th quarter. As you can see in the video below, Beamer was irate at Bielema making the substitution pose after an Illini player went down on the field. Illinois had been substituting players very late, forcing the Gamecocks to take a timeout. It’s safe to say this pose from Bielema is the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Following the game, Beamer took to social media to question the ethics of it all, mentioning that it isn’t right for his team to get the label of “unethical” with how Illinois played the game. He finished his post with #WillAlwaysDefendOurTeam

Here’s what Bielema said in response:

Bielema also insisted in a later post that he wasn’t aiming the gesture at Beamer specifically, but the entire sideline.

Illinois finishes its season 10-3, a very solid year for Bielema and Co. Beamer’s Gamecocks finish the year 9-4, a bit of an anticlimactic finish to what was a strong season in Columbia.

Ethan Stone

Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.