This year’s iteration of the ReliaQuest Bowl brought Illini fans a feeling that few have been able to experience since the Rose Bowl season of 2007.
The Illini showed up at Raymond James Stadium ready to play competitive football against a peer-level SEC opponent, and traded blows the entire way, while putting up more than a few offensive and defensive highlights in the process.
In so many ways, Monday’s game was emblematic of a bowl game being the reward for a successful season. A season, which, in this case, shattered almost all pre-season expectations for Illinois football in 2022.