Emotions flared at Tuesday’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl as staff had to hold back South Carolina coach Shane Beamer and Illinois coach Bret Bielema after the two engaged in an on-field confrontation.

Bielema walked across the field to check on injured defensive back Jaheim Clarke — and took the opportunity to seemingly taunt Beamer and the Gamecocks, which Bielema denied postgame.

Bielema held his arms up, appearing to signal a substitution, leading Beamer to point angrily while staff held him back.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him, and have my own team to worry about, but in all my years of football I’ve never seen an opposing team’s coach come over to the other sideline and make a gesture toward the other coach,” Beamer said postgame.

Bielema called the “T-bar” motion an “unwritten philosophy in coaching” to help prevent collisions before a whistle is blown.

“Everybody does that, I’ve never seen it any other way,” Bielema said. “I love Shane, he’s a good person, I know somebody said that he thought I did it to him, I did it to the whole damn sideline.”

Emotions flared between South Carolina coach Shane Beamer and Illinois coach Bret Bielema.

Bielema appeared to taunt Beamer while he was tending to an injured player.

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— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) December 31, 2024

After the on-field incident, ESPN reporter Quint Kessenich said: “Shane just turned to me and said, ‘You saw what he did.’ … I did see it, I did see it. He taunted the opposing coach.”

Illinois won the game 21-17 to wrap its season at 10-3, while South Carolina finishes 9-4.

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(Photo: Jeremy Reper / Imagn Images)