Illinois QB Luke Altmyer calls out ‘disrespect’ from South Carolina: ‘They were calling us Syracuse’

In an action-packed Citrus Bowl on Tuesday, Illinois came out with the victory over South Carolina. According to Fighting Illini QB Luke Altmyer, though, they had a little extra motivation heading into the matchup.

Altmyer called out “disrespect” from the Gamecocks before the game. He specifically noted some players were calling Illinois “Syracuse,” which gave the Illini an extra spark heading into an intriguing Big Ten vs. SEC showdown in Orlando.

It’s part of a trend Altmyer noticed for a long time. A Starkville (MS) native who previously played at Ole Miss, he saw the perception of Illinois as a program first-hand.

“It’s Big Ten ball,” Altmyer said after Tuesday’s game. “I’ve been hearing all this talk about ‘SEC, SEC, get in the Playoff,’ things like that. I’m just tired of the disrespect. I think Illinois has been a disrespected program for a long time. I know that because I lived in that area and in that conference. And I don’t think that’s the case anymore.

“I remember a couple days ago, we were at the Fun Spot doing a team activity with the other team, and they were calling us Syracuse. They didn’t know we were playing. Not that we needed any extra motivation, but that was all we needed to hear and we gave them that Big Ten belt.”

This story will be updated.

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