Watch: Illinois’ Bret Bielema appears to taunt Shane Beamer. South Carolina coach reacts

Tensions rose to inferno level during Tuesday’s Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, a midgame feud between South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer and Illinois head coach Bret Bielema nearly boiling over.

All game, Bielema and Illinois were making extremely late and slow defensive substitutions to wind down the play clock on the Gamecocks offense. Beamer was incensed at the referees from the first few minutes on and it seemed they eventually went to speak with Bielema about it.

That led to a sequence in the third quarter.

With an Illinois defender injured on the ground near South Carolina’s sideline, Bielema walked over then looked at Beamer and held out his arms out and gestured.

Beamer saw Bielema’s motioning and started charging forward screaming and pointing at the Illinois head coach. A number of staffers held him back and escorted him back to the sideline.

“Shane just turned to me and said, ‘You saw what he did,’ ” said ABC sideline reporter Quint Kessenich.

Beamer afterward told reporters that Beliema was questioning a play South Carolina made earlier in the third quarter on special teams. The Illinois questioned whether a sequence that included a throwback pass from Juju McDowell to Nyck Harbor was ethical.

Beliema told reporters that South Carolina players held their arms wide as if to indicate they weren’t going to return the kick. McDowell’s play to Harbor came after Illinois players slowed down on the return thinking the play was over, according to Beliema.

Just a moment later, while South Carolina was lining up for an offensive play, Illinois ran another late substitution — forcing Beamer to call a timeout.On the sideline, the camera caught Bielema with this sly grin.