The 11^th ranked, 9-2 Illinois Fighting Illini of coach John Mackovic met the 16^th ranked, 10-2 Virginia Cavaliers of coach George Welsh in the Florida Citrus Bowl for The Belt.  The teams combined for 7 turnovers but the Fighting Illini prevailed to claim their first Belt championship with a 31-21 win.  Illinois' LB Bill Henkel recovered a fumble by Virginia's RB Marcus Wilson on the opening kick-off giving the Illini the ball at the Cavaliers' 36-yard line.  Five plays later, Illinois' All-Big Ten QB Jeff George hit WR Steven Williams for a touchdown from 15 yards as the Illini took a 7-0 lead.  The teams combined for 3 turnovers in the 1^st quarter to prevent any more scoring.  Virginia tied the game at 7-7 in the 2^nd quarter with a 6-play, 67-yard drive finished as All-ACC QB Shawn Moore threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to WR Tim Finkelston.  George’s 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Dan Donovan capped an 80-yard drive as Illinois took a 14-7 lead.  The drive was highlighted by a 68-yard pass & catch from George to WR Mike Bellamy that got the ball to the Cavaliers' 1-yard line.  Late in the quarter, Illinois drove from their own 5-yard line to Virginia's 18-yard line &, with time expiring, PK Doug Higgins kicked a 34-yard field goal giving the Illini a 17-7 halftime lead.  Illinois used a 10-play, 84-yard drive to open the 2^nd half with RB Howard Griffith’s 3-yard touchdown run giving the Illini a 24-7 lead.  Late in the 3^rd quarter, the Cavaliers got a 2-yard touchdown run from Wilson to finish a 12-play, 79-yard drive but still trailed 24-14.  Early in the 4^th quarter, the teams traded turnovers again with Illinois' RB Steve Feagin fumbling at the Virginia 13-yard line before Illini's S Marlon Primous intercepted Moore at the Illinois 42-yard line.  The Illini drove 58 yards with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Bellamy from George for a 31-14 lead with 12:58 left in the game.  Moore connected with WR Herman Moore on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 5:00 to play but the Cavaliers could get no closer.  George was named MVP of the game after completing 26 of 38 passes for 321 yards with 3 touchdowns as well as an interception while Bellamy added 8 catches for 166 yards to his score.  For the Cavaliers, Moore threw for 191 yards with 2 touchdowns but 2 interceptions.  Virginia finished the season 10-3; ACC Co-Champs, ranked 18^th nationally while the Illini finished 10-2 & ranked 10^th nationally.  Virginia would play for The Belt again in 1999.