South Carolina @ Virginia preview

BELK BOWL STORYLINES

1. South Carolina and Virginia meet for the first time since 2003 — and for the first time in a bowl game — when the two teams face off at the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, Va., on Dec. 29. The Gamecocks finished in a tie for fourth in the very tough SEC East and are coming off a 28-3 win over Akron in its season finale on Dec. 1. The Cavaliers tied for third in the ACC Coastal division but limp into their bowl game as losers of three of four, with their only win in that stretch against Liberty.

2. The Gamecocks will be missing some key pieces, including arguably their top player in receiver Deebo Samuel. The 6-foot, 200-pound receiver put up 123.2 all-purpose yards per game in 2018 and scored 13 touchdowns overall, numbers that got him named to the 2018 Associated Press first-team All-SEC unit as an all-purpose player and to the second team at wide receiver. South Carolina will also be without two starting defenders, defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw and senior cornerback Keisean Nixon, as both will miss the game due to injuries.

3. A lot of Virginia’s 2018 success can be attributed to quarterback Bryce Perkins, who was named the 2018 recipient of the Dudley Award, given to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s top Division I football player. Perkins, a junior college transfer, was electric in his first season with the Cavaliers, piling up 3,314 all-purpose yards while accounting for 31 touchdowns. He is a legitimate dual-threat quarterback, throwing for 2,472 yards on 203-of-318 passing and running for 842 yards and nine touchdowns on 197 carries.

TV: Noon ET, ABC. LINE: South Carolina -5.5

ABOUT SOUTH CAROLINA (7-5, 4-4 SEC): The Gamecocks had five losses on the season and all of them came at the hands of ranked opponents: No. 2 Clemson, No. 6 Georgia, No. 10 Florida, No. 15 Kentucky, and No. 20 Texas A&M. Oppositely, three of their four wins were by four points or less (Missouri 37-35, Tennessee 27-24, and Ole Miss 48-44). South Carolina is 2-0 under coach Will Muschamp in bowl games, including last year’s 26-19 win over Michigan in the Outback Bowl.

ABOUT VIRGINIA (7-5, 4-4 ACC): The Cavaliers had some easy games on their schedule early in the season and converted them into wins, but struggled down the stretch with conference losses to Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh. It was a milestone year for the program which is going in the right direction under coach Bronco Mendenhall, getting its first winning season since 2011 and returning to a bowl game for the second year in a row. Last season, Virginia lost 49-7 to Navy in the Military Bowl in a game where the Cavaliers returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown but then gave up 49 unanswered points.



PREDICTION: South Carolina 31, Virginia 21