Bowl Info:
- Game will be held at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina
- Game will start at 12:00 PM ET
- Virginia is 7-12 in their bowl games
- South Carolina is 9-13 in their bowl games
- South Carolina leads the series 21-13-1
Offensive Players to Watch:
Virginia: Bryce Perkins has been a game changer at the quarterback spot for the Cavaliers. It sees that most of their opponent struggle all game long trying to implement a plan to lock him down. And shows as Perkins has ran for 842 yards, which is more than some running backs. Also, he has thrown for 2,472 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air. Perkins shows that he is consistently a weapon for the Cavaliers and is ready to make it up to the UVA fans after a painful loss to Virginia Tech.
South Carolina: There is another quarterback on the Gamecock’s side of the field that is a threat. This would be no other than Jake Bentley, who is currently a junior at South Carolina. Bentley has shown a great passing ability for a team that fairly balanced between the run and pass. This season he has thrown for 2,953 yards, 27 passing touchdowns, and threw a 63.9% completion rating. Watch for South Carolina to primarily attack through the air, in a category that the Cavaliers have struggled with all year.
Defensive Players to Watch:
Virginia: When going against a slinger on South Carolina, you need every bit of help in the secondary. However, one big help in Bryce Hall is going to propel this Cavalier defense to do things. Hall is projected to get drafted this year in the first half of rounds. Hall has 59 total tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, and 2 interceptions. Watch for Hall to give a boost to this Virginia defense to create sone issues for South Carolina.
South Carolina: Perkins will try to imply his feet into the game when the pocket breaks, this is where T.J Brunson comes into play. Brunson has shown to be an incredible blitzing problem, as well as a QB Spy that can stop big plays. Brunson has collected 94 total tackles, 10.5 tackles-for-loss, and 4.0 sacks. It is no surprise that Brunson will be running a shifting position at linebacker to give Perkins some looks he doesn’t like. Watch out for Brunson to give UVA all it can handle on offense.
The Basics
With all the disappointment to end off the season for Virginia, I think we could possibly see them surge. I also think that Virginia has the defense to hold South Carolina for a bit. For a bit. South Carolina has shown they can compete with some good teams and UVA’s turnover problem will show.
Score Prediction
34-24 South Carolina
Photo Credits: https://www.charlottesgotalot.com/events/sports/belk-bowl
