The South Carolina Gamecocks are 5.5-points favorites over the Virginia Cavaliers, according to the legal betting sites point spread. South Carolina finished fourth in the SEC East division. They went 7-5 (4-4 in conference play) SU and 7-5 ATS this year. Their regular season finale was a 28-3 win over the Akron Zips as 28.5-point home chalk. This will be the Gamecocks’ third straight bowl since Will Muschamp accepted the position of head coach. It will also be their first Belk Bowl.
Virginia finished fourth in the ACC Coastal division with a 7-5 record (4-4 in conference play). They also went 8-4 ATS during the regular season, per the best online sportsbooks. The Cavs are coming off a 31-34 loss to Virginia Tech as four-point road faves. This will be Virginia’s second straight bowl under head coach Bronco Mendenhall. It will be their first Belk Bowl as well.
Betting South Carolina
The G-Cocks rank No. 24 in the country in passing yards with 277.4 per game. Starting QB Jake Bentley attributes that to quarterbacks coach Dan Werner. “Coach Werner is probably one of the biggest blessings, biggest helps that I’ve had since I’ve been in college,” Bentley said. “Just his overall knowledge of the game and how he approaches it, what he’s brought to our offense has just been great for us.” Bentley has 27 TDs and 12 picks on 2953 yards through the air. Including 199 yards, three TDs and two interceptions against Akron. Even backup Michael Scarnecchia has benefited from Werner’s wisdom.
“Confidence is a big thing,” Scarnecchia said. “You can see it throughout the whole QB room. Everyone is confident in their reads and having discernment when they’re making a certain read and throwing the ball. Just trusting yourself and trusting yourself when you’re taking shots. He’s been big on, ‘When you have a shot, take it, but don’t force anything.’ He’s helping us be smart with the ball.”
Betting Virginia
Starting QB Bryce Perkins is intent on leaving the loss to Virginia Tech behind. “It’s painful anytime you lose to a rival, especially when you come so close,” Perkins said. “But we have to put it behind us. We can’t do anything about it now.” As mentioned above, the sports gambling online spread favored the Cavs by four points. However, they fell by three. Perkins had three TDs on 259 passing yards in that game. He also rushed for 112 yards. But a mistake by Perkins in overtime cost Virginia the contest. All things considered, though, the junior QB is the lifeblood of this team.
“Bryce at a little bit less than 100 percent is still better than most,” Coach Mendenhall said. “A winning season, a chance to win eight [games] and a second consecutive bowl game, I don’t think any of those happen without the way Bryce played this year.”
South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Virginia Cavaliers – Belk Bowl Betting Preview
- Date: December 29
- Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC (Belk Bowl)
Odds from BetOnline.ag:
- South Carolina -5½ (-110) 53½ (-110) -220
- Virginia +5½ (-110) 53½ (-110)
Betting Trends
- Gamecocks are 12-4 ATS in their last 16 vs. ACC
- Gamecocks are 11-5 ATS in their last 16 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points
- Gamecocks are 4-9-2 ATS in their last 15 games after allowing less than 20 points in their previous game
- Over is 5-2 in Gamecocks last 7 neutral site games
- Cavaliers are 6-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record
- Cavaliers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games
Our Game Prediction: The Cavs have been better against the spread this season. However, the Cocks have had bigger and tougher competition. Based on that, let’s pick South Carolina to cover the legal sports betting sites spread.
