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Published Dec 30, 2018
Take Two: Revisiting the keys and grading Virginia's Belk Bowl victory
Justin Ferber  •  CavsCorner
Editor In-Chief
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@justin_ferber

The Result: Virginia blew out South Carolina 28-0 to win the Belk Bowl. It was UVa's first bowl win since 2005 and is the third bowl victory in as many tries in Charlotte. The Wahoos finished the season with an 8-5 record.

The Turning Point: When Virginia went on a 14-play, 90-yard drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock and put the Hoos up 14-0. South Carolina couldn’t score on its ensuing possession and UVa controlled the game the rest of the way.

The Stat That Tells the Story: UVa dominated time of possession, holding the ball for more than 42 minutes. South Carolina, meanwhile, had the ball for 16 including just two minutes and 21 seconds in the entire second quarter.

Wahoo of the Week: It's Olamide Zacchaeus, who was named Belk Bowl MVP. In his final collegiate game, Zaccheaus caught 12 passes for 100 yards and three scores. His trio of touchdowns tied a Belk Bowl record and his 12 catches broke a UVa record for receptions in a bowl game.


Bronco's Winning Formula

24+ Points? YES (28)

+1 Turnover Margin? YES (+1)

+5 Average Starting Field Position? YES (+5 yards)


Keys to Victory


Keep South Carolina from having a hot start.

Mission accomplished. South Carolina had a promising first drive that got into Virginia territory but resulted in a 4th-down drop. The Gamecocks missed a field goal in the second quarter and weren’t able to get anything going on another drive across the 50 to end the half. They were scoring 13.2 points per game in the first quarter during their last five but Virginia kept the Gamecocks off the scoreboard and scored a touchdown in each quarter.

Grade: A


2) Get Bryce Perkins going on the ground.

Mission accomplished, again. Perkins didn’t necessarily have a bunch of designed runs, but he made the most of his scramble opportunities. The Virginia quarterback finished with 81 yards on 15 carries, including a game-long 19-yard scramble. He also helped UVa convert a number of 3rd downs on scramble plays and kept the sticks moving on the long, sustained drives the Hoos were able to put together.

Grade: B+


Report Card

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