On This Date: Virginia Shuts Out South Carolina 28-0 to Win 2018 Belk Bowl

On December 29th, 2018, Virginia and South Carolina met in the Belk Bowl at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

The Cavaliers came into the game as five and a half-point underdogs and had lost two games in a row, both in overtime. The Gamecocks certainly had the advantage in momentum, having won two of their last three games. The one defeat was a 56-35 road loss at the hands of the eventual national champion Clemson Tigers. South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley threw for 510 yards and five touchdowns in that game against the stout Clemson defense and had thrown for 16 touchdowns over the last five games of the regular season.

It was expected that the Wahoos would have their hands full with the Gamecocks in the Belk Bowl.

What happened instead was one of the most dominant performances in the history of the Virginia football program.

The Cavaliers possessed the ball for over 42 of the game’s 60 minutes and completely smothered the Gamecock offense en route to a 28-0 shutout victory.

The UVA defense held Jake Bentley to just 17/39 passing for 218 yards and two interceptions, one by Juan Thornhill and one by Tim Harris late in the fourth quarter to keep the shutout intact.

On the offensive end, Bryce Perkins completed 22 of 31 passing attempts for 208 yards and three touchdowns and tacked on 81 rushing yards. All three of Perkins’ touchdown passes were thrown to Olamide Zaccheaus, who finished with 12 receptions for 100 yards and was named the MVP of the Belk Bowl in his final game in a UVA uniform. Jordan Ellis rushed for 106 yards and scored the other touchdown for the Cavaliers.

Virginia’s 28-0 win over South Carolina was the first time the Gamecocks had been shutout in 12 years and it was UVA’s first victory in a bowl game since the Hoos defeated Minnesota 34-31 in the Music City Bowl in 2005.

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