Two teams with contrasting strengths meet in the 2018 Belk Bowl when the South Carolina Gamecocks take on the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon ET from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The Gamecocks (7-5) take one of the most productive offensive units in the SEC up against a Cavaliers (7-5) defense that consistently slowed down high-powered ACC opponents. South Carolina seeks its second straight bowl win in its third season under head coach Will Muschamp, while Virginia aims for its first bowl victory under Bronco Mendenhall. The Gamecocks are 4.5-point favorites in the latest South Carolina vs. Virginia odds, down two from where the line opened. The over-under for total points scored is 54, down one from the opener. Before you lock in your South Carolina vs. Virginia picks and 2018 Belk Bowl predictions, check out what SportsLine senior analyst Josh Nagel has to say.

A Nevada-based expert with more than 20 years of experience in the sports wagering industry, Nagel specializes in handicapping college athletics. He has had another strong year, hitting 61 percent of his spread selections for SportsLine members. He heads into bowl season on a 20-6 run on spread picks. What's more, he has had a keen eye for the tendencies of these programs and boasts a sterling record of 8-1 on spread picks involving Virginia or South Carolina. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

In Week 12, Nagel advised SportsLine members that Virginia (-4.5) was in for a fight when it visited rival Virginia Tech, which was still battling for bowl eligibility. The Hokies covered wire to wire in their 34-31 overtime victory, and anyone who followed Nagel's advice booked another comfortable winner.

Now, he has analyzed the 2018 Belk Bowl odds and released a confident point-spread selection that is only available at SportsLine.

Nagel knows that Muschamp's first year with the Gamecocks featured a revolving door at quarterback as they searched for a signal-caller who could consistently produce against SEC opponents. That quest ended with the late-season emergence of Jake Bentley, who proved he was the program's quarterback for the near future. Now a junior, Bentley is seen as a rising pro prospect should he choose to enter the NFL Draft. 

Bentley has put up impressive numbers all season, but his national profile skyrocketed when he threw for a school-record 510 yards against second-ranked Clemson. For comparison's sake, Pittsburgh threw for just eight yards against this same defense in the ACC championship game. Bentley completed 32-of-50 attempts in Death Valley against a defensive unit that is projected to have at least five NFL Draft picks.

But just because the Gamecocks have an NFL-caliber quarterback doesn't mean they'll cover the Belk Bowl spread.

One key for Bronco Mendenhall's squad will be Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins' ability to break contain and make plays happen outside the pocket. Perkins has incredible athletic ability and the threat he poses as a runner also makes him a lot more effective passer from outside the pocket. That's why he was responsible for over 3,300 yards of total offense and 31 touchdowns this season.

However, against a South Carolina defense that has a lot of speed, he's going to have to make quality decisions. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae is likely to build plenty of RPOs into his gameplan. Virginia has certainly exceeded expectations this season too, going 7-4 against the spread versus FBS teams, compared to 6-5 for South Carolina. And Virginia has a point differential of plus-4.7 this season, compared to plus-2.3 for the Gamecocks.

We can tell you Nagel is leaning toward the over, but his much stronger play is on the spread. He has scoured this matchup and unearthed a critical X-factor that causes one side of the spread to hit hard. He's only sharing what it is and who to back at SportsLine.

Who wins Virginia vs. South Carolina? And what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side you need to jump all over in the Belk Bowl, all from the senior analyst who's on a blistering 8-1 run on his spread picks involving these teams.