What on paper seems to be a key loss for South Carolina in the Belk Bowl could be overcome in the mind of Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall.

“When I turned on the tape for the first time, I saw SEC-caliber athletes with SEC-caliber coaching and a team that’s winning in that venue and in that environment,” he said. “And all that does is earn my admiration and respect and it has for our players.”

Mendenhall admitted that any time a great player is not in the game, it helps an opponent, but he’s quick to point out that WR Deebo Samuel, who is sitting out the game to prepare for the NFL Draft, was not the Gamecocks’ only good player.

Samuel suffered a season-ending injury in 2017, and is aware of the risk he takes ahead of a possible career in the NFL.

But Mendenhall has a point. Four South Carolina players caught at least two touchdown passes, and WR Bryan Edwards had 52 catches for 809 yards — numbers that were slightly behind Samuel’s team-leading production — with seven touchdowns. And Samuel had three games where he caught less than four passes.

Virginia’s pass defense, meanwhile, is more than respectable. The Cavaliers are second in the ACC in pass defense as they’ve given up just 180 passing yards per game, with 15 interceptions, which is tied for third in the conference.