Back in mid-September, I wrote a column making a series of bold and unlikely predictions about the college and pro football seasons this year. There’s still plenty of football left to be played, but it’s late enough in the season to take a look to see if this sportswriter’s calls were crazy-good or just plain crazy.
Prediction 1: Peter Lalich’s troubles would pass and he would resume his starting role, serving as a great quarterback for the next 2.5 years.
Outcome: Petey, as his teammates refer to him, is no longer a Cavalier. That doesn’t mean, however, my prediction is no good. Lalich is now enrolled at Oregon State University where he will sit out the 2008 season and begin playing for the Beavers in 2009. His coach even told the Gazette-Times in Corvallis, Ore. that Lalich’s doing an impressive job as quarterback of the OSU scout team.
So for this prediction, we’ll say I pushed.
Record: 0-0-1
Prediction 2: Terrell Owens would be selected as the NFL MVP.
Outcome: I definitely called this one. Yep, Owens is a lock to repeat as the NFL’s MVP: Most Volatile Personality. He’s starting to grow unhappy, even when the team caters to him. Philadelphia can tell you where things go from here.
Record: 1-0-1
Prediction 2a: I would make and lose a stupid bet against the Cowboys.
Outcome: Recall that I am the University’s biggest Redskins fan and that I love making ridiculous bets on sports games, particularly Redskins-Cowboys games. I figured I was destined to lose a wager against the Cowboys during one of the two seasons’ matches.
The Redskins somehow pulled out a 26-24 win Sept. 28 against the Cowboys in the teams’ last matchup in Texas Stadium, only the team’s second win there in the past decade.
But I was not so lucky when the Cowboys came to FedEx Field two weekends ago and edged Washington 14-10.
As expected, I made and lost a bet on the game. We thought about making the bet on a “Romo is my homeboy” T-shirt. My friend, however, thought of another medium where I could alert even more people about my affection toward the Cowboys’ quarterback: the title of a sports column.
Record: 2-0-1
Prediction 3: North Carolina would win the ACC.
Outcome: This is another one I nailed. The Tar Heels won the ACC in 2008 ... in women’s soccer. What, you thought I was talking about football?
Record: 3-0-1
Prediction 4: Virginia will upset East Carolina.
Outcome: Woo! 35-20! It’s true that this prediction looked less bold in mid-October when the teams actually played than in mid-September when the Pirates were ranked No. 15 in the nation and the Cavaliers were sitting at 1-2.
As I stated, though, the Cavaliers were picking up momentum just as East Carolina was losing it. I make this look too easy, sometimes.
Record: 4-0-1
Prediction 5: No midmajors will crash the BCS this year.
Outcome: Not only will midmajors crash the BCS this year, but three teams have a chance to do so. Utah has secured 12-0, while Boise State is one win away from an undefeated record, and Ball State is one win and a MAC Championship contest away from finishing 2008 unscathed.
Utah is a lock for a BCS bid with a No. 6 BCS ranking. Boise State has a good shot at an at-large bid, too, sitting at No. 10. Things aren’t looking as bright for Ball State, though, which, at No. 15 in the BCS, could go undefeated and not land a spot in a big-time bowl game.
So you’d think I got this wrong, but I’m going to say I pushed, because I did call that Utah was a team that had a chance and that then-media darlings ECU and Brigham Young would not make it through the season undefeated.
Record: 4-0-2
Prediction 6: Notre Dame would go to a bowl game and might even scratch the top 25 at some point.
Outcome: Notre Dame is bowl-eligible, which is the equivalent of bowl-bound because most bowls are eager to cash in on the Fighting Irish and their legions of wealthy, traveling fans.
And the part about scratching the top 25 was not that far out of place, either. The team received votes in polls many times throughout the season.
Record: 5-0-2
Prediction 7: Chad Ocho Cinco will be traded to a team where No. 85 is retired.
Outcome: The point of this prediction wasn’t necessarily the trade itself but that Ocho Cinco wouldn’t be able to wear the 85 on his back.
Turns out it wasn’t the eight-five that Chad could not wear, but the Ocho Cinco. Reebok won’t allow Chad to wear his new last name on his jersey this year so the old Johnson jerseys can finish selling.
I’ll take half credit here.
Record: 5-0-3
Prediction 8: Virginia would go to a bowl game.
Outcome: This was perhaps the boldest and least likely among my bold, unlikely predictions.
The Cavaliers sit at 5-6 right now. Virginia faithful everywhere let out a collective sigh of disappointment when the Cavaliers lost to Clemson 13-3 because it means the team will have to win at Blacksburg to have a shot at bowl eligibility. It’s not unlike the end of the 2006 season. It seems most fans and sportswriters have phoned the season in.
Maybe the upcoming break from schoolwork has made me too optimistic, but I think the Cavaliers are going to win. Write it down — underdog does not mean anything. 23-20, Cavaliers.
Plus, if the Cavaliers pull it out, they’ll have fulfilled the last of my football predictions. Even though I had to sneak my way out of a few of them, I could still be looking at an undefeated record. Not too shabby for a non-prophet.
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