Predictions, Predictions by Bryan Smouther

Once again, I've been asked to write a little bit about Virginia football, and also about this year's Men's basketball team. In the interests of time and space, I've combined the two articles into one super-article, entitled:How little Bryan knows about predicting sports. First, a recap of football.

I boldly predicted that the `Hoos would go 8-3 this year, and end up in Atlanta. Yeah, right. Once again, UVa football fails to live up to expectations. Here's how the season went:

September 2nd, BYU - I said: UVa wins, but it'll be close, and high-scoring. Call it 40-31, `Hoos. What happened: BYU, 38-35. David Green misses a field goal as time expires that would have sent the game into overtime. I should have known better. Reinvention, my ass. Bryan's score: 0-1.

September 9th, Richmond - I said: UVa wins in a romp, 33-7. What happened: UVa 34-6. Damn, I'm good. This makes up for the BYU Game. Ellis passes for 299 yards in the win. Bryan's score: 1-1.

September 16th, Duke - I said: UVa starts off 3-0 with a 28-0 shutout of the Devils. What happened: UVa, 26-10. I seem to be pretty close with our scoring this year. However, this game was not as well played as the score would indicate, and Duke didn't win this year. Bryan's score: 2-1.

September 23rd, Clemson - I said: The Cavs will fight hard, but lose for the first time in the new stadium, 21-17. What happened: Clemson, 31-10. And I thought it would be close. Clemson went 9-2, losing to GT and FSU, but we flat-out sucked. Bryan's score: 3-1.

September 30th, Wake Forest - I said: This week, the Hoos will show that Wake's future is still in doubt, rebounding for a 23-10 victory. What happened: `Hoos, 27-10. Not much to say about this game, other than Wake sucks. Only wins were vs. Duke and Navy. Bryan's score: 4-1.

October 7th, Maryland - I said: UVa squeaks by the Terps 17-14. What happened: UVa, 31-23. A little higher scoring than I thought, but the `Hoos' D held Jordan under 100 yards rushing. Ellis goes down at the end of the first half, and isn't the same the rest of the year. Bryan's score: 5-1. So far, I'm doing better than the team. Will it hold?

October 21st, FSU - I said: FSU will blow out the Hoos, 45-7, on their way to their second straight National Championship. What happened: FSU, 37-3. Bryson Spinner makes his first start as a `Hoo, but this is FSU, here. The `Hoos fall to 4-3, but I go to 6-1. Am I good or what?

October 28th, UNC - I said: UVa wins 24-13, but the game won't be as close as that score indicates. What happened: UVa, 17-6. Geez, I thought that Benedict would at least be able to get a touchdown. Great game for the Virginia D, but Ellis isn't the same since the injury. Bryan's score: 7-1.

November 9th, Georgia Tech - I said: But I'll go with the Hoos pulling it out in overtime on a David Green field goal, 38-35. What happened: GT, 35-0. Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!!! And I was doing so well. This game wasn't as close as the score indicated. Bryan's score: 7-2.

November 18th, NC State - I said: UVa gives the fourth-years a win in their last home game, 30-17. What happened: UVa, 24-17. Ah, that's a little better. Spinner shows the home crowd what to expect for the next 3 years. I'm excited. Bryan's score: 8-2.

November 25th, Virginia Tech - I said: The Hoos will keep it close, but fall in the end 31-28. What happened: VT, 42-21. Well, we kept is close for about a quarter and a half. The weather was cold, wet, and miserable, and the game was a perfect match. Oh well, Bryan's score: 9-2.

Well, I did a little better than the team, and our streak of 7-win regular seasons is history. But the 6-5 finish was good enough to earn the team (and the band) a trip to Hawaii for the Oahu bowl on Christmas Eve. The band will be spending 6 days in Honolulu, doing absolutely nothing. For the bastards, umm, I mean lucky few who get to go to this game, I hope you all choke on a pineapple.

Now, for basketball: I'm excited. As I write this, the `Hoos are coming off a huge win over Purdue in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. Currently 4-0, the `Hoos are on their way to kick the crap out of VMI tonight, and I'll be there. Overall, UVa should do really well this year. After getting screwed out of an NCAA birth last year, the Cavs are hungry. Unfortunately, we won't be able to sneak up on anyone this year, but Coach Gillen has the guys playing really well thus far. I foresee a trip to the ACC finals, an NCAA bid this year, and a ticket to the Sweet 16. In the interests of space, I won't predict every game in detail, but will offer opinions on the big ones.

Our Out-Of-Conference games: Many people felt our biggest weakness last year was our OOC schedule. We've managed to beef it up some this year, adding Missouri to the middle of January, and participating in the Jimmy V Classic against Tennessee. Since we've already defeated Purdue (98-79. Boy, was that a rout.), I think we can pull this one off. But the sensible side of me says No. However, Missouri will be a nice break at home in the middle of the ACC season. If we split those two games, we'll go 10-1 out of conference.

The ACC:

GT, Clemson, and FSU: These teams are hardly worth considering, but we saw last year that every game in the ACC has to be taken seriously. All three of these teams are going to have down years, but Clemson and GT are always dangerous (FSU, please. They've got a Jelly Doughnut playing center). The fan side of me wants to say we'll win all of these, but the practical side disagrees. Call it 5-1 for these games, giving us a running record of 15-2 so far.

Wake Forest: Wake looks good this year. Talent-wise, they are easily our equal. This team has a lot of returning experience (3 three-year letter winners), and won the NIT last year. These games will be close this year, and I think that each will win at home. Push the `Hoos record to 16-3.

NC State: The (fudge)Pack is supposed to be very good this year, but their best player, Damon Thorton, might not be able to play if he can't keep himself out of prison. We've had the Wolf Pack's number recently, and I see no reason for that to change. Run the record tally to 18-3.

Maryland: The Terps are very experienced, very deep team this year. But for some reason, they've started out very slow again. However, I have no reason to believe that they won't get their act together. We stole one from Maryland last year, but I don't think we'll do it this year. So far, the `Hoos are 18-5.

UNC: Carolina still sucks. No really. After Bill Gutheridge retired at the end of the year, UNC was spurned by their first four choices before allowing Matt Doherty to take the reigns. The result. UNC still looks bad, no matter who the coach is. Ronald Curry, after a horribly spectacular campaign in football (note sarcasm here, please), is ready to take the hardwood. However, he won't shore up their point guard situation, and we'll start a winning streak in basketball to match the one in football. `Hoos achieve a 20-win season, and are now 20-5.

Duke: Ha, yeah right. Dook is currently #1 in the nation, has Raisenhead (a.k.a. Shane Battier, preseason player of the year), and the best offense in the nation. I won't pretend we're going to beat them, but we'll play them close at home.

So there you have it. The `Hoos will finish up 20-7 for the regular season. No 20-win team from the ACC has ever been left out of the NCAAs, so get ready to rumble. Here's to hoping I do as well here as football.