Freezing my tail off surrounded by Hokies, there was definitely some jawing, but also some good football conversations. But at the end of the day, a loss is a loss. They had a good night. I did not.
Regardless, we could overanalyze that game and get mirror results of UVa football this past decade. I'm not going to do that.
Instead, I was looking back over some of my preseason previews and predictions this morning and some things caught my eye.
I pride myself on knowing UVa football like the back of my hand. Sometimes I was right, but just as often, I was wrong.
Where I was Right
- Quin Blanding and Anthony Harris. Not that this was a tough one to figure out, but the duo was about as good as you can ask for. Especially Blanding, who probably only has two more seasons in Charlottesville remaining.
- Linebackers. Not like this one was hard to decipher either with two seniors in Coley and Romero and a great pass rusher in Valles. Coley was great against the run and as a blitzer, but he was a weak spot in coverage -- he was often subbed out in the nickel package as the season progressed. I'm hoping he gets a shot in the NFL as a two-down linebacker.
- Solid years by Eli Harold, Mike Moore, and David Dean. These guys were the major reason our run defense was so stout.
- Tight end. Zach Swanson never stepped up, struggling with drops (he almost dropped his touchdown against Tech) and blocking. Rob Burns was non-existent. This is a huge area of concern for next season.
- Offensive line shuffle. I didn't pick the right starting five, but I did say we would rotate a bunch of guys and generally struggle. Check.
- Matt Johns. I technically should split my credit on this one since I did project him as the No. 3 guy, but I did say -- in the practices I attended -- that he did at times look better than Greyson Lambert. He also started several games. For a guy that had never thrown a pass before the UCLA game, I'll give myself a little pat on the back.
- Preseason predictions. Believe it or not, I picked our first 11 games correctly (see here). Unfortunately, I had us beating Tech. I think we would have all preferred for me to go 12-for-12 here.
Where I was Wrong
- I was higher on the corners coming into this season. Part of the underachieving performance was thanks to the injury of Nicholson, but Canady struggled in the second half of the season. And with Tim Harris and DreQuan Hoskey, you know you're getting two mediocre corners. I got a little too excited here back in the summer.
- Andrew Brown -- I projected him as a starter. Not quite. Call it injuries, but he didn't lived up to his Gatorade High School player of the year award. Everyone says the talent is obvious, so hopefully with a full offseason, he can develop into the stud we were hoping for.
- Returners. I had Dominique Terrell -- not Khalek Shepherd -- returning punts. I also projected Taquan Mizzell to have more return yards than Darius Jennings. I think to all of our surprises, Jennings had 677 kick-return yards with a 27.1 average. Not too shabby. (Smoke had 208 yards at 23.1 yards per pop).
- Speaking of Mizzell, I expected him to be more explosive. He never really got out into space, and when he did, he read his blocks poorly. Even against Va. Tech on that 54-yard reception, I'm disappointed that the supposedly fastest guy on our team couldn't take it to the house. It cost us four points; it could have been the difference.
- Wide Receiver. I doubt I'm alone on this, but with a combined 9 catches for 78 yards coming into the season, I did not expect neither Gooch nor Severin to emerge. Gooch provided a big target on the outside and in the redzone, while Severin -- about 20 pounds lighter -- proved his value from the slot. I also thought Kyle Dockins and Keeon Johnson would have breakout-type of years. I guess I picked the wrong duo.
All and all, not too bad. I just wish it would have translated to more than five wins.
Still, as always, Go Hoos. On to next year. (Maybe sixth time is the charm for London!)
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