2012 Sports Predictions

     For the second consecutive year, I made sports predictions that I sealed in an envelope on New Year's Day and didn't open them until the following New Year's Day. Below are the predictions I made for 2012. Some of them are great, while some of them are waaaaay off. I have scored all 15 of them out of five, so you can compare my score this year to my 2011 predictions (which I will post later tonight, as well).

1. Cobi Hamilton will emerge as Arkansas' #1 wide receiver and earn First Team All-SEC honors.

Going into the season, many people expected Cobi Hamilton to fill the hole left behind by the graduation of Joe Adams, Greg Childs and Jarius Wright, but few expected him to have the record breaking year he had. He broke the Arkansas single-game receiving yards record (303 vs. Rutgers, also an SEC single-game record), single-season receptions and receiving yards record, and career receptions record last season. He was only a Second Team All-SEC selection in the preseason, but he earned First Team All-SEC honors and Third Team All-American honors at the end of the season. I nailed this prediction perfectly, so I'll give myself a five out of five. (5/5)

2. The Arkansas baseball team will finish second at the SEC tournament.

The Arkansas baseball team earned a 6-seed for the annual SEC tournament last season, but fell to Mississippi St. 9-1 and then to Ole Miss 2-0, eliminating them from the tournament well before the championship game. However, they caught fire in the NCAA tournament, making it all the way to the College World Series, ultimately finishing third in the country. While they didn't finish second in the SEC tourney, I will give myself some credit for prediction postseason success (I am very lenient with grading myself). Two points out of five seems fair. (2/5)

3. Zero number 1 seeds will make the Final Four in the Men's Basketball Tournament.

Kentucky was the only number 1 seed that made the Final Four in last year's tournament. The other three teams, Louisville (4), Ohio St. (2) and Kansas (2) were not. Since only one of the teams was a 1-seed, I'll give myself one point. (1/5)

4. The Super Bowl champion will not win their division next season.

The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 to win Super Bowl XLVI. This season, however, they finished with a 9-7 record, one game behind the Washington Redskins in the NFC East. They also didn't make the playoffs. I'd say I earned five out of five points for this prediction. (5/5)

5. Kevin Durant will score at least 50 points in two games during the 2011-2012 season.

On February 19 against the Denver Nuggets, Kevin Durant scored 51 points. It was the only time he broke the half-century mark, though. Since he did it once, I'll give myself a point. (1/5)

6. The Heisman Trophy winner will not be a quarterback or running back.

This was ALMOST a reality this year, as Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting, with many people believing he deserved it more than Texas A&M freshman quarterback Johnny Manziel. I'll give myself two points because of how close this came to being true. (2/5)

7. Ohio St. won't make a bowl game next year.

I have no idea what I was thinking when I predicted this. I thought I may have made this prediction before the NCAA issued the bowl-ban for the Buckeyes, but that came in December of 2011. Despite an undefeated 2012 season, Ohio St. was banned from postseason play because of violations, so while I was technically correct in this prediction, I basically cheated. I won't give myself any points for this prediction. (0/5)

8. Peyton Manning will come back and pass for 3,500+ yards and 30+ touchdowns.

Sure, I had no idea he'd be with the Broncos, but I was dead on with this prediction. Peyton Manning ended the regular season with 4,659 passing yards and 37 touchdowns, while leading the Broncos to a 13-3 record and top seed in the AFC. This is another five out of five. (5/5)

9. Gus Malzahn will lead Arkansas St. to a 9 win season next year, with another bowl berth.

Gus Malzahn led Arkansas St. to a 9-3 record and Sun Belt Championship in his first season as a college football head coach before he departed for Auburn. The Red Wolves will play Kent St. on January 6th in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. Again, a perfect five out of five. (5/5)

10. Vanderbilt will win 8 games next year.

Vandy finished the regular season with an 8-4 record and won the Music City Bowl 38-24 over North Carolina St. to earn their 9th victory. Their nine wins are the most they have had in a single season since going 9-1 in 1915. Five out of five points, again. (5/5)

11. Four different golfers will win the majors, including Tiger Woods, someone that has never won before, and someone that hasn't won one in 8 years.

Bubba Watson won The Masters, Webb Simpson won the U.S. Open, Ernie Els won the Open Championship (aka- the British Open), and Rory McIlroy won the PGA Championship (four different winners - CHECK). Watson and Simpson were first time Major winners (CHECK), while McIlroy last won one in 2011 and Els last won one ten years ago, 2002 (CHECK). However, Tiger Woods' best finish in a 2012 Major was tied for third in the Open Championship. I got nearly all of the parts of this prediction correct, so I'll give myself four points. (4/5)

12. Albert Pujols will win the AL MVP.

Albert Pujols started his first season in the American League sluggish, but he finished with solid numbers (.285 avg., 30 HR, 105 RBI). However, he didn't stand a chance in the AL MVP race against triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera and teammate and rookie sensation Mike Trout, who finished first and second in the voting. Pujols did receive one 6th, one 9th, and one 10th place vote for a total of eight points and a 17th place finish. This wasn't close enough for me to earn any points. (0/5)

13. The Cardinals will have a better record than the Angels.

The Cardinals finished the regular season with an 88-74 record and the Angels finished with an 89-73 record. The Angels, however, did not make the playoffs, while the Cardinals made the playoffs as the second NL wild-card team. Coming within one game of the World Series, the Cardinals lost to the eventual World Series Champion Giants in the NLCS. St. Louis clearly had a better season than the LA Angels, so I'll give myself two points. (2/5)

14. The U.S. will win the most medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Looking back at the final medal count from the London Olympics, it appears that the U.S. blew out every other country. However, it was very close between the U.S. and China for a while. The totals ended up being 104-88 in favor of the Americans. This is another perfect five out of five. (5/5)

15. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will rebound with a 9+ win season.

The Buccaneers went 4-12 in 2011, and I felt that they would rebound this season. They did improve their record to 7-9, but they fell short of the nine wins I predicted. I'll give myself zero points. (0/5)

     If you're keeping track at home, out of a 75 total points possible, I earned 42. As I mentioned earlier, I'll post my 2011 sports predictions sometime this week, so you can compare how I did. Now it's time for me to make my 2013 sports predictions and hide them until New Year's Day 2014.