Well then you were lucky. The reason to pick UVa was that they had a much tougher schedule than NW, but then it turned out to be a game that could have gone either way. Virginia supposedly had its own coaching problems according to the announcers who would rather be the stars of these games.
ML/NJ
No, I don't think it was luck. UVa did NOT have a much tougher schedule than Minny (I assume you meant Minn, not NW). Based upon opponents' winning %, Minny had the #17 most difficult schedule, while the Cavs had #67, so it wasn't really close. Having to play Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, and Penn State (3 on the road) is NOT an easy schedule.
Yes, the game could have gone either way; however, Minny was favored by almost a TD, which is what I was going against, so had Minny scored a TD to win, they still wouldn't have covered.
Yes, UVa did have some coaching issues, as 4 assistants left; however, it gave the players much more one-on-one time with the head coach, Al Groh. I think the players really enjoyed that, as they normally have little interaction with the head coach. I thought his players would play hard for him and they did.
When you are favored like Minny, it's easy to get distracted. With all of the Minny assistants getting termination notices the day after the game, it doesn't take a rocket scientist that they might not be totally focused in on the game. Coach Mason even said they were being distracted by it.