This is one of those games that fits the abstract-vs-concrete rule.

As in, “Talking about losses in the abstract is fine, but actually having to watch them is painful.”

It’s easy to say in August, “The Hokies are young this year, and they lost so many players on defense, that I think they’ll go 8-4, maybe even 7-5.” But actually watching those four or five losses, and dealing with the what-ifs, is painful.

Virginia Tech football lives in a bizarro world where they have lost seven straight home games to ranked teams since beating No. 9 Miami 31-7 in the rain in 2009. But since the start of the 2009 season, they are, by my count (and I’ve counted it three or four times) 10-3 in true road games against ranked teams.

...