LOUISVILLE, Ky. — That thud you heard Saturday was the Hokies coming back to earth.

No, Virginia Tech’s not ready for primetime. That was clear in a thorough 34-3 beatdown by No. 13 Louisville on Saturday. There wasn’t enough bourbon in Kentucky to drink away a defeat like that. (Though some Hokies fans we ran into afterward seemed to be trying.)

The question is, can Virginia Tech bounce back from such a lopsided loss and win two of its last three to get bowl eligible? I’ll tackle that and more in five thoughts the day after a lopsided affair: 

1. Unlike other losses this year, there wasn’t any silver lining.

What do you take from a 31-point loss that was the team’s fourth-lowest yardage total since 1987 and was just the third time in the last decade the Hokies have scored three points?

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