The worst game in Virginia Tech football history was followed by the best game in Virginia Tech football history. I thought our emotional roller coaster had come to an end this year � evidently there was one more surprise left. I don�t blame you if you don�t read this column. Frankly I didn�t even want to type it up. But I had already grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled down the game as I saw it. I have absolutely no concept of game time on most of these scribbles but they are, for the most part, in chronological order. So, for what it�s worth, here are the VT/Pitt scribbles:

• Pre-game � Herbie and Fowler look a little cold dressed in their gloves and winter jackets, but Corso is just hanging out in the always fashionable sweater-under-the-sportcoat look.

• They just did a piece on Larry Fitzgerald and he looks scarier than Kellen Winslow on steroids.

• Speaking of Kellen Winslow on steroids � what in the hell is that kid�s problem? I understand you�re a young kid, but you�re not five. Sleep on it next time, then talk to the press. What an embarrassment.

• And my favorite commentator just said we need to be more like Notre Dame in order to win this game. He may have been correct in that Notre Dame was lucky enough to beat Pitt (I will argue that, 9 out of 10 times, Pitt wins that game), but to tell some team that you need to play more like a 3-6 club is absurd.

• I love the maroon pants. We should never take them off.

• OK I can�t get over this moron commentator. Maybe moron is a little strong, you be the judge . . . Last week he preached about how Vick was the starter from then on and how Beamer, with his decision to keep Vick in the game last week, was making the statement that Marcus was "the man" and Randall was relegated to 2^nd string. Now, I just heard the same guy stand in his cozy commentator booth with his cozy commentator salary and open his big commentator mouth and say "I like this decision by Frank Beamer to start Bryan Randall." They pay him for this?

• Fitzgerald with a 41-yd. reception. Eric Green fell down in coverage, not a good way to start.

• There is a Pitt player named Simonitis. Sounds like something you get from eating bad meat.

• Pitt to attempt a field goal. Where�s Green when we need him?

• 3-0, Pitt.

• Yeah Mike Imoh, dragging players along for the ride until the kicker decides to become a human catcher�s mitt and let Imoh bowl him over. By the way, did you see the kicker�s face when he saw Imoh coming? Neither did I but I can imagine . . .

• Another comment from our slow-talking, dim-witted commentator friend about the great decision to start Randall. This guy kills me.

• TD KJ. Fake reverse inside handoff for a TD baby. Look at Marcus and Randall, both of them fired up for the other�s successes � true team players, true gentlemen.

• There is a wedding going on down the street and people keep dropping by the house to say hello. I have to pretend to listen to them as I watch the game. Do they have no manners? "Yeah � yeah, congratulations. May your marriage be a happy one, yada yada yada. Your big *** white gown is blocking my Hokies."

• Have I told you that I really like the maroon pants/white shirt look?

• Holy crap we have E. Green one on one with Fitzgerald. Literally 1 on 1. Why is he not being double covered?

• And Pitt fumbles � could not have come at a better time since it covered up for an absolutely horrible tackling show that we just put on.

• Jones took a pitch to the outside and ran it for 4 yards. My favorite buddy in the booth informs us that there was "not much doin�" on that play. What in the hell does that even mean? I�ll take 4 yards on every down pal.

• Randall scrambled, doubled back and then smartly threw it away, very heads up. It is fun to actually witness him mature as a player.

• Cedric Humes on the screen pass for the first down. That was a perfect call.

• We must score a TD here and go up 14-3. Very important.

• Jones continues to amaze me. He just lowers his shoulders and abuses these DBs.

• KJ fumbled on the 7 yd. line. On the 7 yd. line � are you kidding me? Pitt ball. Crap.

• Now Rutherford fumbled. How did we not recover that ball?

• [We have the ball back on a critical 3^rd down play.] Oh Clowney buddy, you have to keep your feet.

• Marcus is warming up baby.

• Hey just out of curiosity, what is with the Pitt Panther? The actual one on their helmets � does this look like a panther?

• Vick is starting the second quarter. Please handoff to KJ, you are too cold to throw just yet. Ah, what do I know? Wilford dropped it.

• Vinnie Burns, with a wonderful week last week, now has two straight crappy punts. Are we trying to make this interesting? Because I am not interested in making this interesting.

• TD Pitt � to Fitz. Looks like we were playing the fade route against him and he came inside. 10-7 bad guys.

• Shake it off Vinnie, shake it off.

• We need a long Hokie drive for a TD here.

• Another memorable quote (talking about Vick on the keeper who was brought down by Pitt�s DB, William �Tutu� Ferguson): "If �Tutu� doesn�t make the tackle it would be too too much." Oh my goodness, really?

• 13-10 Tech. Come on Warley. 14-10 Tech. The only reason Pitt is in this game is because of our mistakes. [Little did I know how true this statement would be when I scribbled it.]

• Adibi has surprising speed to the outside. Impressive.

• This ref quite possibly could be the calmest I have ever heard. "Hey folks we just had a slight block in the back here on Pitt. No big deal. We�re just going to march off a few yards and start it up again. Please enjoy the game."

• Now Humes fumbled. We are giving this away, giving it away.

• Fuller with a spectacular third down tackle.

• Crap this is not good. Pitt is going for it . . . and they got it on the option, plus tack on a facemask. How about some holding on Fitzgerald? Flashes of the �99 Sugar Bowl when [on what I would consider the turning point in that game] Weinke pitched it to the outside and they ran for a first down, coupled with a late hit penalty on us. We were done after that.

• Alright guys this is not X-mas. Stop giving this game away. My god.

• Marcus baby with a QB keeper puts a huge hit on their DB for a first down. Just a tough kid.

• 2^nd and 17, this is a big play for us.

• Good lord Marcus. An interception while throwing the ball away? Why do QBs always seem to nonchalantly throw the ball away, as if the decision to do so means that the other team automatically stops defending?

• I wrote quite a few expletives down at this point knowing that they would not make it into the column, but it was very therapeutic for me. This just sucks.

• We are freaking giving it away . . . I am getting sick of writing this so come on . . . are you freakin� kidding me?

• Now it appears that they can also run the ball fairly well on us.

• Oh my god! Oh my freakin� god! Mikal Baaqee, with what might be a game saving play, takes it right out of the hands of the Pitt receiver. Poetry.

• Stop calling him "Baaaaah-Ki." Learn their names please.

• 17-14 at the half � I just vomited.

• OK look, so here�s the deal. A friend of the family is having a wedding literally 50 yards away. Lots of people I know, free booze and good food. And I am missing it all to watch us lose to Pittsburgh? Uh-uh, no way. I don�t think so folks. Get your *** in gear Tech.

• "Pitt just ran the same play with Fitz to opposite sides of the field (a wide receiver screen). Dad, they are obviously setting up something here." And there it is. Oh hey, for a first down none-the-less. Just fantastic.

• Fumble Rutherford. Why is it that every time we fumble, they recover? There should be some give and take here Walt. GIVE AND TAKE. (In my best Costanza voice) "George is gettin� upset!"

• What? That was not a catch. The ball hit the ground. It hit the ground!! Am I the only one who saw that?

• How about Clemson baby? 13-0. They are doing their job, why are we not doing ours?

• Jones my good man, please don�t dance around at our goal line. Lower your head and keep your legs moving.

• Vick rolls right � Easlik�s open � very nice grab. That was just a pretty play to get us some breathing room.

• We still have the ball, driving at the 50 yd. line and I have nothing even remotely funny to write. [I am getting worked up just typing up my notes and the game has been over for 15 hours.]

• I have to apologize here. I have not taken notes for the last few minutes because I am just too . . . I don�t even know what I am. But frankly we look lethargic, Pitt is taking us to school and I�m not writing a thing.

• TD Pitt. We suck the most.

• Forget it. I�m going to the wedding.

• OK so I�m not. I am however wearing a hole in the rug, pacing back and forth, back and forth. I need a drink. Just give me the bottle.

• "Dad we don�t have a big play offense this year like Pitt does. We are known for long sustained drives. This is not good for us." Enter Kevin Jones and his 80-yard "Hey Jeff how does your foot taste?" TD sprint. I love you Kevin.

• Can you say Momentum . . . keep it going defense!

• Pitt to the 43 yd. line on the kick return. I thought that we were the special special-teams team.

• 3^rd and three at the beginning of the fourth quarter and this could be the biggest play of the game for our D here. Absolutely HUGE.

• SACK. SACK. SACK. Perfectly played.

• Aaaah Hall don�t touch that punt. Oh god, my heart skipped a beat on that one hopper. Thanks for that D. Lo.

• Is there anything more beautiful than Vick to Wilford. It reminds me so much of Vick to Davis. I miss those days.

• KJ TD baby. KJ TD.

• OK so let me get this straight. KJ with 4 TDs. E-Dub with several huge catches. Vick with several great plays. Me with several mild heart attacks. Alright defense, it�s your turn now.

• Fumble baby. Could this be any better for us? Fall on the ball Vinnie. Fall on the freakin� ball. Man if Fuller didn�t finally recover that I would have become Tourettes boy.

• Holy (expletive). Did you see that hit Vick put on Pitt�s #7? Did you? Of course you did. Un-freakin�-believable. BAM � right in the Chiclets, baby! Oh my god that was beautiful. That�s football right there I tell ya, that�s football.

• Why can�t we score again? We can not survive on a 4-point lead people.

• I can�t handle this nervousness. I am literally sweating through my clothes. I�m sitting in a puddle. I need water wings.

• I�m pulling my hair out in clumps. Clumps. We just got a huge stop on 3^rd down. Hokie ball. What do you say we end this crap now, huh?

• Now that it�s a commercial, I have time to point out how great it is that Randall was smiling and clapping after Marcus leveled that Pitt DB. Reminds me so unbelievably much of [Drew] Bledsoe when the Pats won the SuperBowl. Just a true team player and a Class Act. (I know I capitalized Class Act, but both of our quarterbacks are just that.)

• Oh no. Wilford�s down and it doesn�t look good. To add insult to injury, they didn�t give him the reception. THAT WAS A CATCH.

• Oh my god. Justin Hamilton really didn�t catch that but they owed us for the Wilford screw-up. Fantastic baby. We need some points on the board here. God I am nervous.

• 4^th and 4. What do we do? I�m now bald and could use a Depends but what call do we make here? Do we go the Warley route @ 47 yds in the cold with a bad back? Do we punt, with Vinnie Burns not having a great night, and try to pin them down? Or do we go for it?

• WE GO FOR IT . . . (and I think this is the absolute correct call). So close. Wait a minute, look at the replay. He was all over his left arm before the ball got there. That was pass interference. PASS INTERFERENCE.

• Holy crap � Holy crap. I can�t take this. Sweet Mary Jane, what in the hell�s going on? Pitt is driving like we�re on vacation. This is not supposed to happen. Not to us.

• Puh-Lease give me a turnover.

• Where is our defense?

• 2^nd and 1.

• 1^st and goal on OUR 4 yd. line.

• I can�t watch this. It�s like watching [Grady] Little leave Pedro on the mound � like watching Travis with the gun on his way to Old Yeller�s pen. You know exactly what�s coming and you can�t do a thing to stop it. I�m sobbing like a baby.

• 3^rd and goal on the 2 yd. line. It�s 4-down territory here folks � two more stops. 54 seconds left. This is where we find out what we are made of.

• WATCH FOR THE FADE TO FITZGERALD.

• I can�t believe we let this happen. How did this happen? How did Polite get in the end zone? No way. His knee was down before the ball crossed. The refs let the players make that call for them. Are you kidding me? Am I the only one who sees this? Am I wrong? He wasn�t in. No way.

• Marcus is clapping it up on the sideline trying to rally the O. That�s leadership. That�s poise. That just gave me a small amount of hope. So absolutely small, but it�s there.

• And here�s the snap . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In all honesty, I think we played everything to perfection in that game, with the exception of the last Pitt drive. The Hokie play-calling was perfect on both sides of the ball. KJ was a god. (Please don�t go pro . . . pretty, pretty please.) But you can not win a game when you commit 3 turnovers that result in a 21-point swing. TWENTY ONE POINTS. This game was over in the first half had we just held on to the ball � so basic. What are you gonna do?

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