How Am I Supposed to Feel?

I must admit, I'm pretty torn on this.

Much like the standing fan in my bedroom, Pittsburgh's 35-33 victory over Virginia Tech has left me oscillating between optimism and pessimism.

The Hokies' performance Friday night can be viewed one of two ways. How you choose to view it is up to you, but I find both arguments persuasive.

I can't decide where to plant my flag.

On one hand, losing the biggest game inside Lane Stadium in several years has me feeling pretty deflated. The fashion in which the loss occurred — four turnovers, a litany of back-breaking penalties, and special teams miscues — gives credence to the thought that despite starting the season 4-0, the Hokies may not be that good of a team after all.

The Hokies' offense, though explosive for portions of the game, disappeared for most of the second half. Ethan Grunkemeyer, who I've lauded for his poise in the pocket, dished out three turnovers, including two consequential interceptions (more on that later). Tech's running game never kicked it into gear, a trend that's continued to rear its ugly head for weeks.

Tech's defense allowed two touchdowns to a Holden Geriner-led offense. After Mason Heintschel suffered a knee injury, Pitt's backup found a way to score just enough points in the second half to win. The Hokies' missed a ton of tackles, and three critical defensive penalties resulted in first downs for Pitt's offense.

Football is more than just offense and defense. Virginia Tech's special teams failed as well — Nathan Totten averaged just 36.3 yards per punt, and his fourth-quarter shank effectively functioned as a fifth turnover. John Love, normally automatic, pulled the game-winning field goal attempt on his preferred hash mark on his home turf.

When a team plays so poorly in all three phases, how could I not leave feeling that familiar doom-and-gloom from the last several years?

The issue is that while Tech failed to execute in critical spots of the game, the Hokies also played extremely well in other spots. Tech jumped out to a 14-point lead before the Panthers completed half of their pre-game script. The Hokies racked up 499 yards of total offense, won the time of possession battle, and allowed just two sacks to Pitt's talented front.

Grunkemeyer turned it over three times, but the first one shouldn't have been ruled as such. Davion Brown had joint possession with Pitt's Cameron Lindsey on a short pass just before halftime, but the referees ruled that only Lindsey had it. The fake turnover ended with a Pitt touchdown, and the Panthers wrestling all of the momentum away before halftime.

On the other side, Brent Pry's defense allowed just 295 yards. Heintschel wasn't overly impressive, and his receivers didn't do him many favors. The Hokies held Pitt's run game in check, and allowed just 14 points off Tech's four turnovers.

Of the 35 points Pitt scored, 21 of them can be traced to short fields. Pry's defense started behind the 8-ball way too many times through no fault of their own.

Even after all the turnovers, penalties, and bad plays, Virginia Tech still rebounded from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and gave themselves a more-likely-than-not chance to win the game.

This duality has me caught in the middle. I can't decide if Virginia Tech is a good team that tripped itself up against a well-coached opponent, or if the Hokies' weak September schedule was just a mirage blurring the fact that this roster still has a long ways to go before it can compete in the ACC, let alone nationally.

What I do know is this — once again, the best part of a primetime game inside Lane Stadium was the entrance. Having to once again accept that fact is irritating.

The Hokies have a terrific opportunity to rebound from this loss. Cal is trending downward this season as a program, despite retaining Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele at quarterback. You can bank on Tech being road favorites next Saturday.

Whether or not they deliver will depend on which part of my dilemma comes true. Either Virginia Tech is a good team that gets in its own way sometimes, or the Hokies are just another middle-tier ACC team that will win just as often as they lose.

I don't know what direction I'm leaning toward. Until next Saturday, I, along with many other Hokies, find ourselves in limbo.