Jared Lazarus/MCTVirginia safety Byron Glaspy runs back an interception during the second quarter of a game against the Miami Hurricanes last year. The Cavaliers opened their 2008 season with a 52-7 loss at home against USC.

The final score of Virginia Tech's five-point loss to East Carolina had just flashed boldly on the jumbotron, accompanied by a public address announcement. Hours later, the Cavalier fan-base were on the losing end of a 45-point thrashing from the Southern California Trojans.

There is no good excuse for losing your opening game to a team in Conference USA. While ECU is talented and will likely receive more attention during bowl season, it's not a team in contention for a legitimate January bowl game.

Instead, they are the benefactors of a scheduling match-up that pitted their most talented roster in school history against a Hokie lineup that was ill prepared and inexperienced.

The bar is set high in Blacksburg, with fans expecting to win the ACC and contend for a national title every single season. Realistic or not -- and frequently it is not -- when the Hokies come through the tunnel onto Worsham Field each fall, they are expected to win every game.

Anything shy of attaining these goals is considered a disappointment. Winning 10 games is an outstanding feat, but not winning the conference or bowl game is a major setback.

Back in Charlottesville, a 52-7 loss, regardless of the opponent, is terrible. I feel sorry for the players who worked so hard only to discover that their best was not good enough to carry the Trojans' jock strap, let alone play on the same field.

Even more so, I feel sorry for the fans at UVa who feel that a Tech loss on a blocked punt is enough to save their weekend from being a complete football disaster.

Though just 145 miles separate the two schools, we are bitter rivals. If the UVa game had finished before Tech's had started in Charlotte last weekend, you can bet the Hokie Nation would have cheered loudly.

Obviously Cavalier fans could not have foreshadowed the utter blowout they were forced to witness in the home stadium, but it is impossible to accept that they were entirely surprised.

The issue, however, is not centered on the desire to see the other fail, for that is natural and expected amongst rival colleges. Rather, the Wahoos are the embodiment of the phrase "misery loves company."

Upon further review, it's easy to see why students at UVa are willing to count a Tech loss as a Cavalier victory, while at Tech we only count victories when our school is on the stat sheet.

In Charlottesville, UVa has undoubtedly established itself as a top academic university. However, it has also earned itself the reputation of having a sub-par football program.

Big wins are few and far between for the Cavaliers, a program that has literally prided itself on a lone win over unbeaten and second-ranked Florida State in 1995. A great win in its time, it was more of a one-hit wonder than "Baby Got Back." One win, 13 years ago, has become the "face" of the program.

Contrarily, Tech has now been labeled as an academically prominent university with a consistently admirable football team. Head coach Frank Beamer and the Hokies have won 126 games since 1995, including four straight in the Commonwealth Cup against UVa.

Most importantly, qualitative wins show more about the strength of a program than quantitative ones do. Tech has competed in 15 consecutive bowl games, including a national championship.

In addition to the bowl game victories, Tech has also won two ACC championships since it first entered the conference in 2004.

By now, UVa fans are screaming about Tech's historic disciplinary problem and the far superior academic standards for athletes at Mr. Jefferson's university.

Bad news, Hoos: In the latest university census for graduate rates among student athletes, Tech tied with UVa at 76 percent. This means that of all the student athletes who attended either university, 76 percent of them graduated within six years of their first semester on campus.

Are the classes harder at Virginia? Maybe. Does that benefit the students? Not always. Each university is master of a different domain. While Tech is a top research institute and can boast about its engineering and architecture programs, UVa is entitled to recognition for its law school, English department, and school of medicine.

At Tech, athletes are required to uphold a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average, a figure identical to what every other undergraduate student must attain to avoid discipline.

Believe it or not, student athletes are students as well as athletes. Some pass, some fail, some graduate and some feel that it is OK to pull a gun on a group of teenagers in the McDonald's parking lot in the middle of the night.

Michael and Marcus Vick: Two of Tech's most highly touted prospects -- two of the biggest stains on the university's record. Yet, it is often overlooked that both were heavily recruited by more than just Tech. In fact, both Vicks were offered scholarships by UVa.

And contrary to popular belief, they did not choose Tech because they knew they could get away with things here; they did it because it has become an NFL player factory and a prestigious football school. It goes to show what 15 straight bowl appearances will do for a program.

Claiming that UVa recruits football players based on their decision-making abilities and moral standards is a pure falsity. Their players are disciplined frequently, now more than ever, but fly under the radar simply because no one cares. The seven-win, five-loss season Wahoo fans live for is just not enough to warrant national attention. If a player does drugs in his dorm room and no one is around to see it, does anyone really care?

Remember Ahmad Bradshaw? Of course you don't. Bradshaw was kicked off UVa's team before he even played a down. He was arrested in Charlottesville in 2004 for underage drinking, after first providing police officers with a fake name and address.

What about Adrian Burnim and Antoine Womack? They were indicted on felony charges of multiple counts of malicious wounding, after being accused of severely beating two UVa students.

Jameel Sewell will not see any time on the field this year, as he was not academically eligible to enroll for the Spring 2008 semester and was not invited back for the fall.

He could have helped UVa with his athleticism against USC's pocket-penetrating defense. Starter Peter Lalich performed poorly aginst the Trojans and the Cavalier's offense could have used Sewell's playmaking prowess.

Sewell is the successor to Marques Hagans, another UVa player facing legal troubles, charged with disorderly conduct during his collegiate career.

Essentially, neither UVa nor Tech has an advantage over the other in regard to discipline. The ACC is known for recruits of questionable character. Be it the Vick brothers from Tech, the aforementioned players from UVa, or those involved in the scandals at Miami and Florida State, no school is habitually selecting exemplary citizens.

For now, though, Tech remains set on its goals of winning. But for the Hoos, feel free to take pride in our losses. The differences in standards of excellence are clear. We will continue to work toward championships, and you can continue hoping for a Furman miracle.

After all, the argument is over football, something that will be settled for another year on Nov. 29. My prediction: a fifth-consecutive Commonwealth crown for the Hokies.

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