What’s the million-dollar question? Where do I land two tickets for the Virginia-Virginia Tech game? That one, however, is outside my control so save the e-mails. ... But kick yourself for failing to get season tickets. Besides, minus the Pittsburgh landslide, the 2007 home schedule has provided local football fans with some outstanding action. ... The burning question, however, is in regards to Virginia’s bowl fate. A 9-win season in the worst-case scenario should leave Virginia in a promising game for pay, right? Maybe. Maybe not. Virginia fans merely know this much: the Cavaliers should go to a better bowl game than Florida State (3-4 ACC), Georgia Tech (3-4), Miami (2-4) and the loser of Saturday’s upcoming game between N.C. State (3-3) and Wake Forest (4-3). While there is a small loophole, keeping hope alive for the winner of the Wake-N.C. State game, the ACC enforces a two-game rule - any team that’s two games better in league play (typically) is not to be skipped over in the bowl-selection process. In theory, that leaves Virginia’s worst-case scenario as the fifth team selected (if Wake beats N.C. State to finish 5-3 in the ACC or if N.C. State wins out to go 5-3 in league play). … The order, in case you are in doubt, is as follows for the top four spots: 1. Orange Bowl (ACC title game winner unless that team is No. 1 or No. 2 in final BCS standings, and that’s not happening this year); 2. Peach, err, Chick-fil-A Bowl (likely the ACC title game loser, but the bowl can reach outside depending on league and BCS standings and/or a desired contest); 3. Gator Bowl (common logic says this game would prefer a team that did not play in the ACC title game since it would be a repeat trip to Jacksonville, Fla., for the team’s fans); 4. Champs Sports Bowl.
… The bowl games in Nashville, Charlotte and San Francisco then take the remaining teams and submit bids on their top three choices. The ACC office then tries to match things up accordingly. Should the ACC title game loser be on the board, Nashville’s Music City Bowl must take that team. … The MPC Computers Bowl on Boise’s blue field is left to collect the scraps, and will likely take the winner of the N.C. State-Maryland game winner (the two five-win teams play Nov. 24). Miami could throw a wrench into the plans if it wins at Virginia Tech or Boston College, but winning requires scoring. … What does it all mean? Well, if Virginia loses to Virginia Tech, expect a trip to see Mickey Mouse at the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando. Sure, the Gator Bowl could scoop up Al Groh’s boys in this scenario, but the loser of Saturday’s Boston College-Clemson game would likely be more appealing. BC has a Heisman Trophy candidate in Matt Ryan. Clemson travels in really big bunches. In case you care, the Champs Sports Bowl is played Dec. 28 on at 5 p.m. at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Possible Big-Ten opponents? Penn State and Purdue come to mind and Iowa and Michigan State are long shots. Of course, Virginia could just beat the Hokies and jumble the entire mess. 

Lets try this blog thing again. ... Heading out of the Sunshine State on Sunday, I dropped seven quarters for a newspaper at an over-crowded airport. I guess I needed to see it again for my own eyes. And, yes, the score had not changed. It still said: Virginia 48, Miami 0. Wowswers. Who saw that coming? ... I would love to say Virginia DE Jeffrey Fitzgerald saw it coming. Besides, two weeks ago the sophomore said his defense wanted a shutout. He was serious, but time was running out. Wake Forest was scoring about 40 a game in recent action before invading Great Scott. Virginia Tech was a month away and blanking the Hokies, well, that’s about as likely as strong voter turnout. Blanking a bowl opponent, with the month of rust and extra time to scheme a game plan, makes that doubtful at best (Remember Minnesota or Fresno State). And then there was Miami sandwiched in the middle of Wake and VT. Keeping Miami off the board for 60 minutes, regardless of the Cavs’ offensive outpouring, seemed unimaginable. Get a big lead and some unproven subs sneak in (as they did). Keep it close and the crowd stays jacked up (as they didn‘t). What we didn’t know was that Miami was not much better with Kyle Wright than it was with Kirby Freeman at QB. Dan Marino would have struggled with uninspired play from his wideout. And nobody - almost nobody - knew that the Canes would roll over with former legends inches away. Nobody, of course, except a fan wearing a Ray Lewis jersey on the third row. Mr. Liquid Courage turned to his buddy as the final seconds ticked off in the Orange Bowl and spouted, “I told you Virginia was the real deal.” That joker, one that was unsafe to drive home, must have missed a game at Wyoming or N.C. State. But for a few minutes, a moment that sped by too fast for Chris Long and Co., Virginia was on top of the world. The shutout proved just that.

Keep your ticket stubs. This is a special moment. Wake Forest placekicker Sam Swank, one of the nation’s best, missed a field goal from inside 50 yards. To Swank’s credit, the missed attempt did clang off the left upright. ... Virginia’s offense has been Wake Forest’s best defense. Sound weird? In other words, Virginia keeps making stupid plays in an attempt to self destruct. Dropped passes. Bad passes. A fumble. It has been ugly, but the Cavs are still in it. 

Virginia and Wake have exchanged a pair of field goals in the first quarter. Thus far, the two teams looked pretty evenly matched. ... Josh Zidenburg had a pretty good kickoff return for Virginia. The senior raced 55 yards. Wake will likely kick it away from Jay-Z next time (I would have never imagined saying that). ... Tom Santi has played and looks comfy on his bad wheel (high ankle sprain). ... Rashawn Jackson has been in the game a few times, but has spent most of his time riding the stationary bike. ... Chris Cook has played on Virginia’s nickel and dime packages. Cook has not really fast a test. ... Wake Forest offensive lineman Joe Birdsong was injured with just over 11 minutes left in the first half. The sophomore appeared to roll his ankle. ... Whitelaw Reid has been begging for a Darren Childs reference. Here you go - Childs has not played (and I doubt he will).

The Cavaliers won the toss and elected to defer to the second half. Wake Forest is 6-1 in games in which it losses the toss. Talk about a cool (and meaningless) stat. ... Virginia’s opening kickoff was a moment to forget. Chris Gould, after faking a quick kick, lofted a floater that landed in the hands of Kenneth Moore around the 20 and with poor coverage, Wake started at the Virginia 39. Yes, Virginia is scared of Kevin Marion, but kicking the ball out of bounds would done the same thing. ... Chris Cook has his helmet on, but he did not start.