1. In his post-game radio interview, coach Paul Johnson made the statement that “we would have needed to play near-perfect and not make mistakes (to win). Right now, we’re not good enough to do that.”

That says a lot right there. Miami is better. Virginia Tech is better. It’s hard to argue around that. It was thought both inside and outside the team that the experience and talent on this team would help this team be consistently closer to near perfect than it had been in recent years.

Certainly thus far, that’s proving not to be the case.

The Tech offense was functioning at that level on the first three possessions, going for two touchdowns and a field goal, twice punching out time-consuming drives and hitting Miami with A-back Charles Perkins’ 31-yard run play on the other.

It was not sustainable. Tech couldn’t make the big play or stay ahead of the chains. After Perkins' scoring run, Tech had only one play of 20-plus yards the rest of the game. Explosive plays are vital (and frequently common) in the Tech offense, as routinely cranking out 13-play, 75-yard drives against a good defense like Miami's is not feasible. For whatever reason, it didn't happen.

Quarterback Vad Lee’s fumble in the second quarter was critical.

Perhaps the big “What if?” question for Tech is what might have happened if Tech could have driven in for a touchdown in the second quarter with the score 17-7 in its favor. However, Lee fumbled on the Miami 20 and Miami went the other way for a touchdown to close to 17-14.

I think someday Lee will be a consistent and dynamic quarterback who will take better care of the ball than he does now. He is a gifted leader and a hard worker and his talent is obvious. But that day isn’t here yet.

Why does Tech need to play near perfect to beat Miami? That is not easily answered.

2. The game was lost in the third quarter.

With the score tied at 17, Tech forced a three-and-out on the opening possession of the third quarter and got the ball back on the Miami 44-yard line after DeAndre Smelter’s 20-yard return. The Jackets went three-and-out.

On Miami’s next series, linebacker Quayshawn Nealy intercepted Miami quarterback Stephen Morris deep in Tech territory and returned it to the Miami 48. The Jackets punted after gaining one first down.

On Miami’s third possession of the half, the Canes faced a 3^rd-and-14 on their own 31-yard line. Morris received excellent protection, found wide receiver Allen Hurns, who shed Demond Smith’s tackle attempt and took it to the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown and a 24-17 lead.

Miami never trailed again.

In the quarter, Tech ran 12 plays that gained 17 yards.

3. This week, defensive coordinator Ted Roof said that limiting explosive plays was “absolutely monumental” in the game. He was right on that account. Tech had given up only one scrimmage play of 30 yards or more this season in 236 plays. Miami hit four of them (33, 40, 41 and 69) in 53 plays. The Hurricanes had eight plays of 20 yards or more.

You got the feeling that the Miami offense was, for lack of a less clichéd analogy, a ticking bomb. It was going to go off eventually. The Tech defense hung in there with three turnovers (not counting the fumbled punt), but on 10 Miami possessions, allowed five touchdowns and a field goal.

Miami averaged 10.4 yards per play against Tech. That is staggering. The best that Baylor, which entered the season as the nation's leader in yards-per-play, was able to do in its first three games was 10.1, and that was against Nicholls State.

Is the Tech defense capable of having a very bad day? Yes. Alabama gave up 8.9 yards per play to Texas A&M. Is it defining? Time will tell.

4. This defeat isn’t quite as devastating as the Miami loss last year (a fun comparison for you all to make, I’m sure), a result that played a significant hand in the disaster the following week against Middle Tennessee State. That said, having to rally with a road game in one of the tougher environments in the country against a team that is pretty good and beat up the Jackets last year is going to take a lot of leadership and resolve.