Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

You could see how bad Virginia Tech wanted to win this game just by watching how hard Ryan Williams played. But the Hokies' potential as a national title contender will be measured by their wins, not by their effort in a 34-24 loss to Alabama.

It was an entertaining game that could have gone either way, but Alabama eventually found more answers on offense. We knew heading into this season that if Virginia Tech wanted to keep its spot among the elite programs in the national rankings, it would have to do the same.

It was a loss that will resonate throughout the entire conference, which royally mucked up the opening week opportunities against BCS opponents. But the Hokies played well enough without Darren Evans to prove that they're still more than capable of winning another ACC title -- especially if the rest of their counterparts continue to play the way they did this weekend.