Ben Byrd 
ACC Mascots
“I’ve killed everything that walks or crawls at one time or another. And I’m here to kill you, Little Bill[] …” – Will Munny, Unforgiven.
All things considered, this was a disappointing start to the season for The ACC. That disappointing start is what led me to reference that specific line from Unforgiven. You see, what Will Munny does right after he says that line is pretty much what we saw The ACC do to itself during the last two weeks. If you haven’t seen the movie, just search for Unforgiven on YouTube. After watching it, you’ll get the point I’m making. If you’ve seen the movie already, watch it again. It’s just about perfect. But I digress. Here’s why The ACC’s disappointing week is going to create a bad narrative for the conference.
While I don’t think FSU losing to what is likely to be a darned good, and now 2-0, Georgia Tech team is that big of a deal, the narrative that the loss started is what matters. There was a lot of “FSU is overrated” talk on the internet. And I know Twitter isn’t real life, but when you take that loss with Clemson’s loss to UGA by a casual 31 points, throw in NC State down at the start of the 4th against Western Carolina and top that off with Virginia Tech losing on the road to Vanderbilt, everyone is going to think the conference isn’t good. And I’m not making up Virginia Tech losing to Vandberbilt. That happened.
There was one great win, which was Miami dominating Florida. But the narrative will be, and already is, a combo of “The U is Back” and “Fire Napier”. Sure, Louisville dominating Austin Peay was nice, but it doesn’t set a narrative. Nor do the wins Pitt, UVA and Wake had this weekend. It’s unfortunate, but a fact.
Let’s be real here – for the most part, even when the ACC got wins, it didn’t look great. UNC benefited from Minnesota missing a chip shot field goal. Duke struggled offensively against Elon. Cal struggled before pulling away from UC Davis. SMU somehow found a way against an overhauled Nevada team, but with all the experience the Mustangs’ brought back, we all expected more. Nevada broke in new players and new coaches. SMU shouldn’t have had to rally the way it did and beating Houston Christian isn’t going to make people forget the way the season started. Further, while it’s true that I root for Ohio, Syracuse can’t get knocked around by the Bobcats before pulling away, and certainly not after all the hype from Syracuse this offseason. Put simply, the Orange have to do better.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s good for The ACC to see teams like Miami and Louisville start the season off with dominant performances. But when the rest of the marquee brands collectively lay an egg, we know what the narrative will be. It won’t matter if Clemson, Virginia Tech, NC State and FSU get hot as the season goes on. Once the rumors about The ACC not being good start, they become true.
As I wrap this post up, perhaps I should’ve quoted The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’s keen observation about reporting to start this piece – “This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend” – because that’s where the narrative is headed. Although, as of right now, the legend and the fact, excluding Miami and Louisville, are the same thing. So, perhaps you can see why I didn’t lead with that one.
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