CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ The drive from the airport to downtown Charlotte _ site of ACC Kickoff, the conference's annual media days event _ isn't particularly long.
But early Wednesday morning, it proved more than a little painful for Hurricanes safety Jaquan Johnson, who couldn't help but get angry as he, teammate Ahmmon Richards and Miami coach Mark Richt drove past Bank of America Stadium.
It was there, last December, that Johnson and the Hurricanes saw their dreams of winning the first ACC title in program history and playing in the College Football Playoff slip away after an ugly 38-3 loss to Clemson.
That night, the Tigers _ then the defending national champions who had won two straight conference titles _ thoroughly outplayed Miami, jumping to a quick two-touchdown lead in the first quarter that proved too much for the reeling Hurricanes to overcome.
Johnson, one of Miami's more emotional vocal leaders, hasn't forgotten any of it _ not how badly the Hurricanes fared or how the players felt later.
"There were missed opportunities, poor communication on the defensive side. You just wish you could have that chance back. But the only way we can get back to it now is dominating the Coastal, going up against all these great teams that we're going to be playing up against," Johnson said Wednesday. "I definitely got mad when we passed the stadium. I tapped Ahmmon. He was looking at his phone and he was like, 'That's the stadium?' I was like, 'Yeah.' I'm never going to forget that stadium. I'm hoping we really get back to the ACC Championship this year."
Richards, who was plagued by injuries in 2017, didn't play in last year's conference championship game. He was one of three offensive starters along with running back Mark Walton and tight end Chris Herndon to miss the ACC Championship.
But like Johnson, he has his sights set on another potential showdown with Clemson and said it's up to the Hurricanes to find a way to match up with the Tigers, who will likely, again be the favorite to win the conference championship after returning several starters from last season's 12-2 team.
And Richards says he thinks the Hurricanes, now healthier and deeper than they've been in seasons past, have closed the gap with Clemson.
"Just watching film, man. It just comes down to little things. You may see they have a lot more talent than us or they're more experienced in big games than us. But I feel like we can play with them," Richards said. "You just watch the film. It's little plays that make a big difference _ whether it's on offense, defense or even special teams. It's little things that will literally make the difference in the game."
Added Richt: "There's no excuses, they were better than us that day for sure and probably most days we would have played them last year. We know they're the class of the league right now and they're the benchmark of who you got to beat to win the championship and go to the College Football Playoffs. We understand that and we know it's going to take work to get there. Work starts with recruiting and developing your players, and guys believing in each other and gaining momentum and staying healthy and all those things. Hopefully we'll get back to that game and do a better job."
