In this era of college football, things can change in an instant.

For evidence, look no further than Tobacco Road, where things have changed drastically for both Duke and North Carolina in the past year. Last November, Mike Elko made a surprise midnight flight to College Station, Texas, to take over the Texas A&M program, prompting the Blue Devils to conduct a national coaching search that landed them Manny Diaz.

The story is a little more recent in Chapel Hill, where rumors are circulating that head coach Mack Brown is leaving the program after a disastrous home loss to James Madison on September 21st. The Tar Heels gave up an astonishing 70 points to the Dukes, tying a 70-41 loss to East Carolina in 2014 for the most points the program had ever given up. After the game, rumors surfaced that Brown had asked the team if they still believed he was the right man to lead the program. The university has not made any players available for comment since the loss.

Now the two programs meet on Saturday in Durham. The two schools appear to be on completely different courses for both the current season and the future.

Duke has had two impressive seasons in a row, winning a total of 17 games, including two bowl victories. In 2023, the Blue Devils were in the conversation as a possible CFP contender when College GameDay came to town before Notre Dame and quarterback Riley Leonard made a big splash in the national media.

Unfortunately, things don’t always go perfectly, and a 4th-and-16 conversion by the Fighting Irish resulted in Leonard getting injured and Duke’s season ultimately being dampened. After Elko left after the regular season finale, it seemed like dark days were once again on the horizon in Durham. Several key players from last year’s squad moved elsewhere, including Leonard and star running back Jordan Waters.

Four games into the 2024 season, all the gloom and doom appears to have largely disappeared. The Diaz-led Blue Devils have yet to lose a game and will go 4-0 against their archrival on Saturday and knock on the door of the AP Top 25 poll. Quarterback Maalik Murphy was an entry into the transfer portal unlike any Duke had ever been able to find, and the transfer to Texas has so far gone as advertised. Add to that a teeming defense that is at or near the top in several major defensive categories this season, and the future of the Diaz era seems bright.

The gloom mentioned above appears to have spread across Tobacco Road and settled in Chapel Hill, where things have dissipated a third of the way through the campaign. The season opener against Minnesota was a win that came at significant cost, as starting quarterback Max Johnson suffered a season-ending injury. The Tar Heels then tried Conner Harrell, who was serviceable in two wins against inferior opponents but wasn’t impressive enough to stop third-stringer Jacolby Criswell, who started against James Madison.