You never know at the time what one game can mean. For instance, that Miami win at Kenan Stadium in 2004 might have saved John Buntings job. Just a little over a year later, the Maryland game at Kenan Stadium might have cost him his job.
I covered last season's Maryland at Carolina football game. The Tar Heels coming off a bowl appearance in 2004 came into this game at 4-4. They had just upset Boston College; momentum was on their side going into a very winnable game against, at best, an average Maryland team. A win would put them on the plus side of 500 with Duke and Virginia Tech left. You figured they would beat Duke and probably lose at Tech. If that had transpired, Carolina would have finished 6-5 with a second straight bowl game.
On that November Saturday, UNC led Maryland 27-17 in the fourth quarter, only to get burned by huge back-to-back 67- and 80-yard touchdown pass plays. The Tar Heels ended up losing 33-30 in overtime. This was a game they had in their grasp, should have won, but didn't. They did, indeed, go on to beat Duke and lost to the Hokies, but the Maryland loss put the final ledger at 5-6 and more importantly, no bowl game.
Would things have been different if Carolina had won that game? Would John Bunting, with the momentum of two straight bowl games, been able to save his job? Would he have had more credibility when he talked about the progress that was being made, the recruits being brought in, the freshman class being red-shirted and how Carolina was so close to putting it together? Would it have bought him some more time?
You never know, but I can still see those Maryland bombs in the fourth quarter and thinking what a bad loss this was for Carolina. I felt there was no question they were staring at a losing season. I remember going to the post game news conference and it seemed like the UNC players knew that as well. That game was key. There would be no bowl game in 2005. But I doubt if any in their wildest imagination even had the faintest thought that less than a year later, their coach would be out of job.
One big play. Two big plays. You never really know at the time how big they really are.
John Bunting did a lot right as the head coach at Carolina. By all accounts he ran a program with integrity. Even his staunchest critics will give him that.
But big time football is measured in wins and losses and no matter how you spin the positives, the negatives on the field have them trumped.
