UNC Outguns Sun Devils in Desert Shootout

With North Carolina trailing 35-31 with less than three minutes to go, Durant couldn't afford to take a sack and watch precious time tick off the clock.

But when he thought about breaking for the sideline, Durant said he heard a familiar voice in his head, that of offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill, telling him to step up and throw the ball -- and to throw it downfield.

He did. And when Chesley Borders hauled in the pass some 60 yards later and ended up in the end zone for the fourth time Saturday night, the Tar Heels had the lead, this time for good.

Two minutes later, when UNC cornerback Kevin Knight picked off an Andrew Walter pass, the Tar Heels finally secured a wild 38-35 victory before 42,128 at Sun Devil Stadium.

"I'm sure Tranq's voice was in his head," UNC coach John Bunting said laughing after the game. "He could probably hear him loud and clear from all the way up there in the press box."

In a game that featured nine lead changes and a combined 1,135 yards of total offense, the Tar Heels survived the Wild West shootout and the Sun Devils' offense to move to 2-3 this season and drop ASU to 4-2.

Early on, it became obvious that the UNC defense wasn't about to prevent the Sun Devils from marching down the field. The fact that the Tar Heels would have to light up the scoreboard was equally apparent.

Durant came out with his guns blazing against Arizona State's vulnerable secondary after the offense struggled to score last week against Georgia Tech. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 417 yards and five touchdowns, both of which set school records.

"That's the kind of game we needed to show us where we are at offensively," Durant said. "They had a tremendous defense, but we wore them out."

Most surprising about Durant's performance was the fact that Sam Aiken wasn't the Tar Heels' leading receiver. Instead Borders, who had grabbed only eight catches for 117 yards all season, blew up for nine receptions and 192 receiving yards, silenced the increasingly rowdy crowd time and time again.

This from a guy who Aiken and fellow receiver Jarwarski Pollock kidded earlier this year about not knowing what it was like to actually get into the end zone.

"I kind of took it to heart," said Borders, whose four touchdown receptions set a single-game school record and put him in the team lead for TD catches. "When it was my turn to get in the end zone, I got the job done."

Nearly anyone who played on the offensive side of the ball could have said they got the job done when it came to putting points on the board Saturday night.

That is, anyone but ASU kicker Mike Barth, who missed four field goals, including a 49-yarder to tie the game with 1:17 to go that would have knotted the score at 38.

Barth had made all of his seven field-goal attempts inside the 50 before the game against UNC, when he missed tries from 26, 27, 36 and 49 yards. On the other side of the field, Dan Orner made his only attempt, a 47-yarder in the third quarter.

"I never in my wildest dreams imagined that Mike Barth would miss four field goals," said ASU coach Dirk Koetter. "That guy is nails. I'd go to war with him any day."

The Sun Devils' defense and kicking game ruined a superb performance from the team's offense, which toyed with the Tar Heels throughout the game. In the end, Walter threw for 474 yards, including 278 to receivers Shaun McDonald and Skyler Fulton, both of whom lived in the seams and beat man-to-man coverage all night.

But Walter finished with zero touchdown passes, which was significant considering the ease with which the Sun Devils moved the ball on UNC.

ASU rolled up 657 yards of total offense against the Tar Heels, eclipsing the UNC record of 656 yards allowed against Duke in 1989. Five turnovers, though, killed the Sun Devils' chances to win their fifth straight since an opening day loss at Nebraska.

"We've been lacking in getting turnovers all season," Durant said. "We knew that if we could force them to turn it over, we could take advantage of them.

"When the game became crucial, we capitalized on it."

And at the end of the game, it was Knight who made the game-saving play, snatching a Walter pass near midfield away from Fulton to preserve the victory.

That closed the book on another far-from-home win for the Tar Heels, who have made their two flights home that much better this season. As they hooted and hollered their way through the tunnel to the visitor's locker room, defensive tackle Donti Coats smiled.

"Do we like to win on the road or something?" Coats asked. "We must like to win on the road."

Apparently so. With No. 14 N.C. State visiting Chapel Hill next weekend, though, the Tar Heels have a new priority, one voiced by Durant as he walked into the locker room ahead of Coats.

"We gotta get one in Kenan, baby."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.