Oct. 5, 2002
Game notes for North Carolina at Arizona State
October 5, 2002
UNC 38, ASU 35
Start: 7:06....Finish: 10:39....Time: 3:33
Game Time Temperature: 82 degrees
Attendance: 42,128
? Junior wide receiver Shaun McDonald caught a 13-yard pass from Andrew Walter on the opening play of the game to give him 2,003 yards in his career. McDonald, who became the sixth Sun Devil to crack the 2,000-yard plateau, finished the game with 156 yards on eight receptions. His career total of 2,146 yards is three shy of the 2,149 yards accumulated by fifth-place holder John Mistler (1977-80).
? McDonald also ended the first quarter with five catches totaling 100 yards, just seven fewer than the entire UNC receiving corps. McDonald ended the first half with six receptions and 124 yards to give his 100 or more yards receiving three games in a row.
? After a career passing game against Stanford one week ago, Andrew Walter upped his career best in yards with 474, tied for the fourth-most in a single game in ASU history. Walter and Paul Justin (vs. Houston, 1990) share the mark.
? Andrew Walter was picked twice in the game, doubling the total of interceptions Sun Devil quarterbacks have thrown this year (three by Walter and one by Andy Goodenough).
? Skyler Fulton had a career night, making five receptions for 122 yards. His 39 yard reception in the fourth brought his total to 122 and set up and Arizona State touchdown.
? Mike Barth failed to connect on four field goal attempts, missing tries of 27, 26, 36 and 49. It marked the first time in his career he missed more than two attempts in a game, and the first time since ASU visited Washington State in 2000 (October 21) that the kicker missed twice. Barth also missed twice at San Diego State (August 31) in 2000, the season opener. Barth's streak of seven-consecutive games with a field goal also was snapped.
? Mike Barth did keep his point after touchdown (PAT) streak alive as he converted all five tries for the Sun Devils to remain a perfect 28-of-28 on the season.
? Terrell Suggs climbed one spot in two career defensive categories on Arizona State's first defensive series of the game. Suggs sacked starting quarterback Darian Durant to record the 29th of his career and move into sole possession of second all-time, breaking his tie with Vernon Maxwell (1979-82). In the same series, Suggs also brought down Jacque Lewis for a loss to bring his career total of tackles for loss to 53.5, the fifth-most in ASU history. Suggs finished the game with 4.0 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, bringing his career marks to 32.0 sacks and 57.0 tackles for loss, tied for the second-most in ASU history with Shante Carver (1990-93) and Al Harris (1976-79).
? North Carolina got on the scoreboard first when Chesley Borders caught an 11 yard touchdown pass from Darian Durant. The Tar Heels drive spanned 82 yards on seven plays and lasted 3:23. It was the longest drive of the season for UNC until the Tar Heels topped that standard with a 12 play, 90 yard drive resulting in a 31-yard touchdown reception by Borders.
? North Carolina's touchdown in the first quarter made the visitors the fifth of Arizona State's six opponents this year to score the first points in the game. The Sun Devils posted the first points in the Eastern Washington game (August 31, 2002).
? Free safety Riccardo Stewart intercepted Darian Durant in the first quarter to give the Sun Devils 10 picks for the year and surpassing the nine the team pulled down a year ago. Josh Golden also picked off a Durant pass in the third quarter for the 11th on the year for the team and the 1st for Golden. Nine different ASU student-athletes have picked off a pass this year with Golden and Stewart each recording the first picks of their careers.
? Barth's missed field goal attempt on ASU's first drive was the first time in the Sun Devils last 10 times in the red zone without scoring. ASU was a perfect 10-for-10 in its previous two games, at San Diego State and against Stanford.
? The Sun Devils' loss to North Carolina dropped ASU's record against ACC squads to 3-6 overall. The last time an ASU team defeated an ACC opponent was in 1971 when the Sun Devils scored a 45-38 decision over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.
? UNC quarterback Darian Durant established the school record for yards in a game with his 417 yard performance. The previous mark was 415 set by Chris Keldorf against TCU in 1997. He also tied the record for most attempts without an interception in a game with 40 (Mark Maye vs. Maryland, 1986) and the most touchdowns thrown in a game with five (Kevin Anthony vs. Wake Forest, 1985).
? The 38 points posted by North Carolina tonight was the most it has scored in a single game all season. UNC's previous high was 30 scored in a 30-22 win at Syracuse (September 7).
? UNC's Sam Aiken caught a 13 yard pass from Darian Durant in the second quarter for the 100th reception of his career.
? Chesley Borders caught four Darian Durant passes for touchdowns, making him the first Tar Heel to catch four scores in game in UNC history. His fourth was a 74-yard reception that put the Tar Heels ahead, 38-35 with under three minutes remaining the game.