Oct. 18, 2003
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Arizona State 33, North Carolina 31
October 18, 2003
Kenan Memorial Stadium; Chapel Hill, N.C.
Arizona State (4-3) 33, North Carolina (1-6) 31
Official Start Time: 1:36 p.m., Game Time Weather: Sunny, Attendance: 42,000
The Final Drive: Arizona State rallied for the game-winning score on a five-yard TD from Andrew Walter to Skyler Fulton with no time remaining on the clock. The Devils game-winning drive covered 61 yards on six plays in 36 seconds. Walter also hooked up with sophomore wide receiver Derek Hagan for a 42-yard reception to set up the winning score. ASU had no timeouts left when the took the ball over after a 28-yard punt return by Daryl Lightfoot.
Walter's Big Game Moves Him Up in Record Books: Junior quarterback Andrew Walter had another big game for the Sun Devils with a season-high 408 yards on 34-for-58 passing. For the third straight week he bettered his season high, going for 305 yards and 316 yards in his previous two games against USC and Oregon. Walter also notched his fifth multi-TD game of the year and 14th of his career. He also passed for over 300 yards for the third time this y ear and eighth time in his career. He surpassed the 400-yard mark for the fifth time in his career, with two of those performance coming against UNC. Over the last two seasons against the Tar Heels, Walter has combined to go 61-for-103 for 882 yards and three TD's. The junior now has 6,344 career passing yards, becoming only the sixth Devil to reach the 6,000-yard mark. With his three TD passes, Walter now has 46 in his career (15 in 2003) and is tied for fourth in the Sun Devil record books with Dennis Sproul (1974-77) and Ryan Kealy (1997-2000). Below is a look at Walter's 2003 game-by-game statistics:
Hagan Notches Third Straight 100-yard Game: For the third straight week, sophomore wide receiver Derek Hagan led the receiving corps with career highs in catches (11) and yards (185). It marked the third straight week that Hagan has recorded at least 100 yards receiving, becoming the first Sun Devil to accomplish that feat since Shaun McDonald last year (175 vs. SDSU, 221 vs. Stanford, 156 vs. North Carolina). Hagan had 170 yards receiving against USC and 108 yards last weekend against Oregon. For the season, the sophomore from Palmdale, Calif., leads ASU with 38 catches for 576 yards (82.3 avg./game) and has caught four touchdowns.
Fulton Catches Two More Touchdowns: Senior wide receiver Skyler Fulton (Olympia, Wash.) caught two more touchdowns from Andrew Walter, with none more important than the game-winning five-yard reception with no time remaining on the clock. Fulton leads the team with seven touchdowns on the year and has at least one TD in the last four games and five of the last six. Saturday marked the second multi-TD game of the year for Fulton. For the season, he is second on the team with 35 catches for 492 yards (70.3 yards/game) and is averaging 14.1 yards per catch.
Arizona State Notes: The 49-yard catch by Hagan from Walter is tied for ASU's longest passing play of the year... Loren Wade rushed for a career-high 130 yards on 16 carries (8.1 avg.), including a 35-yard scamper... ASU has now had two 100-yard rushers this year, with Hakim Hill also passing the century mark against Oregon State... junior safety Riccardo Stewart led the team on defense with 10 total tackles... freshman defensive end Kyle Caldwell recorded his first career sack... freshman place kicker Jesse Ainsworth was 2-for-3 on field goals and is now 5-for-8 (63%) on the season... ASU's 316 yards of total offense in the first half marked a season high... ASU is now 2-1 all-time against UNC... the Devils finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 3-1 record and will take on UCLA (5-2, 3-0 Pac-10) on the road next weekend.