CHAPEL HILL - So this is how the season ends, not with a bell but a whimper.
Playing for pride and the chance to beat North Carolina for the first time since 1989, the football team ended its season in miserable fashion as the Tar Heels rolled to a 38-0 romp of the Blue Devils Saturday afternoon in Kenan Stadium.
When the game mercifully came to an end, Carolina players rushed the field and celebrated with hugs and high-fives. A few linemen carried coach Carl Torbush, who is rumored to be fired this week, on their shoulders while punter Brian Schmitz waved a "Keep Carl" sign.
And as the Tar Heels (3-8, 2-6 in the ACC) joyously rang the Victory Bell, theirs for the 10th straight year, Duke (3-8, 3-5) slowly marched off the field fighting back tears as another losing season ended in misery.
"It's very disappointing," senior Ryan Stallmeyer said. "We felt like we had a really good shot of winning this game.
"It's a horrible way to end your career, but that's the way the ball bounces."
North Carolina placekicker Josh McGee broke a school record and tied an ACC mark with six field goals on the afternoon while the Tar Heel defense recorded its first shutout since 1996 and forced a whopping six Blue Devil turnovers.
"They certainly exposed every weakness we have on our football team right now," Duke coach Carl Franks said. "It was a very long day for us.
"We haven't played great defense most of the year, so we knew they were capable of scoring. No, I certainly didn't anticipate them being able to score like that."
Fourth-string quarterback and converted running back Domonique Williams led the UNC offense effectively, throwing for 189 yards on 10-of-21 passing. And with 20 seconds left in the
Leading 13-0 with the ball on the Duke 40, Williams dropped back and lofted a bomb to the right corner. Bailey and cornerback Ronnie Hamilton both leaped and grabbed the ball. Bailey, who is five inches taller than his former high school rival, wrestled the ball from Hamilton and landed on the goal line to widen the Heels' lead.
"They've got some great receivers and what they pretty much did was max-protect up front so we couldn't get a good rush on [Williams]," Stallmeyer said. "He was pretty much throwing the ball up for grabs and his receivers made some great catches on the ball."
The play capped a disappointing first half for Duke, which gave up 274 yards in the first 30 minutes, more than UNC had gained total in five different games this season. The Blue Devils' offense had some success early, but saw emergency placekicker Brian Morton miss two field goals in the game's first 18 minutes. Morton was starting in place of Sims Lenhardt, who was out with an injured groin.
"I think [the missed field goals] had a lot to do with the momentum," Franks said. "But we should have scored touchdowns instead of having to attempt to kick those field goals. Brian Morton's a good kicker, but he's not the guy who is supposed to be kicking field goals for us."
After Morton missed a 30-yarder early in the second quarter, Duke did not get within the North Carolina 30 for the rest of the game. The Blue Devil offense never got much going as quarterback Spencer Romine, who played with a broken bone in his right foot and little pass protection, threw for just 91 yards on 9-of-27 passing
"There's no excuse for the way we played today," Romine said. "We just did not play very well. That's the bottom line. I don't think they're a better team than us, but they were today, and that's all that matters."
During the second half the loss transformed to an embarrassment as five Blue Devil turnovers led to four Tar Heel field goals and a touchdown. Duke's nine second-half possessions ended with three punts, two Romine interceptions (one for a TD), a fumbled snap, a Morton interception on a fake punt, another Romine fumble after being leveled in the backfield and a Kevin Thompson incompletion in the endzone as time expired.
"They just took it to us," Romine said. "It seemed like that whatever could go right for them was going right, and whatever could go wrong for us was going wrong. That's the way it goes sometimes, and they capitalized on their opportunities."
Although Duke finished with three conference wins, its highest total since 1994, the loss Saturday was tough to swallow. It was Duke's most lopsided shutout loss since 1990 and the most lopsided game in the Duke-Carolina series since Duke's 41-0 win in 1989.
"It's very disappointing, but as an individual, you're going to have disappointing times in your life," said Scottie Montgomery, who played in his final college game. "Carolina came out and played a real good football game. They came out playing defense the way they wanted to play it, we just didn't execute the way we should.
"I'm glad I got to spend four years with this program and at this university with the guys I got to spend it with. At the same time, I'm very sad that it's over.... I believe in this team and I'll always be with these guys in spirit."
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