CHAPEL HILL - When Duke quarterback Kevin Thompson's last-second heave into a crowd of players in the endzone hit the ground with a soft thud, Carl Torbush may have written himself an idyllic final chapter to his career at North Carolina.
Patrolling the Kenan Stadium sidelines for perhaps the final time in his career, the man who was the architect behind one of the most dominating defensive units in recent memory saw his young, rebuilt defensive unit shutout his program's biggest rival.
The toll was almost painful to look at for Duke fans: four sacks, two lost fumbles, four interceptions-one returned for a touchdown, and zero points.
The dominance was thorough; the annihilation was complete.
"[The shutout] means a great deal to me," Torbush said. "Our goal has always been to have one shutout a year, at least.
"In 1997, with probably the best defensive team we've ever had, we didn't have a shutout. So we hadn't give up a touchdown in two games, I think that tells you where this defense is headed."
After taking over the defensive cordinator position at North Carolina in 1988, Torbush has gradually molded the Tar Heels defensive unit into consistently one of the best in the country. And on Saturday, with his impending dismissal looming, Torbush and his brainchild enjoyed one of their finest, and almost certainly, final moments in the sun.
On Duke's opening possession, the Blue Devils faced a third-and-seven on North Carolina's 11-yard line. UNC linebacker Tim Burgess roared into the backfield untouched and dropped Romine for a nine-yard loss.
That would be the first of frequent visits to the Duke backfield made by UNC defenders.
"The problems we had weren't so much at quarterback, as they were the pressure the quarterback was getting," said Duke coach Carl Franks.
Pressured always, hurried often and levelled occasionally, quarterback Spencer Romine suffered through his worst outing of the season, completing only 9-of-27 passes for only 91 yards and with three interceptions.
And as the end got nearer, Romine's day got worse. On Duke's first offensive play of the fourth quarter, Romine hurriedly floated a wobbler over the middle that was picked off by UNC cornerback Errol Hood and returned for a touchdown.
As Torbush spoke about Hood's development as a player in the postgame, a smile slowly crept to his face.
It was the end of a long and agonizing week for Torbush, but the unit he had built and rebuilt seemed destined for a return to dominance.
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