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Late Kick Gives Deacs Win

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The Associated Press

Published: September 7, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Sam Swank kicked a 41-yard field goal with 3 seconds left to cap a dramatic final minute and give No. 20 Wake Forest a 30-28 win against Mississippi on Saturday.

After Jevan Snead's 5-yard touchdown pass to Cordera Eason on fourth down with 1:01 left gave Ole Miss the lead, Riley Skinner led the Demon Deacons on a 56-yard drive, keyed by a pass interference penalty against Marshay Green.

Swank, the nation's active career leader with 65 field goals, calmly drilled the game-winning field goal for the sixth lead change of the game.

Skinner completed 32 of 43 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions, and D.J. Boldin caught 11 passes for 123 yards, including a 22-yard catch on the final drive.

The comeback avoided another embarrassing loss for the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was in danger of being without a ranked team next week if the Demon Deacons (2-0) followed last week's upset losses by Clemson and Virginia Tech.

The Rebels (1-1) were a minute away from giving first-year coach Houston Nutt a signature win in only his second game, when Snead led a 7-minute, 80-yard drive. Facing fourth-and-3 from the Wake Forest 5, Snead was quickly flushed out of the pocket, scrambled right, then left and back right again before finding Eason in the front of the end zone.

Justin Sparks' extra point broke the tie, but the experienced Demon Deacons weren't finished.

Skinner's pass to Boldin gave the Demon Deacons hope. Then Green interfered on Skinner's long pass intended for Josh Adams. That put Swank in position, and he kicked his fifth field goal without a miss in two games.

It set off a wild celebration in Wake Forest's first home game since the completion of a $47 million, seven-story tower that houses luxury suites, club seats and the press box at BB&T Field.

Snead showed poise all afternoon, completing 20 of 31 for 253 yards and three touchdowns, often creating after the pocket collapsed.

Snead scrambled away from a sack and found Dexter McCluster open in the flat, who raced past three defenders for a 31-yard touchdown to give Ole Miss a 21-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Early, Nutt's "Wild Rebel" formation of direct snaps to running backs and receivers caused Wake Forest problems.

Nutt promised to add wrinkles to the formation, and a gimmick play set up the tying touchdown late in the first quarter. A direct snap to McCluster turned into a reverse-flea flicker, with Snead finding Brandon Bolden for a 33-yard gain. That set up Snead's 4-yard TD pass to Gerald Harris.

It showed early that Ole Miss was going to make it tough for Wake Forest, but Swank bailed out his teammates as he surpassed 300 career points.

VIRGINIA TECH 24,

FURMAN 7

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Kenny Lewis Jr. caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score, and Virginia Tech went back to its two-quarterback system Saturday.

Darren Evans scored the third touchdown on a 3-yard run as the Hokies (1-1) made good on their plan to get their running game going. They accumulated 261 yards on the ground, including 112 by quarterback Tyrod Taylor, against the overmatched and outclassed Paladins (1-1).

GEORGIA TECH 19,

BOSTON COLLEGE 16

BOSTON - Jonathan Dwyer ran for 108 yards, scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a 43-yard run midway through the fourth quarter and Georgia Tech beat Boston College.

Getting the game in before the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna swept through New England, BC took a 16-10 lead when Chris Crane hit Ifeanyi Momah on a tug-of-war touchdown pass with 3:03 left in the third. But Crane was sacked in the end zone for a safety, and four plays after the free kick, Dwyer broke free on a pitch around the right side for the touchdown.

Josh Nesbitt completed six of 13 passes for 73 yards and ran 15 times for 50 yards and a touchdown. He also gained a yard on a fourth-and-inches sneak with two minutes left and Boston College out of timeouts.

BC (1-1, 0-1 ACC) held a 9-7 halftime lead thanks to three Georgia Tech (2-0, 1-0 ACC) fumbles and three field goals by Steve Aponavicius. But the Eagles, who also missed a field-goal attempt in the first half, had three turnovers of their own in the second.

CLEMSON 45,

THE CITADEL 17

CLEMSON, S.C. - C.J. Spiller ran for three touchdowns and Clemson took its first steps back from last week's loss to Alabama.

The Tigers (1-1) started the season ranked ninth in the county, but were thoroughly embarrassed, 34-10, by the Crimson Tide on national TV. Spiller and backfield partner James Davis accounted for only 20 yards a week ago, while the Tigers finished with zero yards on the ground.

Davis finished with 107 yards and a 38-yard TD. Spiller had 75 yards, including scoring runs of 37, 1 and 17 yards as Clemson won its 15th straight against the Bulldogs (1-1).

VIRGINIA 16, RICHMOND 0

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia's Chase Minnifield stopped a late Richmond threat with an interception, and Vic Hall returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown to seal the Cavaliers' victory.

Richmond kept it close until Mikell Simpson's 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter finally gave Virginia (1-1) a little breathing room at 10-0, and the defense did the rest.

Minnifield intercepted Eric Ward's pass at the goal line and returned it to the Virginia 28 with 4:10 left, one of several big defensive plays that allowed the Cavaliers to overcome poor field position and three unsuccessful fourth-down gambles.

NORTH CAROLINA ST. 34,

WILLIAM & MARY 24

RALEIGH, N.C. - Backup quarterback Harrison Beck threw two touchdown passes, and North Carolina State beat William & Mary for its first win of the season.

Beck replaced Daniel Evans late in the second quarter and completed 17 of 25 passes for 246 yards for the Wolfpack (1-1). His 22-yard scoring strike to Jarvis Williams with 33 seconds left in the second quarter gave N.C. State a 14-0 lead.

Beck's 1-yard touchdown pass to George Bryan extended the Wolfpack's advantage to 21-3 with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter.

NORTHWESTERN 24,

DUKE 20

DURHAM, N.C. - Tyrell Sutton ran for two touchdowns and Northwestern's defense made two critical fourth-down stops down the stretch, leading the Wildcats past Duke.

Omar Conteh scored the go-ahead score for Northwestern (2-0), which was outplayed most of the game. The Blue Devils (1-1) had a 472-328 advantage in total offense and nearly doubled up the Wildcats in time of possession, but a few key mistakes kept them from winning their first two games for first-year coach David Cutcliffe.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE ST. 24,

MARYLAND 14

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Joe Craddock passed for 256 yards and two touchdowns to lead Middle Tennessee State past Maryland.

It was the Blue Raiders' first victory against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent and second victory for the Sun Belt Conference against a team from the Bowl Championship Series this season. Arkansas State defeated Texas A&M last week.

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