Wake 25, State 23

I need to send some kind of thank-you gift to the good folks at SportSouth. Some of my wife's brownies, perhaps.

Once again, I was nowhere near a TV, much less Carter-Finley Stadium, when Wake played NC State in Raleigh last Saturday. I was at the Southern Festival of Books (an excellent event - ), held in Memphis this year. I had about an hour between the time we closed up our booth and the time we had to leave for dinner; I spent that hour in front of the TV in my hotel room, flipping between ESPN, ABC, and Fox Sports, waiting for the Wake score to scroll across the ticker on the bottom of the screen.

Finally, after 45 minutes, after seeing all the Top 25 scores twice, after seeing the ALCS score four times, after seeing the Big 12 scores, the Ivy League scores, the I-AA scores, I saw "WAKE" and "NCSU" roll onto the screen - and "WAKE" was highlighted.

If the occupants of the room below mine were sleeping, I'd like to apologize.

Resigning myself to not knowing the details of the game until I got back to North Carolina, I woke up the next morning with every good intention of working out or writing or otherwise spending my Sunday morning in a productive way. I flipped through the TV channels to find some good background noise. That's when I stumbled on Comcast SportsSouth, and the vaguely familiar sight of Carter-Finley, with the NC State Fair in the background.

Son of a gun. All my plans got tossed into the Mississippi.

Dang, Wake looked good last Saturday. State was better than I expected, but for three quarters Wake dominated them. For three quarters, of course, Wake dominated Clemson, too, but this time Wake held on. Specifically, Josh Gattis held on to a last-minute pass from State's Daniel Evans; the change-of-possession allowed Riley Skinner to take a knee and let the clock run out.

The cliche of the moment to describe Skinner is "poise," and it's as good a word as any other. But what Skinner shows is sort of beyond poise; it's a kind of composure that's freakish for a redshirt freshman who was not highly touted, and barely recruited at all, coming out of high school. Against State he glided through collapsing pockets like he was Dan by-God Marino, sliding just enough to give him the time and space to throw.

On defense Aaron Curry had a big game, as did Jon Abbate. Gattis, after his game-saving interception, could have sat down on every other play and still gotten a game ball.

The hero of the game, though, has to be Sam Swank. On the broadcast they said that Swank's teammates call him "Swankemeier," in reference to Wake's All-American, Ray Guy Award-winning, clutch punter Ryan Plackemeier. But Swank needs his own name now. He hit three field goals from beyond 51 yards, and he makes punts settle between the 10 and the end zone like he uses the Force.

So Wake moves to 6-1 and cracks the AP Top 25 (at #25). I almost hate that this is their bye week.

In the Winston-Salem Journal yesterday, Lenox Rawlings pointed out:

"Normal has taken a crazy ride since then, perhaps the wildest twist involving Wake Forest. In the current AP poll, Wake Forest ranks No. 25, the Deacons' first recognition since Sept. 2003, a span of 53 polls. Wake Forest ranks ahead of FSU, Miami and Virginia Tech.

The upshot: Wake Forest can reach the ACC title game and play someone - Georgia Tech, perhaps - for the trophy and the league's automatic spot in the Orange Bowl. A trip to Jacksonville for the ACC showdown would represent a historic rarity - only the 1970 team won the league race - and an oddsmaker's long shot.

The shot could get a lot shorter this weekend. Wake Forest (6-1, 2-1 ACC) will engage in extracurricular activities (presumably other than boxing) while rivals will risk defeat. By Saturday night, the Deacons could claim the catbird's seat.

Wake Forest's version of bliss doesn't even require a monumental upset: Clemson (3-1 ACC) loses at home to Georgia Tech, N.C. State (2-1) loses at Maryland, BC (2-1) loses at FSU (2-2). If all that occurs, Wake Forest will head to Carolina tied with Maryland (2-1) for first place in the Atlantic. Then, Clemson must travel to Virginia Tech five days later.

The Deacons' road turns rougher in November: BC at home, FSU away, Virginia Tech at home, Maryland away.

Wake Forest has beaten BC twice in the past three seasons and lost to the Eagles 35-30 last year. FSU, which hasn't lost to the Deacons in the 14 games since 1973, looks extremely vulnerable against any organized opponent. Virginia Tech beat the Deacons 17-10 in Groves Stadium last year but lacks crispness, especially in the passing game. The Deacons often run out of gas against Maryland - hence, seven straight losses - but they should have more fumes this time.

Quarterback Benjamin Mauk broke his throwing arm on opening night. Instead of disaster, the Deacons have aided the careful emergence of freshman Riley Skinner. The calm Floridian has completed 68 percent of his passes, 15th nationally. He has thrown for 912 yards and four touchdowns while suffering only one interception. He ranks second to Clemson's Will Proctor in overall passing efficiency, and first in ACC games only.

With rushing leader Micah Andrews knocked out by a knee injury, the Wake Forest offense might have sputtered. Instead, the Deacons lead the ACC with 21 scores on 23 trips inside the 20-yard line, the red zone. A major factor: kicker Sam Swank ranks sixth nationally with 1.6 field goals per game and kicked three from beyond 50 yards last week, which means that Wake Forest can score from nearly anywhere inside an opponent's 40.
Swank's punting average (42.9 yards a kick) ranks No. 22 nationally, but that is a quirky stat harmed by his knack for letting punts die in teammates' arms just outside the end zone. The no-return policy has made the Deacons No. 2 nationally in net punting (38.9 yards after returns are figured).

In real ACC games, Wake Forest won 25-23 at State and blew a two-touchdown lead against Clemson before losing 27-17. Clemson thus holds a tiebreaker edge head-to-head, which damages the Deacons' chances. Three-way ties are resolved differently, though, often relying on other results within the division.

Wake Forest could lose again and still nudge past Clemson in a three-way deal, or Wake Forest could win the division outright."

I hear Jacksonville's lovely in December. OK, not really, but if Wake's in the ACC Championship game, it'll sure look lovely to me.