Riley Skinner equated the buildup to his matchup with super sophomore Russell Wilson to a game early in his career against a budding NFL star. The efficient, record-setting Skinner won that competition Saturday -- with a big assist from Wake Forest's inexperienced secondary. Skinner threw three touchdown passes to become the Demon Deacons' career leader in a 30-24 victory over North Carolina State, while the defense ended Wilson's NCAA record streak of perfection by intercepting him twice. "It kind of reminded me back in my freshman year when we were playing against Matt Ryan," Skinner said of facing Boston College and the current Atlanta Falcons quarterback. "It does kind of make you want to play that much better." The senior did, throwing for a career-high 361 yards, while the Demon Deacons (3-2, 1-1) became the first team to intercept Wilson in more than a year. Wilson's streak was snapped at 379 attempts when sophomore Josh Bush picked him off in the second quarter. Redshirt freshman Kenny Okoro then intercepted him in the end zone with 2:02 left and the Wolfpack (3-2, 0-1) lost in their first road game of the season. "I didn't even think about it, to be honest with you," Wilson said of the streak. "I'm going to keep throwing the ball and giving my guys chances." Chris Givens had eight catches for 113 yards and a TD, and Wake Forest overcame six sacks -- they lost starting left tackle Chris DeGeare to a scratched cornea -- by exposing N.C. State's shaky secondary. "Man, we played good up front," said Wolfpack defensive end Willie Young, who had three sacks. "We've got a lot of young guys in the secondary. It's obvious now, we're going to be attacked a lot more often, I think, in the secondary." Skinner's nifty 25-yard strike to Givens in the back of the end zone on third-and-21 early in the fourth quarter gave Wake Forest a 27-17 lead. It was Skinner's 45th TD, passing Gary Schofield and Brian Kuklick on the school's career list. Skinner set a career high in yards passing for the third straight game, while completing 31 of 45 passes and overcoming two interceptions and a lost fumble. "We just feel like if we don't do a better job of letting No. 11 play football, we're not going to be smart coaches," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. Wake Forest kept N.C. State in it thanks to a costly mental error by senior defensive end Boo Robinson. He was called for a 15-yard personal foul penalty for pushing and shoving after Wilson's third-down pass fell incomplete. On the next play Wilson's 5-yard TD pass to Toney Baker made it 27-24.
