Wake Forest ambushes Florida St.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Riley Skinner threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Kenneth Moore in the fourth quarter last night to lead Wake Forest past 21st-ranked Florida State, 24-21.

Skinner completed 19 of 27 passes for 215 yards and two touchdowns for the Demon Deacons (4-2, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who rallied in the second half and have beaten the Seminoles in consecutive seasons for the first time.

Skinner led the Demon Deacons 82 yards in nine plays in their winning drive, converting three third downs.

The biggest came when Skinner sidestepped a rush, stepped forward in the pocket and found Moore, who had a step on cornerback Jamie Robinson at the goal line for the easy score that put Wake Forest up by 21-14 with 6 minutes, 41 seconds remaining.

Florida State (4-2, 1-2) gave the ball right back to Wake Forest on the first play of its ensuing drive, when Chip Vaughn intercepted Xavier Lee's deep pass at the 26.

The Demon Deacons milked the clock and set up Sam Swank's 48-yard field goal with 1:40 to play, which made it a 10-point game.

Lee scored on a 17-yard run with 17 seconds left to draw the Seminoles to within 24-21, but Wake Forest recovered an onside kick to seal the victory.

Wake Forest's Josh Adams rushed 18 times for 140 yards, including an 83-yard touchdown run, and caught a scoring pass. Micah Andrews ran hard as his relief, gaining 57 tough yards in helping spark the comeback from a 14-7 halftime deficit.

The Demon Deacons ran all over Florida State's 11th-ranked rushing defense, gaining 180 yards.

Wake Forest's defense largely contained Florida State after halftime.

The Demon Deacons forced five second-half punts, intercepted two passes, and allowed 105 total yards after the break - with a good chunk coming after Swank's late kick.

Florida State's rushing offense never got going, finishing with 47 yards on 24 carries.

Lee finished 24 of 45 for 283 yards and two touchdowns.

Wake Forest moved 80 yards in nine plays late in the third quarter to force a 14-14 tie.

Skinner capped the drive with a nifty play in which he faked a handoff to Adams, feinted as if he would roll right, and instead reversed field and flipped the ball to the wide-open tailback for a 6-yard score.