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Deacons race past Bears
Brinkman has first two TDs of his WFU career
AP Photo
Receiver Chip Brinkman of Wake Forest catches a touchdown pass against of Baylor linebacker Krys Buerck.
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Published: August 29, 2008
WACO, Texas
Efficiency beat flash, as it usually does, in Wake Forest's 41-13 season-opening victory last night over Baylor.
Junior Riley Skinner, in his third season as a starter, completed 27 of 36 passes for 220 yards and a career-most three touchdowns to outduel fleet freshman Robert Griffin of the Bears in front of 30,633 at Floyd Casey Stadium.
Griffin, who relieved starter Kirby Freeman in the second quarter, wowed the long-suffering Baylor faithful with his fancy footwork and strong arm.
But it was the steady Skinner, who a year ago led major-college football with a completion percentage of .724, who directed the Deacons to a 20-6 halftime lead and then put the game away with a 43-yard scoring strike to roommate Ben Wooster that extended the lead to 34-6 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
"We need to be efficient in our offense in order to score a lot of points," Skinner said. "We've got to take what they give us.
"We're real happy with how everybody played tonight. We've just got to keep that momentum going for next week."
The margin of victory was the widest in a season opener for Wake Forest since the Deacons beat Maryland 34-0 in 1958. The Deacons will play Mississippi in their home opener next week.
"Reliable Riley," senior Chip Brinkman remarked after catching the first two touchdown passes of his career. "It's just amazing to watch him manage the game. He knows our offense so well, knows exactly what to do and takes care of the ball.
"I'm glad he's my quarterback."
Griffin scored his first touchdown in college on a 6-yard sprint around left end. But it was his lost fumble of a snap at the Baylor 11 that led to the Deacons' first touchdown of the second half.
Defensive tackle Boo Robinson recovered and two plays later Skinner connected with Brinkman for an 8-yard touchdown pass and a 27-6 lead.
Skinner, in contrast didn't throw an interception and was sacked once.
Griffin, who enrolled in January and practiced in the spring, completed 11 of 19 passes for 125 yards and ran 11 times for 29 yards. Defensive backs Alphonso Smith and Kevin Patterson said the tempo of the Bears offense changed dramatically when Griffin replaced Freeman.
"He was pretty impressive," Coach Jim Grobe said. "For a young kid to get out there and do some of the things that he did tonight, he got my attention.
"They gave us fits tonight."
Other than a four-minute stretch late in the second quarter that Baylor spent scoring its first touchdown of the season, Wake Forest dominated the first half on the way to a 20-6 halftime lead.
The Deacons answered the Bears' score by driving into range for Sam Swank's second field goal, a 42-yarder into a stiff wind with 53 seconds left in the half.
Wake Forest scored on its first three possessions as Skinner continuously found holes in the Bears' defense to complete 16 of his first 18 passes.
One connected with Brinkman for a 12-yard touchdown and a 10-0 lead, another with Wooster that set up Brandon Pendergrass' 3-yard touchdown two plays later.
The Deacons controlled 17½ of the first half's 30 minutes and rolled to 14 first downs, compared to six by the Bears.
Though he was happy to win an opener on the road against a team with a new coach, Grobe had little trouble finding room for improvement. The Deacons lost two fumbles, one by Josh Adams and one by Marshall Williams, and struggled most of the night to establish a consistent rushing attack.
Wake Forest's 144 yards rushing on 44 attempts were deceiving. C.J. Washington, a walk-on from Carver High School in Winston-Salem, led the Deacons with 63 yards on two carries, most of them coming on a 55-yard run on the last drive of the game.
Adams gained 37 yards on 14 carries and Pendergrass gained 34 yards on 14 carries.
"I think if you look at it overall, we played OK," Grobe said.
Senior safety Chip Vaughn didn't play in the first half because of an undisclosed discretion during the offseason. Grobe declined to be more specific.
Vaughn returned in the second half, and finished with one tackle. Senior linebacker Aaron Curry led the Deacons with seven tackles.
"Guys have got to understand that even if you're one of the better players you've got to do what you're supposed to do," Grobe said of Vaughn. "It was poor decisions on his part.
"We love him again, so he's back in good graces and ready to go."
■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com.
Wake Forest 10 10 14 7 -- 41
Baylor 0 6 0 7 -- 13
First Quarter
Wake--FG Swank 40, 12:19.
Wake--Brinkman 12 pass from Skinner (Swank kick), 7:00.
Second Quarter
Wake--Pendergrass 3 run (Swank kick), 14:23.
Bay--Ja.Jones 12 run (kick failed), 2:54.
Wake--FG Swank 42, :53.
Third Quarter
Wake--Brinkman 8 pass from Skinner (Swank kick), 7:36.
Wake--Wooster 43 pass from Skinner (Swank kick), 3:04.
Fourth Quarter
Bay--Griffin 5 run (Parks kick), 12:39.
Wake--Adams 4 run (Swank kick), 4:38.
A--30,633.
TEAS STATISTICS
Wake Forest Baylor
First downs 23 15
Rushes-yards 44-156 34-94
Passing 220 156
Comp-Att-Int 27-36-0 15-30-2
Return Yards 16 (-1)
Punts-Avg. 4-39.3 6-40.2
Fumbles-Lost 4-2 4-3
Penalties-Yards 5-65 7-59
Time of Possession 34:16 25:44
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Wake Forest, Washington 2-63, Adams 14-37, Pendergrass 14-34, Boldin 2-10, Skinner 7-9, Mars.Williams 1-4, Belton 1-3, Brown 1-0, Team 2-(minus 4). Baylor, Griffin 11-29, Finley 10-22, Ja.Jones 3-17, Sims 4-16, Wright 2-9, Sanders 1-2, K.Freeman 2-0, Baker 1-(minus 1).
PASSING--Wake Forest, Skinner 27-36-0-220. Baylor, Griffin 11-19-0-125, K.Freeman 4-11-2-31.
RECEIVING--Wake Forest, Boldin 7-33, Wooster 6-90, Mars.Williams 4-38, Brinkman 3-29, Adams 3-8, Brown 2-13, Pendergrass 1-6, Belton 1-3. Baylor, Gettis 5-46, White 3-32, Akers 2-25, Wright 2-21, Finley 1-26, Blaylock 1-4, Baker 1-2.
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