MOTIVATED: WFU defense was fired up

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.

Wake Forest's defense emerged from the second game of the season against Mississippi two weeks ago convinced that it was better than it was playing.

Saturday night, in the third game against Florida State, the defense proved it.

In one of the most impressive performances by any Wake Forest defense ever, the 18th-ranked Deacons held the 24th-ranked Seminoles to one field goal while forcing seven turnovers in a 12-3 victory at somber Doak Campbell Stadium.

And in doing so, it amends for allowing Ole Miss to drive late to a go-ahead touchdown. Coach Jim Grobe of Wake Forest said that the defense took the experience of having to be bailed out by Sam Swank's 41-yard field goal personally.

"I think the defense was embarrassed (against Ole Miss)," Grobe said. "We didn't make a big deal out of it, but I know that they were embarrassed.

"(Saturday), having two weeks to prepare helped us. I think we were a little rusty offensively, but defensively the extra time helped."

Championships are rarely won by teams that can't adapt, and Saturday the Deacons were able to overcome subpar performances from two of their best offensive players.

The result was a third straight victory against FSU and a second-straight trip to Tallahassee without allowing a touchdown.

The Deacons thumped FSU 30-0 in 2006 on the way to the ACC championship.

Swank, a senior who has kicked more field goals and scored more points than any player in school history, missed three field-goal attempts on seven tries, including chip shots from 27 and 32 yards.

"That's ridiculous,"' Swank said. "That's like freshman stuff."

Skinner, a junior who has led the Deacons to 23 victories since taking over at quarterback as a freshman, completed 17 of 29 passes for 217 yards, but came away frustrated after losing two fumbles and failing to get his team past the goal line.

One of the fumbles was lost at the FSU 2-yard line in the dying moments of the first half.

"We definitely shot ourselves in the foot a good bit," Skinner said.

Instead of buckling, the defense stood strong against a Seminoles offense that scored 115 points in its first two games against inferior opponents. Christian Ponder played quarterback most of the first half and D'Vontrey Richardson played most of the second, but neither could find a rhythm against a defense that starts a sixth-year senior, seven fifth-year seniors and three fourth-year juniors.

The Deacons intercepted five passes. Alphonso Smith intercepted the first of the game by the Seminoles, and Kevin Patterson intercepted two.

And nobody stood stronger than Aaron Curry, a senior linebacker who burnished his All-America credentials with eight tackles, one tackle for a loss, a fumble recovery and an interception that he returned for 22 yards.

"He was a little bit on a mission," Grobe said. "I don't know what got him so stirred up.

"He was pretty stirred up and he was all over the place.

But again I think the whole defense was embarrassed by that last drive by Ole Miss and they came out with something to prove."

Wake Forest nursed a tentative fourth-quarter lead by intercepting the Seminoles' final three passes. Grobe gave a nod to Brad Lambert, who took over as defensive coordinator this season after Dean Hood became head coach at Eastern Kentucky.

"Brad Lambert and our defensive staff did a nice job keeping things mixed up and giving them different looks," Grobe said. "And I think it gave their young quarterbacks some problems."

Ponder completed six of 18 passes for 52 yards and threw three interceptions. Richardson completed six of 18 passes for 66 yards and threw two interceptions.

"Coach Lambert and the defensive staff put up a great plan and we were pretty in tune with route combinations and what they what they were going to try to do," Smith said. "But you can know the route and you've still got to make the play.

"That's what we did tonight. Instead of dropping interceptions and coming close, we made the interceptions and created the turnovers."

The Seminoles managed 102 yards on 28 carries. Richardson led Florida State with 46 yards but Antone Smith, the starting tailback, managed 24 yards on eight carries.

"We didn't play our best football but we still got a win," Grobe said.

"So 3-0 right now feels pretty good, after last year when we started out 0-2."

■ Dan Collins can be reached at 727-7323 or at dcollins@wsjournal.com
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