Deep SEC starts 17-3 in non-conference games
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: Sports
With three seconds left to go in the game, No. 20 Wake Forest turned to kicker Sam Swank, needing a field goal to secure a victory over Ole Miss.
Swank, the nation's active career leader with 65 field goals, kicked a 41-yard field goal to pull away with a 30-28 victory for the Demon Deacons.
In a game with six lead changes, Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner said that a combination of the Ole Miss score with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter and the aggressive defense made things difficult for the team on the final dive.
"I think the last drive where Ole Miss scored took a lot out of the crowd," Skinner said. "It was a big shot to the team's energy. We knew as an offense we could take the ball down in a minute thirty in field goal. Ole Miss just lit us up all day. They brought every blitz you can imagine. They got in the backfield. They're a really, really good defense. We didn't move the ball as well as we wanted to off the bat."
Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt said he was proud of the team's effort, but the team will need to avoid making careless mistakes to win close games.
"The first thing you look for is if everyone gave effort and they did," Nutt said. "The things that we have to get corrected are some foolish mistakes. One, I just can not put up with is a hit out of bounds. Everybody knows the rules. We've had one each week and we've got to stop that. We're smarter than that."
Nutt said that the turnover battle was a key to the game, as Ole Miss had three turnovers while Wake Forest had one.
"We can't turn the ball over," Nutt said. "We talk about winning the turn over margin. We can't do that especially against good teams. We've got to take care of the ball better."
Ole Miss was led offensively by Texas quarterback transfer Jevan Snead, who finished 20-of-31 with 253 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
Nutt said that Snead showed an ability to bounce back when things were going wrong and that he is a leader of the team.
Swank, the nation's active career leader with 65 field goals, kicked a 41-yard field goal to pull away with a 30-28 victory for the Demon Deacons.
In a game with six lead changes, Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner said that a combination of the Ole Miss score with 1:01 left in the fourth quarter and the aggressive defense made things difficult for the team on the final dive.
"I think the last drive where Ole Miss scored took a lot out of the crowd," Skinner said. "It was a big shot to the team's energy. We knew as an offense we could take the ball down in a minute thirty in field goal. Ole Miss just lit us up all day. They brought every blitz you can imagine. They got in the backfield. They're a really, really good defense. We didn't move the ball as well as we wanted to off the bat."
Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt said he was proud of the team's effort, but the team will need to avoid making careless mistakes to win close games.
"The first thing you look for is if everyone gave effort and they did," Nutt said. "The things that we have to get corrected are some foolish mistakes. One, I just can not put up with is a hit out of bounds. Everybody knows the rules. We've had one each week and we've got to stop that. We're smarter than that."
Nutt said that the turnover battle was a key to the game, as Ole Miss had three turnovers while Wake Forest had one.
"We can't turn the ball over," Nutt said. "We talk about winning the turn over margin. We can't do that especially against good teams. We've got to take care of the ball better."
Ole Miss was led offensively by Texas quarterback transfer Jevan Snead, who finished 20-of-31 with 253 yards, four touchdowns and an interception.
Nutt said that Snead showed an ability to bounce back when things were going wrong and that he is a leader of the team.
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