College football roundup \ Thursday’s games

No. 21 Wake Forest 12, Clemson 7

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Riley Skinner threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Boldin with 5:28 left to help Wake Forest beat Clemson. Skinner was 22-of-34 for 186 yards and led the decisive 15-play, 78-yard drive in the fourth quarter for the Demon Deacons (4-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). Wake Forest outgained Clemson 342-198 to snap a two-game losing streak in the series and remain the only Atlantic Division team with a perfect conference record. Shane Popham — starting in place of injured kicker Sam Swank — had field goals of 22 and 32 yards for Wake Forest, and a dominant defense held the Tigers’ vaunted ground game to 21 yards rushing on 23 carries. Cullen Harper was 15-of-35 for 177 yards with an interception for Clemson (3-3, 1-2) in the Tigers’ second straight loss. His 10-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Ford with 7 seconds left in the third quarter put Clemson up 7-3. Alphonso Smith’s school-record-tying 17th career interception gave Wake Forest the ball inside the Clemson 20 and set up Popham’s second field goal, which pulled Wake Forest to 7-6 with just under 13 minutes to play. Then, after forcing a punt, it was Skinner’s turn to rally the Demon Deacons. Taking over with about 101‚Ñ2 minutes left, he systematically marched Wake Forest downfield by completing seven of nine passes for 69 yards and converting three third downs — including a 28-yard pass to Boldin on third-and-24. He then found Boldin in the right flat, and the receiver cut back through two defenders and into the end zone for his first career touchdown. Skinner’s 2-point conversion pass for Ben Wooster was batted away. Clemson got no farther than its own 39 on its last possession, with linebacker Stanley Arnoux breaking up Harper’s fourth-and-20 pass with about 31‚Ñ2 minutes left to seal coach Jim Grobe’s third win over the Tigers in eight tries. The Tigers’ offense sputtered once again. They had minus-6 yards rushing at halftime, were stuck in negative total yardage until their fifth drive of the game and were just 2-of-14 on third downs. Star James Davis finished with 25 yards, 50 below his average, while backfield mate C.J. Spiller had just 10 yards on two carries before injuring his left leg in the second quarter. Those two struggled in the Tigers’ other losses, combining for 20 yards in the opening loss to Alabama and gaining a total 31 yards in the second half of the Maryland defeat.

Tennessee-Martin 29, Eastern Illinois 26

MARTIN, Tenn. — Brandyn Young rushed for 213 yards and all four Tennessee-Martin touchdowns to lead the Skyhawks. Young scored on runs of 3, 94, 8 and 15 yards while posting the ninth 200-yard rushing game in school history. His last two touchdown runs came in the fourth quarter and helped the Skyhawks (5-2, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference) rally from a 16-7 halftime deficit. Bodie Reeder led the Panthers (2-4, 0-2) by throwing for 284 yards and three touchdowns. A 58-yard touchdown pass from Reeder to Charles Graves drew Eastern Illinois to within a field goal with 8:44 left. But the Skyhawks intercepted a pass with 2:42 to play in the game to seal the win.

Associated Press