WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -Riley Skinner has long wanted a second chance to face Navy. The Wake Forest quarterback figures the Midshipmen are just as eager to see him again, too.
“They’re probably licking their chops right now, ready to pad their stats,” Skinner joked Tuesday.
For good reason. When they met three months ago, Skinner’s five turnovers – by far, his worst performance while at Wake Forest – helped Navy upset the then-No. 16 Demon Deacons 24-17. Now he’s looking to redeem himself on Saturday when he faces the Midshipmen again in a rare postseason rematch at the EagleBank Bowl.
“If you’re a quarterback, and you’ve had that kind of game, the worst game of your career, you’d be crazy if you didn’t want another shot at them,” Skinner said. “As much as I hate watching the film (during) the last two weeks, over and over again, it kind of gives you a little motivation and urgency to get back out there and go play these guys again, and kind of prove something and get a little revenge.
d like to do,” he added. “Just knowing that you were pretty much the reason for that loss is pretty tough on you, but it’s also motivating.”
The Demon Deacons’ slide from Atlantic Coast Conference title contender to lower-level bowl team seemed to start that sloppy Sept. 27, when the otherwise dependable Skinner lost a fumble and threw four interceptions to halt a string of 133 consecutive pickless passes.
After its 3-0 start was spoiled, Wake Forest (7-5) lost five of its final nine games and backed into the ninth and final bowl game with an automatic ACC tie-in.
“It’s really a mixed bag – on one hand, you want to be proud that you’ve won seven games, you’re going to the third bowl in a row for the first time in school history,” coach Jim Grobe said. “You’ve got to feel good about that accomplishment. But I wouldn’t want our kids to have lost (midseason games) with chances to go play in the (ACC) championship game and feel good about that.”
There weren’t many positives for Skinner to pull from his previous meeting with the Midshipmen, whose ground-chewing option offense kept the clock rolling and put pressure on the Demon Deacons to match them score for score. That game plan helped Navy jump out to a 17-0 halftime lead and force five first-half turnovers – four by Skinner.
obably felt too much pressure to make big plays and work the ball down the field and be a superhero,” Grobe said. “A couple of times, Riley didn’t make good decisions, but a couple of times, Navy made good plays. … I think Riley knows that in the game Saturday, he’s got to protect the football better, no question.”
Since then, the Demon Deacons have done a better job of taking care of the ball – they didn’t have another multiturnover game until the Boston College loss on Nov. 22. That improvement didn’t come from any tweaks to Xs or Os, but rather from refocusing their intangibles, and they expect another tough test from a Navy team that doesn’t figure to tinker with the plan that led Skinner to self-destruction.
“Nothing from the Navy game really changed our offense,” Skinner said. “It may have changed our attitude. It may have changed our work ethic, things like that. But schematically, nothing’s really changed. We just know the importance of turnovers. There’s no better example than that game.”
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