Wake Wins ACC Title, Trip to Orange Bowl

Demon Deacons 9, Yellow Jackets 6

Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner, left, runs for second-quarter yardage, as Georgia Tech's Kenny Scott, right, moves in to make the play during the ACC Championship football game, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006, in Jacksonville, Fla.(AP Photo/Steve Cannon) (Steve Cannon - AP)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Wake Forest's defensive players huddled near the sideline, pushing and shoving, yelling and screaming, jumping and dancing. They were trailing 6-3 and ready to do something about it. Riley Swanson did.

Swanson intercepted a pass from Reggie Ball on the next play, sparking a comeback that gave Wake Forest its first Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 36 years and sent the Demon Deacons to their biggest bowl game in school history.

Riley Skinner followed Swanson's pick with long completions on consecutive drives, setting up Sam Swank's final two field goals that gave No. 16 Wake Forest a 9-6 victory over 23rd-ranked Georgia Tech in the ACC title game on a rain-soaked Saturday.

"When you get our backs against the wall, these kids respond," Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said.

Skinner, who grew up in Jacksonville, finished 14-for-25 for 201 yards in his homecoming _ and may have had the biggest cheering section in the half-empty stadium. He struggled most of the game and was sacked four times, but he came up big when the Demon Deacons needed it most.

He hooked up with John Tereshinski for a 39-yard gain on third-and-10, setting up Swank's second field goal, a 33-yarder with 8:27 to play. The kick tied the game at 6.

On the next possession, Skinner found Willie Idlette down the middle for a 45-yard gain, setting up a 22-yarder that turned out to be the game-winner.

The Demon Deacons (11-2) won their second league title and first since 1970, adding another chapter to an improbable season in Grobe's sixth season. The finale comes in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2 _ the program's biggest bowl game since the 1946 Gator Bowl.

"I can't even put it in words," said linebacker Jon Abbate, who finished with 15 tackles. "It's been an unbelievable season. Unbelievable to be ACC champs, and I can't explain it."

Georgia Tech (9-4) had a chance to tie the game or take the lead, but punted when coach Chan Gailey opted not to go for it on fourth-and-13 from his 18 yard-line.

It was one of several questionable calls for Gailey, who went for it on fourth-and-1 from Wake's 13-yard line in the third quarter. Ball failed to pick up the first down on a quarterback sneak.

Gailey also ordered a field goal early in the fourth quarter instead of attempting a fourth-and-1 play on Wake's 17 with the game tied at 3. Tech also called a reverse in the first quarter on third-and-1. The play resulted in a 9-yard loss.