Final Score: (20) Wake Forest 30, Ole Miss 28

Winston-Salem, NC (Sports Network) - Sam Swank kicked a 41-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to give Wake Forest a resilient 30-28 win over a feisty Ole Miss Rebels squad.

The Demon Deacons were led by quarterback Riley Skinner, who, in addition to leading Wake Forest to the game-winning field goal, was 32-of-43 for 267 yards and two touchdowns. DJ Boldin hauled in 11 receptions for 123 yards while Marshall Williams and Kevin Harris both caught touchdown passes for the Deacons (2-0).

Brandon Pendergrass also helped engineer a touchdown drive for Wake Forest by gaining 44 of his 49 yards on a fourth quarter march to the end zone, finishing with a 12- yard run.

"I thought he (Skinner) was sharper today than he was last week. I was very impressed. It made me feel good knowing that we had Riley running the offense," Wake Forest head coach Jim Grobe said.

Texas Longhorn transfer Jevan Snead helped lead Ole Miss to a stirring performance, going 20-of-31 for 253 yards and four touchdowns, with one interception. Shay Hodge caught five balls for 66 yards and a touchdown while Dexter McCluster hauled in four receptions for 64 yards and a score for the Rebels (1-1). Brandon Bolden picked up 36 yards on the ground and 43 through the air on two catches.

"I thought Jevan (Snead) came back and really competed. I thought he came back and really hit some key passes for us," Ole Miss head coach Huston Nutt said of the team sticking with the No. 20 Deacons. "The only thing I was disappointed in was our running game. There weren't many running lanes for us. What I take from this is that we have some heart. We have some kids that laid it on the line for us."

After Ole Miss moved ahead 28-27 with 1:01 remaining, Skinner led Wake Forest 57 yards down the field on nine plays including a 22-yard hookup with Boldin. A pass interference call moved Wake to the Rebel 29-yard line and four plays later Swank kicked the game-winning field goal on fourth down.

"Boldin down the seam was huge. When we got it down to the 29-yard line on the interference call, I felt that Swank could make it. I think he could have been further back and still made the kick," Grobe said.

After Wake was forced to punt on its opening possession, Ole Miss' Dustin Mouzon fumbled the punt and the Deacons took over on the Rebel 14. Skinner completed a pass of 14 yards to fullback Harris on the second play from scrimmage for a touchdown.

The Rebels came back to put together an impressive nine-play, 94-yard drive led by Snead, who completed passes of 27 and 33 yards before finding Gerald Harris on a crossing pattern for a four-yard touchdown with 4:12 remaining in the first quarter.

The Rebel defense stalled a Deacon drive at midfield and started a nine-play, 83-yard drive with 19 seconds remaining in the opening quarter with Snead seemingly moving the ball at will before hooking up with Hodge on a 28-yard deep out touchdown just over three minutes into the second quarter.

Wake chewed up the final 7:52 of the first half with a 16-play, 64-yard drive that resulted in a 21-yard field goal by Swank as time expired to cut the Ole Miss lead to 14-10 at the half.

Snead made his first mistake of the game on the opening possession of the second half, when safety Kevin Patterson stepped in front of a pass up the right sideline for an interception. However, the Deacons continued to struggle moving the ball and were forced to punt for the fourth time in five possessions.

A direct snap to McCluster on Ole Miss' next play resulted in another interception, this time by Brandon Ghee, as the Deacons were being handed every opportunity to get back in the game. And Wake did, moving 34 yards on seven plays to set up a 27-yarder by Swank with 6:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Trailing by one, the Deacon defense turned up the heat and forced a three-and- out while the offense drove 41 yards on seven plays culminating in a touchdown toss by Skinner, who led Marshall Williams into the left corner of the end zone for a 24-yard score to make it a 20-14 Wake Forest advantage with 1:35 to play in the third.

Just when the Deacons seemed to be gaining the upper hand, they fumbled a punt to begin the final quarter of play, giving the Rebels the ball on the Deacon 30-yard line. Two plays later, Snead scrambled to find McCluster in the right flat and the wideout took it in from 31 yards out to surge ahead, 21-20, 49 seconds into the final stanza.

"We had some real fight. We have some heart. We're going to build off that," Nutt said. "We have to eliminate the turnovers and eliminate the mistakes. You have to win."

Wake Forest stormed right back on the ensuing possession by taking the ball 80 yards in eight plays, highlighted by Pendergrass, who rushed for 44 yards including a 12-yard score to put the Deacons back in front 27-21 with 11:37 to play.

The teams traded punts before Ole Miss started a last charge with 8:07 remaining. The Rebels chewed up 7:06 and were helped by a pass interference call on a 3rd-and-15 that put them on the Wake Forest 12 with a fresh set of downs. After a Rebel false start, Snead found Bolden for 10 yards and Ole Miss caught a break when Ted Laurent fell on Bolden's fumble making it 4th-and- three from the Wake Forest five-yard line. Snead scrambled left and right on the play before finally finding Cordera Eason camped just inside the goal line for a five-yard touchdown to go ahead 28-27.

Game Notes

The Deacons recorded their 400th victory all-time and extended a home winning streak to six games...Ole Miss and Wake Forest have met just one time previously, with the Demon Deacons recording a 27-3 victory in Oxford in 2006...Wake Forest tailback Josh Adams, the reigning ACC Freshman of the Year, had another subpar game, rushing for only 43 yards on 12 carries after gaining just 37 yards and a score on 14 rushes in the season opener. He also caught four balls for 13 yards vs. Ole Miss. Adams erupted for 953 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago...The Deacons gained 81 yards rushing in the game to Ole Miss' 107 while the Rebels also outgained Wake in total yards 360-348...Both teams struggled on third-down conversions with the Rebels 5-13 and the Deacons 5-17.

09/07 01:19:22 ET