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WINSTON-SALEM -- Ten minutes after it was over, U2 hit the public-address system with the words, "It's a beautiful day; don't let it get away." Although he presumably enjoyed it, Ryan McManus didn't need to be reminded.

Wake Forest's Riley Skinner led the last-minute drive down the field, and Sam Swank finished it with a 41-yard field goal three seconds from the finish. Everybody noticed them. Easily lost in the frenzy was McManus, who didn't throw a pass but may have saved the 30-28 victory over Mississippi with an alert plea for a time out that kept the kick's distance at 41 yards.

The kick tailed shortly after passing the left upright. Would it have been good from 46?

"It's Sam Swank," said McManus, a senior who serves as Swank's holder. "It's still good."

Sounds good. But does anybody in Old Gold and Black really want to know?

"That's a scary proposition," coach Jim Grobe said, fully aware Swank might be the best clutch specialist in recent ACC history.

The 20 mph wind was changing directions like a fugitive from justice. By itself, that's a cause for alarm no matter who's kicking. With the ball sitting at the Rebel 24, the play clock was approaching zero and the Demon Deacons' coaches were desperately trying to get the officials' attention and prevent the flag. Forget it. McManus noticed and didn't bother to yell anything. He jumped up and made the universal hand signal.

"I was going to make sure they saw me," he said.

Swank, admittedly nervous, was grateful for the chance to regroup. People only remember kickers when they fail, and Swank hadn't failed since he barely missed a 48-yarder at the gun in a 17-16 loss at Virginia last season.

"I didn't want a rehash of that whole Virginia thing," he said. "That would have (stunk)."

He's 9-for-9 since that whole Virginia thing, and the 20th-rated Deacons, the ACC's only ranked team, are 2-0. The christening of the $47 million Deacon Tower upgrade ended in style.

The play capped a compelling finish that made Grobe feel a considerable sense of relief. After the Deacs scored on Brandon Pendergrass' 21-yard run with 11:37 left, they led 26-21 and the coach elected to kick the extra point rather than try for two. When the Rebels consumed more than seven minutes and found the end zone with 61 seconds to play, the PAT gave them the lead.

"I thought I had screwed it up," Grobe said. "I thought I had hurt our football team by not going for two.

"I was really down. Really. My heart sank. Then I turned around and looked at 11 (Skinner), and I thought, 'Maybe we do have a chance.' "

The Rebels (1-1) challenged Skinner all day, sacking him four times. A fifth would have been fatal, but the junior survived on the day's biggest snap and elicited an interference call on the Rebels' Marshay Green, flagged for holding running back Josh Adams on a deep route. That brought field-goal range.

"A pretty low-risk throw that could have high rewards," said Skinner, now 59-for-78 without an interception in two games. "(Adams) wasn't the only one we were looking at. He was probably the fourth look, but I had a pretty good idea the first two were taken."

The chief option was D.J. Boldin, whose 11 catches for 123 yards gave the Deacs shelter from the Rebels' generally oppressive rush. A year ago, Boldin caught 11 passes for 127 yards the whole season. Without his day, this one might not have been all that close.

It also helped that Wake won the turnover department, 3-1, and that a 62-yard Rebel run inside the Wake 5 was called back for holding in the third quarter.

In the end, a seemingly simple stand-up act played its part, too.

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com

Mississippi 7 7 0 14 -- 28

Wake Forest 7 3 10 10 -- 30

Wake--K.Harris 14 pass from Skinner (Swank kick)

Miss--G.Harris 4 pass from Snead (Shene kick)

Miss--Hodge 28 pass from Snead (Shene kick)

Wake--FG Swank 21.

Wake--FG Swank 27

Wake--Mars.Williams 24 pass from Skinner (Swank kick)

Miss--McCluster 31 pass from Snead (Shene kick)

Wake--Pendergrass 12 run (Swank kick)

Miss--Eason 5 pass from Snead (Shene kick)

Wake--FG Swank 41, :03.

A--31,986.

Mississippi Wake Forest

First downs 21 22

Rushes-yards 29-107 31-81

Passing 253 267

Comp-Att-Int 20-33-2 32-43-0

Return Yards (-1) 43

Punts-Avg. 5-38.6 6-37.0

Fumbles-Lost 4-1 3-1

Penalties-Yards 7-68 4-35

Time of Possession 27:45 31:15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Mississippi, Bolden 8-36, Thomas 1-19, Eason 8-18, Snead 5-16, C.Vaughn 1-13, Wallace 1-4, E.Davis 5-1. Wake Forest, Pendergrass 8-49, Adams 12-43, Rinfrette 2-7, Belton 1-(minus 2), Skinner 8-(minus 16).

PASSING--Mississippi, Snead 20-31-1-253, McCluster 0-2-1-0. Wake Forest, Skinner 32-43-0-267.

RECEIVING--Mississippi, Hodge 5-66, McCluster 4-64, Wallace 4-50, Eason 4-26, Bolden 2-43, G.Harris 1-4. Wake Forest, Boldin 11-123, Wooster 5-32, Brinkman 4-24, Adams 4-13, Mars.Williams 2-30, Belton 2-22, K.Harris 2-15, Rinfrette 1-6, M.Hartford 1-2.