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WINSTON-SALEM -- Sure, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons were officially idle this past Saturday, but there's no such thing as an off week when your most recent game was barely worthy of placement in the bargain bin next to a VHS copy of "Waterworld."

So when they take the field on Thursday against Clemson, the 21st-ranked Deacs will be 12 days removed from a turnover-infested loss to Navy and hardly lacking in preparation time or motivation.

"I normally record the games when we're on TV," offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke said before Monday night's practice. "That's the first time I ever got home and didn't watch the broadcast. Watching it live was bad enough."

The subsequent week didn't offer the chance for immediate redemption. While most others played, the Deacs practiced for two hours on Saturday, and contact was encouraged. It was probably a bit more intense than the normal workout held five days in advance of a game.

"It's always good to have a couple of extra days to game plan against a team like Clemson," said quarterback Riley Skinner, whose three interceptions and two lost fumbles against the Midshipmen also dampened his enthusiasm for excessive postgame analysis.

The Deacs are more concerned with development of their running game than anything else.

They stand 114th out of 119 teams nationally in rushing offense, and things became more complicated when lineman Dennis Godfrey, who was about to play himself into the rotation, suffered an apparently serious knee injury in practice last Thursday. Junior Boomer Peterson, who has barely played a meaningful snap in his collegiate career, moves onto the two-deep, where he is joined by three freshmen.

It's an uncommon situation for a program that oozes experience everywhere else, but it's not going to change.

Wake does expect tackles Jeff Griffin and Joe Birdsong to return and play most of the way against the Tigers. Birdsong was ejected early in the Navy game, and Griffin missed a chunk of time with a knee injury.

Lobotzke, who doubles as the line coach, said the running game's difficulties -- a scant 2.35 yards per attempt -- have put an undue burden on Skinner. The junior quarterback maneuvered his way around and through Mississippi defenders but may have felt a need to do too much against Florida State and Navy, both of which blitzed with considerable success.

"Right now, we're pathetic in running the ball, and that's allowing defenses to tee off on our protections," the coach said. "Our offensive line isn't good enough to sit in there against all the different blitzes."

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