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So Alphonso Smith didn't play offense in Saturday's 33-30 win over Duke. He did about everything else.

The cornerback-special teams performer intercepted two passes, blocked one punt and returned two others. It's unconventional for the same player to perform both jobs - hard-charging rush guy and true return man - in the same game, but some feel that conventions should be reserved for politics.

Smith, a senior, is one interception off the ACC record of 20, set by North Carolina's Dre Bly in three seasons (1996-98). He's also the NCAA's active career leader in pickoffs and returns for touchdowns (four), and he's fourth in return yards (249).

GAME TIME: Wake's home game with Virginia this Saturday has been set for 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

ODD: Wake is 2-0 when allowing 28 or more points this season. That makes Jim Grobe 9-22 in such games as the Deacons' coach. And if that winning percentage doesn't impress you, please reconsider.

Between them, Grobe's 31 predecessors in the Wake job won only seven times when permitting 28 or more points. They were 7-238-1, including Jim Caldwell's 0-44 run. The tie was a 34-34 affair with Appalachian State on Nov. 19, 1988.

CLOSE CALLS: In the past three seasons, the Deacons are 12-4 in games decided by seven or fewer points.

CONVERSION EXPERIENCE: Wake made a two-point conversion for the first time in more than six years on Saturday. That's not quite as bad as it sounds because the Deacs had only attempted the play four times in that span, going 64 consecutive games without a try until last month's 12-7 win over Clemson. When Riley Skinner connected with D.J. Boldin, who broke four tackles to get into the end zone against Duke, the Deacons had a two-point conversion for the first time since Tarence Williams ran one in to cap the scoring in a 31-24 win over Georgia Tech on Oct. 5, 2002.

The drought - if want to call it that - stems largely from Wake Forest's excellence in kicking. Many two-point plays are necessary to compensate for previous failures in kicked extra points, and that's a problem the Deacons have seldom encountered.

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