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WINSTON-SALEM -- Patience, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons urged the populace, while their offense managed 22 points in three October games. Eventually, the calendar flipped, and so did a switch.

Having folded the spread offense and returned to I-formation basics, the Deacs were on the move again in Saturday's 28-17 win over Virginia. Operating with the balance they had long sought, they hit a deep ball and ran nearly nine minutes off the clock during one first-half drive in building a 28-3 lead. And after that?

"We got to a point in the game where we just had to kill the clock," coach Jim Grobe said.

Here's how things have changed around here: The Deacons' bowl eligibility, secured with the victory, was almost an afterthought. So was their advancement into a tie in the loss column for the ACC's Atlantic Division lead. Maryland (6-3, 3-2 ACC) has the tiebreaker edge over Wake (6-3, 4-2), but the Terrapins have the tougher road. If the Deacs beat N.C. State and Boston College while Maryland loses once, Wake will go to the league title game for the second time in three years.

Saturday centered around the precision Grobe and offensive coordinator Steed Lobotzke wanted after watching receivers drop 10 passes in the 26-0 loss at Maryland on Oct. 18. At that point, the two decided to make like a petulant, backstage-ravaging rock star and trash the spread.

The Deacs threw the ball 46 percent of the time in their first six games -- a disproportionately high rate by their standards. If fullback Mike Rinfrette was in the game, for example, he lined up as a decoy in the slot almost as often as he stood behind the quarterback. Now he's back to the no-nonsense, no-pretense stuff. On Saturday, he rammed for Brandon Pendergrass early and often as the redshirt freshman amassed 80 yards by halftime.

"After the Maryland game, the main thing we had to do was try to keep it similar enough in play design that the offensive line could still semi-execute up there," Lobotzke said. "Then you change the perimeter blocking and the tight ends' job and the fullbacks' job."

It wasn't always easy. The Deacs struggled at Miami two weeks ago, but they've been efficient in wins over Duke and now Virginia. In the three-game span, they're running 71 percent of the time.

"Spread out, you have to rely a lot more on athletic ability in pass protection," center Russell Nenon said. "But when we're up close, we're basically just cocking back our heads, getting on our toes and going at it. We're trying to run right up the middle of the defense. It doesn't change in assignments. It's just a few tweaks we make each week."

Against the Cavaliers, they did a bit of everything in bolting to a comfortable lead. They went up 14-3 with Riley Skinner's 58-yard touchdown pass to Devon "Yloo" Brown, their longest scrimmage play of the year. Skinner had enough time to contemplate two other options before settling on Brown, who had outrun two defensive backs.

Their next possession was their longest by time in at least three years. The 15-play, 71-yard water torture featured 12 runs.

"You have to get tough," said Pendergrass, who replaced injured Josh Adams for the second straight game. "The O-line really gets a chance to show off what they can do. Now they get to fire off the ball and get after the D-line. That's how it has been working."

It was by almost any measure the definitive formula for a recent Wake win: control the ball, don't turn it over -- a fumbled punt was the Deacs' only giveaway -- and steal it from the other guy. Kevin Patterson's 53-yard interception return with 3:16 left in the first half was the Deacons' first defensive touchdown of the year.

Wake is plus-six in turnover margin the past two games, and it took care of this one with extreme conservatism and caution. Of course, some people can't be pacified. When Grobe declined the chance for a superfluous score in the final minute, a few boos were heard.

They'll get over it.

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

Virginia 0 3 0 14 -- 17

Wake Forest 14 14 0 0 -- 28

Wake--Wooster 2 pass from Skinner (Popham kick)

Wake--Brown 58 pass from Skinner (Popham kick)

UVa--FG Randolph 33

Wake--Pendergrass 1 run (Popham kick)

Wake--Patterson 53 interception return (Popham kick)

UVa--J.Phillips 21 pass from Verica (Randolph kick)

UVa--Ogletree 5 pass from Verica (Randolph kick)

A--34,014.

Virginia Wake Forest

First downs 18 16

Rushes-yards 17-28 49-143

Passing 279 130

Comp-Att-Int 23-45-3 14-20-0

Return Yards 1 76

Punts-Avg. 6-42.8 8-46.4

Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1

Penalties-Yards 9-58 8-80

Time of Possession 22:52 37:08

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Virginia, Peerman 12-43, Verica 5-(minus 15). Wake Forest, Pendergrass 27-110, Belton 5-22, Rinfrette 6-10, Boldin 2-6, Mars.Williams 1-5, Washington 2-4, Team 1-(minus 4), Skinner 5-(minus 10).

PASSING--Virginia, Verica 23-45-3-279. Wake Forest, Skinner 14-20-0-130.

RECEIVING--Virginia, Ogletree 6-95, Koch 6-73, J.Phillips 4-43, Covington 3-54, Peerman 3-(minus 3), Burd 1-17. Wake Forest, Boldin 8-39, Brown 1-58, Brinkman 1-15, Mars.Williams 1-9, Rinfrette 1-5, Pendergrass 1-2, Wooster 1-2.