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WASHINGTON - For Wake Forest on Saturday, necessity was the mother of dimension.

Motivated by time, space and score, the Demon Deacons discovered that other dimension, Riley Skinner's deep passing game, in time to upend Navy 29-19 in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl at RFK Stadium. The change came in the final five minutes of the first half, when the Deacs trailed 13-0 with 98 yards ahead of them and a time-killing opponent to worry about.

"We had to go with the two-minute offense, and that was big," Skinner said. "It changed the whole tempo of our offense."

Normally, you don't get agitated about a 13-0 deficit at any point of the first half. But this was different. The Midshipmen consumed six or more minutes on eight scoring drives in the regular season, and the Deacs hadn't induced a punt yet Saturday. Navy was going to get the ball to start the third quarter.

Scoring after Alphonso Smith's ACC-record 21st career interception was almost mandatory, and after six plays of the resulting drive, Skinner still stood 2-for-2 through the air on the day while facing third-and-14 from his 41. The 30-yard strike to D.J. Boldin turned everything around.

It exposed a gap in the middle of the Navy defense and suggested the Deacs' offensive line, limited by injury and inexperience, really could give Skinner time.

"We struggled all year with that one guy not executing, and that killed us," center Russell Nenon said, stressing the weak link changed from week to week. "Finally, we put a team effort together."

Their work in the ground game had created space for Kevin Harris, who went from third-string fullback to starting tailback when tailbacks Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass were effectively sidelined by ankle injuries. Heck, Harris had more carries by the 20th minute against Navy than he had the entire regular season.

But until Skinner could look down the field, Wake was scoreless and tenuous.

The pass to Boldin led to the first touchdown and a fake-reverse to Smith facilitated the deep ball to Harris on the next possession.

When the Deacs had to put together a winning drive in the fourth quarter, Skinner dropped back, had time and bought himself more. Eventually on that huge third-down toss, Chip Brinkman meandered around the secondary long enough that the Midshipmen forgot about him.

"When we did play-action, it really spread them out," Brinkman said. "I wanted to make big plays the whole game. No matter how cold it was, no matter the adversity, it was my day to shine, I guess."

The decisive touchdown was the same sort of deal: a third-down pass play that seemed to last into fourth down. Ben Wooster got free in the back of the end zone and Skinner was still perfect through the air.

Wooster and Brinkman combined for 10 catches over the regular season's final six games because of injuries. They were back in time.

"I thought our offensive line was really physical up front," coach Jim Grobe said. "I liked watching them play. And then Riley made some really good decisions."

It's hard to get more precise than 11-for-11, Skinner's final passing numbers. When combined with credible rushing and a defense that figured out the Navy option in the second half, that put Wake over the top.

The Deacs have now won bowl games in consecutive seasons and have eight or more victories in three straight campaigns. Those are both firsts in the program's history.

"A lot of people said that could never happen," sixth-year defensive end Matt Robinson said after his career came to an end Saturday. "It's not easy, but it sure is great at the end."

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