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WINSTON-SALEM — Three weeks in a row, Wake Forest senior quarterback Riley Skinner has set a new personal best for passing yards in a single game. You'd think that would be a good thing. And you'd be wrong.

Because while Skinner has flourished in the passing game, Wake Forest has struggled in the running game.

Skinner threw a career-high 45 passes in last week's victory over N.C. State, completing 31 for 361 yards. Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons' runners gained just 30 yards.

"You know No. 11 can throw the football," Wake coach Jim Grobe said, "but &ellipses; if you're just going to sit back there and throw it every snap, it makes it a lot easier for people to dial up blitzes and come get you. This Saturday we need to be able to run the football."

This Saturday, Wake Forest (3-2, 1-1 ACC) plays host to resurgent Maryland (2-3, 0-1) in the Deacons' homecoming game.

The Terrapins, left for dead after back-to-back home losses to Middle Tennessee and Rutgers, bounced back with a 24-21 victory over Clemson last week. Maryland did it with defense: The Terps rank third in the ACC in sacks (10 in the last three games, and junior linebacker Alex Wujciak is the league's leading tackler.

"It's amazing how competitive the league is right now," Grobe said. "&ellipses; It's week to week. What you really find out at this level, and especially within major conferences, is there's talent everywhere. Everybody's got good players. There's not anybody without good players. One week you can look not very salty, and the next week you can look like world beaters."

For the Deacs to be world beaters, Grobe said his running backs need to be more involved in the offense. Senior tailback Kevin Harris is nursing and injury, but junior Josh Adams and sophomore Brandon Pendergrass are healthy.

"We're going to have to do a better job running the football," Grobe said. "We've actually got some mileage out of our running backs by throwing them the football. They don't show up as runs, but in reality some of those little dink throws that turn into 5-, 10-, 15-yard carries are similar to just handing the ball off."

RECEIVING OPTIONS: Part of the reason Skinner's passing numbers are up could be that Wake Forest has more viable receiving targets for the senior.

Once upon a time, the Deacons relied on one guy -- D.J. Boldin or Kenny Moore -- to stretch the field.

But this year, wide receiver Marshall Williams and slot receivers Y'Lou Brown and Chris Givens have all had big games.

"It's better for us," Grobe said. "Back when we had Kenny, we actually had some throws that were throw-it-to-Kenny throws. No matter where anybody else was, we were going to throw the ball to Kenny. You just knew it was coming. Now it's nice Riley can go through his progressions and not try to pick one guy to throw the football to."

Williams, who is averaging and ACC-leading 5.2 catches per game, caught two TD passes against N.C. State. In the same game, Givens had eight catches for 113 yards.

"At times in the past, we'd run routes specifically to get it to a certain (receiver)," Grobe said. "And now, Riley's got options. He's got more people to look to, and I think he's enjoying that."

TIRED TIGHT END: Injuries to Ben Wooster and Cameron Ford have left sophomore Andrew Parker as the Deacs first option at tight end. At times, it seems he's the only option.

"Practices have been wearing me out," Parker joked. "It seems like I'm in on every play."

Grobe said he likes Parker's aggressiveness, both as a blocker and a pass catcher. Parker said he's comfortable in both roles.

"In high school, I considered myself more of a blocker," Parker said. "But in college, going up against 265-pound defensive ends on every play, I think that's made me more of a passing tight end now."

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com